Issue 1- An evaluation of the reasons
why Britain became more
democratic, 1851-1928.
The 6 Factors
• Was it because of the influence of pressure groups
(popular pressure)?
• Was it because of the economic and social changes
(industrialisation, urbanisation, communication)?
• Was it because of the impact of WWI?
• Was it because the political parties were passing reform
to take political advantage over one another?
• Was it because of foreign (international) influence?
• Was it because the attitudes of politicians were
changing?
• You will create a hierarchy by deciding which
arguments are the strongest, which are of moderate
importance and which are of lesser importance, in
leading to the spread of democracy in Britain.
• Your KU marks will come from the examples you
provide (I will make this clear)
• Your analysis marks will come from your ability to
argue why one factor is more important than
another.
The Stronger Factors
The following factors have strong evidence to
support the fact that they helped push Britain
towards a democracy.
- Social and Economic changes
- Political parties attempting to gain political
advantage over one another.
- Which of them is more significant, is up to you to
decide.
Before we begin…
Before 1851, what was the state of democracy in
Britain?
-Only upper class, wealthy people could vote because
voters required property to be able to vote.
-the middle class, working class and poor could not
vote. Women could not vote.
-The House of Lords (unelected house) had equal
power to the House of Commons (the elected house).
-There was widespread corruption and voting was
done publicly.
• Wealthy snobs in Britain believed that people
less wealthy than them were ignorant and not
deserving of the vote.
• Who has the power to create democratic
change and make Britain more fair?
Who were the two parties in
Parliament?
• What did each of the parties want in terms of
democracy in Britain?
Social and Economic Changes
• With the opening of factories, a new class
emerged in Britain, which would become quite
wealthy and educated.  the middle class.
• How did this social change lead to the spread of
the vote in Britain?
Because there was a new
(and large) class of men
who were deserving of
the right to vote,
parliament could not
ignore their political
voice.
A factor of great importance in the spread of
democracy was the social and economic changes
occurring in Britain.
For example, the spread of factories and new
business owners led to the rise of a middle class. This
middle class was now wealthy and educated, and
wanted a say in political matter.
Therefore, parliament could not ignore them and
needed to award them the vote, leading to an
increase in democracy.
How do we know that this social change
led to the spread of democracy?
Evidence
Evidence of the importance of the rise of the middle
class occurred in 1867, when parliament passed the
Reform Act of 1867, which awarded the members of
the middle class the vote, in both towns and in the
countryside.  credit for analysis
It can be said that parliament awarded the middle
class the vote because their increasing numbers and
wealth meant they deserved a say in politics. extra
credit for analysis
Social Changes
The Spread of Railways
• One major impact of
more railways was that
small, isolated parts of
Britain now became
connected.
– They received national
news, and people in
small towns began to
care about national
political issues.
– Therefore, people were
less isolated from the
rest of Britain, and now
deserved to have more of
a say in politics.
Social Changes
The Spread of Railways
• Prime Minister
Gladstone began the
trend of using the
railways to travel to
different parts of
Britain to make
political speeches.
• Both literate and
illiterate people would
come to listen.
Social and Economic Change
• Tens of thousands of people would show up to see
these celebrities speak, spreading interest in politics
where it didn’t exist before.
What EVIDENCE do we have that the spread of
railways helped to spread democracy in Britain?
- Prime Minister William Gladstone made a tour of
Midlothian, where 50,000 people showed up for
only 6000 seats.
- William Gladstone and the Liberal Party passed the
1884 Reform Act which awarded the vote to the
majority of men in the countryside and towns.
Social and Economic Changes
• When writing an essay, we need to balance
our strong evidence with negative points.
Balance:
- These social changes put pressure on the
government for change, but often, politicians
passed reform for their own purposes, without
considering the social and economic changes
throughout Britain.
Political Advantage
• Democracy spread throughout Britain for a
number of reasons, but the change had to
come from parliament alone.
The Tory Party (Conservative)
• The Tories were
supported by the most
wealthy members of
British society, as well as
the upper middle class.
• As a result, these were
the men who were
opposed to voting
reform, and fought to
strike down the reform
bills of the Whigs.
