The growth of parliamentary democracy (part 3)
- Created by: ljenkins
- Created on: 24-05-17 15:15
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- The growth of parliamentary democracy (PART 3)
- Change and continuity in post-reform Britain
- some historians believe the reforms passed by the government helped maintain aristocratic power by strengthening the bond between the propertied classes (middle and upper) - preventing the working class from changing the status quo
- corruption still widely practiced
- without a secret ballot, so was intimidation
- change: more voters
- people had to register to vote - meant parties had to encourage people to vote
- political system became more proffessional
- whigs and tories became polarised - had previously had similar origins
- dominance of two-party system
- whigs and tories became polarised - had previously had similar origins
- political system became more proffessional
- people had to register to vote - meant parties had to encourage people to vote
- 1835 Municipal Corporations Act - Whigs pushed through this bill that abolished the existing corporations (self-elected bodies accountable to no-one) and replaced them with elected councils
- franchise in these elections were open to all adult male ratepayers (broader than the voting qualifications in parliament)
- New Poor Law
- Abolition of the Slave Trade
- 'REACHING FOR DEMOCRACY'? FURTHER PARLIAMENTARY REFORM, 1852-1870
- radical reformers: those who sought reform as a means of making the system more democratic (Joseph Hume-produced reform bills in every session of parliament between 1848 and 1852- and Peter Locke King-committed to extending the county franchise)
- Some Tories also saw the need for reform
- A modernising nation - Britain in the 1850s was more open to change
- Population changes: between 1821 and 1861 pop of Britain rose from 24 million to more than 31 million (most resided in towns and cities - boroughs - where the working class couldn't vote)
- electoral map was redrawn in 1832 - did not reflect changes - now out of date
- Early political efforts to extend the franchise: both conservatives and liberals understood the potential benefits to their party by extending the franchise
- Lord John Russel (Liberal/Whig leader) in 1852 proposed to reduce the existing borough qualifications from £10 to £6 - rejected in 1852, 1854 and 1860 as conservatives feared it would open the electorate to too many of the working class who would then have the ability to rule politics - Conservatives were also concerned about the support the Liberals may have gained form this
- Conservatives proposed that, in 1859, they should retain the existing borough franchise but extend it to the counties - liberals said no as conservatives traditionally had a lot of support in the county
- 1858: abolition of property qualifications for MPs
- except for this small gain, reform seemed a long way off
- Population changes: between 1821 and 1861 pop of Britain rose from 24 million to more than 31 million (most resided in towns and cities - boroughs - where the working class couldn't vote)
- Changing political attitudes
- 1859 - Liberals in power under Lord Palmerston
- under this leadership, reform was ignored - foreign policy took priority - personally averse to the idea of democracy
- John Bright, Birmingham MP, had began giving speeches on reform in 1858 - did not have much impact throughout the 1860s
- The American Civil War
- 1859 - Liberals in power under Lord Palmerston
- radical reformers: those who sought reform as a means of making the system more democratic (Joseph Hume-produced reform bills in every session of parliament between 1848 and 1852- and Peter Locke King-committed to extending the county franchise)
- Change and continuity in post-reform Britain
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