How did Britain become more
democratic?
Democracy Bingo
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Constituency
Socialism
Radicalism
Suffrage
Franchise
Ballot
House of Lords
Rotten Borough
Pocket Borough
Parliament
William Gladstone
1. Draw a grid with 6
squares
2. Pick 6 words
3. Listen to the
definitions
4. First to Full House
gets a prize!
Gladstone fought for extension of
the franchise
Is there any doubt that the people
living in the countryside are capable
citizens, qualified for the vote and
able to make good use of their power
as voter? 1884
 But clashed with Lord Palmerston
in 1864 when Gladstone was
Chancellor of Exchequer and
Palmerston was PM.
 Lord Palmerston (starter): "Hi! Gladstone! Democracy!
Too soon, Too soon! You mustn't go yet!"
John Tenniel, Punch Magazine, 28th May, 1864
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William Gladstone: "Permit me to explain democracy."
Lord Palmerston: "Oh, bother your explanation! You've blown your horse, and you
are out of the race."
John Tenniel, Punch Magazine, 11th June, 1864
1866 attempts?
 What was the proposal?
The Second Reform Act, 1867
 Voters: Electorate increased by 1, 120,000. Now
stands at 2.5 million.
 Constituencies: many disenfranchised
 52 seats redistributed, 25 went to counties, 19
to the boroughs, one to London university and 2
to Scottish universities, 5 to Scotland
The Second Reform Act, 1867 –Failures
 Did not alter the balance of political power – middle
class in boroughs and counties and aristocracy still
retained the vote.
 Electorate still largely remained the same but had
greatly benefitted the newer towns.
 Parties had to develop national organisations as
boroughs increased voters therefore needed a
different approach to campaigning. Less independent
MPs standing for election.
 To make a country democratic, it is not enough to
just widen the franchise – the RIGHT TO VOTE is
not the only feature of a democratic country.
 The system must be fairer and more
representative:
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ACCOUNTABILITY TO VOTERS
OPPORTUNITY TO BE AN MP
FAIRNESS
ACCESS TO INFORMATION
CHOICE
Representation – 3rd Reform Act
The Representation of the People Act
1884
1. P9 How much did the electorate increase to as a result of
the Representation of the People Act?
2. Who could now vote that couldn’t before?
3. In what way did they make town and city dwellers more
equal?
4. P10 What were the limitations of this Act?
 HISTORIOGRAPHY – FOR and AGAINST 1884
 P9 Read the historians’ view and summarise the main points
of Smout, Cole and Thomson.
House of Lords
 They were UNELECTED
 They had POWER to BLOCK, VETO proposals (bills) for new laws.
 They often blocked bills to make the country more democratic!
1.
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5.
P13 What was the original purpose of the House of Lords?
Why was their position questioned?
Describe the events which triggered the Parliament Act of 1911.
What were the terms of this bill?
How did they get the House of Lords to agree to the changes?
Issue 2 How did Britain become more
democratic?
PARTY ORGANISATION
 Local landowners could not dominate politics anymore
so had to work on their powers of PERSUASION.
 Describe the 2 methods they developed to organise
the party better. (p16)
 PRIMROSE LEAGUE est. 1883 – Conservative principles
 NATIONAL LIBERAL FEDERATION est. 1887 – Union of
Welsh and English Liberals
 CONSERVATIVE CENTRAL OFFICEest. 1870 –
Conservative Party
Opportunity to be an MP
 This is important because for most of the 19th century
MPs were unpaid and had to own land. The issue of
payment for MPs never arose as a result.
 1911 Parliament Act gave a salary of £400 for MPs to
allow ordinary people greater access to the political
process.
Access to information
 The secret ballot act and extension of the franchise
had excited a population eager for news and
information.
 Railways helped the speed and delivery of
information. Newspapers spread across the nation
and politicians used trains as transport between
constituencies to give speeches and lead rallies.
Why could Britain not be called
democratic in 1850?
 Vote not universal, most men and all women were
excluded.
 Votes were cast publicly.
 Voters were intimidated or bribed.
 Rotten boroughs
 Some large constituencies had no MP
 5 out of 6 males still could not vote.
 MP’s were unpaid.
 MP’s had to be landowners.
 House of Lords had power to veto any new bill.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4CHsWMV3Es&li
st=PL0BFE1170FE97E375 Gladstone and Disraeli Clash
of the Titans
Homework – yellow jotters
 USA essay plan/mind map
 To what extent was the formation of effective black
organisations, the main reason for the development
of a Civil Rights Campaign after 1945?