• However, in 1867 the
Tories decided to pass their
own reform act, we will look
at the reasons why later in
this lesson.
The Whigs- Politicians
Gladstone
• Failed to unite the
Liberal Party to bring a
Reform Act to
parliament in 1866.
• Led the Whig Party and
became Prime Minister
3 times.
The Conservatives- Politicians
Lord Derby
• Led the Tories as Prime Minister in 1867 alongside
Benjamin Disraeli.
• Derby was Prime Minister at a time when the British
people started to get angry again. There were riots in
London’s Hyde Park, and there was a call for reform as
there had been in 1832.
• Lord Derby and the TORIES!!! Passed the Reform Act of
1867 through Parliament!!!
- WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
The Conservatives- Politicians
Benjamin Disraeli
• Was a leading member of
the Tories in 1867.
• Was a major influence on
Prime Minister Derby to
pass the Reform Act of
1867.
The Tories Take Power
• The Liberals had been in power for 20 years, but by 1866,
they could not successfully pass voting reform.
• The Queen invited the Conservatives to form a
government because of the Liberal’s failure.
• The Conservatives had been out of power for 20 years!!!!
• The Conservatives were reluctant because Britain was a
mess.
– Voting reform had not been introduced since 1832 (its 1866!!)
so the people were angry and there was rioting in London’s
Hyde Park.
– The Conservatives had a minority in the House of Commons, so
it was not hopeful that they could get anything done!!!!
• This new Conservative government was led by PM
Derby.
• However Benjamin Disraeli was a strong figure in
the party.
• Disraeli had to convince members of his own party
and members of the Liberal Party in order to pass
his new reform bill through the House of
Commons.
Why was the 1867 Reform passed?
• There was a real chance to gain a political
advantage in passing the 1867 Reform Act.
• If the Conservatives continued to resist democratic
reform, they would lose the next election to the
Liberals, and maybe lose power for another 20
years.
• Disraeli knew if the Conservatives spread
democracy to working class men, the newly
enfranchised men might vote for them in the next
election.
1867 Reform Act
Boroughs (cities & towns)
Counties
• All male homeowners could • Owners of property valued
now vote.
at £5 per year.
• Renters paying £10 per year • Renters paying £5 per year
could now vote.
could now vote.
•1 in 3 males could now vote
•The electorate increased to 2.5 million people
•Middle class people could now vote
•A very high percentage of males in the boroughs
could now vote.
•Spread the vote to more people than Disraeli
intended.
How democratic was Britain after the
1867 Reform Act?
Getting there, but still not close:
– No secret ballot
– Candidates in elections could spend as much money as they
would like to influence voting (food, drink, bribes)
– MPs were not paid
– Universities had the ability to elect MPs
– The House of Lords had equal power to the House of Commons
– Men in the counties did not have the same voting rights as men in
the boroughs
– Select groups of men could not vote
– Woman could not vote
– Men with property in multiple constituencies could cast multiple
votes
Corruption
• There were no laws which
stopped rich politicians from
using their money to win.
• Politicians transported voters
to voting stations to vote for
them
• Some would bribe factory owners into forcing their
workers to vote for them. Since voting was public, if a
employee did not vote for who their boss demanded,
they would be fired!!!
These are just some examples.
The Ballot Act of 1872
Introduced by the Liberal government
under Prime Minister Gladstone.
Booths were set up so voting was done in
secret.
As a result, voters could no
longer be intimidated into
voting for someone they do
not want.
However, Corrupt spending
practices continued
Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act of
1883
1. An election candidate’s
spending became limited.
2. Campaign money could
no longer be spent on
4. Disobeying the law
things like food and
would result in a
drinks.
candidates
3. A record of spending had
disqualification for 7
to be kept.
years!!
5. Involvement in
corruption would result in
fines or imprisonment.
Why were these two acts passed?
• Which party had the wealthier members and
followers?
• Since the Conservatives had wealthier members
and wealthier supporters, the Conservatives were
more often involved in corrupt practices.
• So the Liberals passed these two acts to remove
corruption, and potentially weaken the power of
the Conservative Party.
• Also, the Liberal’s hoped that the British people
would be grateful to the Liberals for removing
unfair voting practices.
• ‘ By limiting the amount of spending on
elections, some Liberals believed the
advantage held by wealthier Conservative
opponents would be reduced. This made
political reform an action based on the hope
that reform would give an advantage to the
party in power.’ –John A. Kerr and James
McGonigle.
1867 Reform Act
Boroughs (cities & towns)
Counties
• All male homeowners could • Owners of property valued
now vote.
at £5 per year.
• Renters paying £10 per year • Renters paying £5 per year
could now vote.
could now vote.
•1 in 3 males could now vote
•The electorate increased to 2.5 million people
•Middle class people could now vote
•A very high percentage of males in the boroughs
could now vote.
•Spread the vote to more people than Disraeli
intended.
Pressure Groups
• Two organisations fought for democracy in Britain
during this time:
– The Reform Union 1864
– The Reform League 1865
Pressure Groups
• Read section 3 of pages 8 and 9
1. Give 2 examples of popular pressure before 1867.
Remember to include statistics, dates and
locations to secure KU marks.
2. What is historian Royden Harrison’s opinion
towards the significance of pressure groups in
spreading democracy?
3. What is the opinion of modern historians regarding
Harrison’s opinion?
4. How significant do you believe pressure groups
were in leading to the spread of democracy?
Impact of WWI(strong to
moderately important)
• Traditionalist historians believe that WWI greatly
influenced the spread of democracy.
• Traditionalists hold that some women gained the
vote in 1918 because of the dangerous war work
they committed themselves to.
• Therefore the spread of democracy was a result of
rewarding women for their role in munitions
factories.
• However, the traditionalists argument is weak, due
to the fact that the women who worked in
factories were typically under 30 years old.
• Therefore, women’s war work did not lead to the
enfranchisement of the women who participated
in the war work and it cannot be said that WWI
led directly to the spread of the vote to women.
• Conversely (on the other hand), WWI did lead to
the expansion of the franchise to men.
• It was politically unacceptable for the British
government to deny men who fought in the war the
ability to vote.
• As a result, in the 1918 Reform Act, all men over
age 21 could vote, as well as any man over age 19
who served in the war.
• Therefore…..
Changing Political Attitudes
• Intellectual writers such as John
Stuart Mills wrote about the need to
spread the vote to the people of
Britain.
• John Stuart Mills published his ideas
in his book On Liberty in 1859.
• This book began to change political attitudes
towards democratic reform, because it was
written by a renowned intellectual and it
popularised the idea of spreading reform.
• However…………………..
Changing Political Attitudes
• Before the 1867 Reform Act was passed, skilled
working class men did not have the right to vote.
• However, members of the skilled working class were
attending night school all over Britain.
• Therefore, these men were demonstrating to
politicians that they were deserving of a political
voice, which may have influenced the decision to
spread reform.
Changing Political Attitudes
• However, this is a weaker argument because
skilled working class men in the towns and
cities were given the vote, but skilled working
class men in the countryside were not given
the vote.
• Therefore, the idea that changing political
attitudes helped to spread reform is a weak
argument because….
International Influences (weak
argument)
• Although it is a weak argument, the influence of
foreign nations must be considered.
• Britain viewed itself as one of the most democratic
nations in the world.
• However, by 1914 and the beginning of WWI,
Britain had failed to award Women the vote, while
other nations had.
• The first example of foreign influence was the
enfranchisement of women in nations such as Finland,
Norway and New Zealand.
• Britain first granted partial female suffrage in 1918 and full
women’s suffrage in 1928. However, more democratic
nations around the world had declared women’s suffrage
much earlier on. For example, New Zealand granted
women’s suffrage in 1893, Finland in 1872 and Norway in
1907.
• It can be said that the granting of women’s suffrage
outside of Britain, put some degree of pressure on
the British government.
• Britain considered itself the ‘cradle of democracy’
so the idea of other nations surpassing Britain in
terms of democratic freedoms for women meant
that Britain could lose its status.
• However, there is no documented evidence that
foreign influence actually pressured members of
parliament into passing voting reform for women.
Essay question:
To what extent was popular pressure a major
reason for the spread of democracy in Britain
between 1851 and 1918?