Section 1 - History

• 1865 = threshold of social and political change
• Great Reform Act of 1832 = shaped British political system for over 30 years
• Increased franchise and bought about a redistribution of seats 
• Landed classes still held power, although forced to share with middle classes
• 1.2 million men had the vote out of 30 million
• No system of voting in private = voters open to bullying, bribery and corruption
• Second Reform Act of 1867 = extended franchise to the artisan class 
• New voters ensured victory of the Liberals 
• Gladstone introduced a number of innovative reforms
• Could be said to be responsible in helping to establish the basis of our modern State

Whigs: 

• Powerful aristocratic landowning families
• Believed in a consistutional monarchy - monarch's powers of patronage were limited
• Passed the First Parliamentary Reform Act in 1832
• In favour of further franchise as long as it was controlled
• Supportive of the nonconformists 
• Included in their numbers = Roman Catholic Lords
• Titled Whigs = House of Lords 
• Junior Branches = House of Commons 
• Some began to branch off and call themselves 'Liberals'
• They believed in individual liberty, freedom of press and religion, and free trade 
• Many were nonconfirmists = believed the Church should be separate and free from State patronage and control 

Peelites:

• Followed Sir Robert Peel over his repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846
• Conservative party was split into Protectionists and Peelite free traders 
• Ensured that Conservatives didn't have the majority for a long time to come
• They increasingly voted with the Whigs
• Numbers fell away so they fused with the Liberals by 1859
• Wealthy and industrial backgrounds 
• Gladstone = leading Peelite 

Radicals:

• Free thinking middle class individuals
• Adopted the doctrine of Utilitarrianism 
• Belief in taking actions that would be of greatest pleasure to the greatest number of people
• Wanted change in the social order
• Opposed political and economic dominance of the landowning classes 
• Opposed privileged position of the Church of England as the establishing Church
• Wanted extension of the franchise, the removal of government restrictions and free trade
• John Brights = influential Radical 

• Wider Liberal beliefs = 'Peace, Retrenchment, Reform'
• If peace could be maintained with other nations, this would enable trade and industry to develop unhindered by the disruptions of war
• Taxation could be more easily kept under control, too
• Gladstone wanted to 'live to see the day when income tax would be abolished'
• Policy of retrenchment would also reduce the neccessity of raising taxes
• Tax = depriving people of the freedom to spend their money as they wished
• Concerned with bringing about changes in laws and institutions that prevented people from acting freely
• Three principles tied in with laissez-faire principles and the doctrine of self-help
• They believed in liberty of freedom of the individual and religious toleration 
• Supported free trade = means of creating prosperity
• Upheld the principle of parliamentary government, within a limited democracy
• Overhaul of the parliamentary system was needed to reflect the changes in the distribution and wealth of the population that had occured after the Industrial Revolution 

• Most support for the liberals came from the towns and the boroughs
• Urban centres of population were still expanding and were full of middle class men 
• Saw the Liberals as reflecting their aspirations and values
• They helped to keep the Liberals in power for almost 20 years
• Support grew from the impact of three key developments:
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      • The rise of the provincial press
      • The growth of the new model unions
      • The appearance of the political dimension to Nonconformist movement 

The Rise of the Provincial Press:

• Until the 1860s = London press dominanted the newspaper industry
• Coming of the railways, invention of the telegraph and the removal of stamp duties
• Dramatic increase both in titles and circulation 
• New press = Liberal in terms of ownership, employees and readership
• Able to influence large numbers of voters across industrial towns
• Considerable benefit to the Liberal Party 
• One example = The Newcastle Chronicle 

The Growth of the New Model Unions:

• Gave their support the Liberals
• Represented the interests of skilled workers such as engineers 
• These workers benefitted from the extension of the franchise in 1867
• Sought to improve their conditions by self-help and self-education
• Unions functioned as friendly societies 
• Set up schemes to give benefits to members in times of hardship
• Legal position = not clearly defined and funds not protected by law 
• Unions hoped that once Liberals were in government = they would strengthen the unions' legal position 

The Political Activities of the Nonconformists:

• Wanted to achieve equal treatment with the Church of England 
• End its privilege as the established Church
• Led by the Liberation Society = political wing of the nonconformists 
• Steady backing of the Liberal party helped to nsure the Nonconformists vote 
• Support = crucial 
• 50% of the church-going populaion was Nonconformist 
• Wealthiest and most influential 
• Geographically spread 

Finding a suitable leader:

• Lost power of the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846
• Held short period in office between 1846-1852 and 1858-1859
• Both occassions = minority governments
• Difficult to pass any legislation
• Lord Derby = conservative leader but not entitled to sit in the House of Commons
• Power of the Lords had weakened after the formation of new constituencies in industrial towns
• Difficult for Lords to influence procedures in the Commons 
• Could still use their veto to block measures they disliked 
• Few Conservatives of real quality to lead the party in the Commons 
• One exception = Disraeli 
• However, despised and distrusted by many in the party because of his background 
• His leadership was an unavoidable necessity as he appeared ot be the person with clear ideas about policy
• Vital to present new policies to win support of the electorate
• Important to get the message across by holding public meetings and finding good speakers to inspire the crowd
• Considerable competition

• Disraeli bought the party round to accepting the principle of reform 
• Developed ideas on the need for social reform
• Conservative defeat in 1868 
• Set about managing the reorganisation of the party machinery 
• Helped to bring Conservative victory in the election of 1874

• Series of reform bills introduced between 1851 and 1866 appeared to have failed
• Little public pressure and the middle class voters were satisfied with current system 
• Several factors brought about a change in attitude towards question of reform:

Changing attitudes towards reform:

• Change in attitude within political parties and make-up of the parties 
• Helped to bring parliamentary reform to the forefront 
• Old Whig Party was transforming into the Liberal Party 
• Commercial and industrial members had growing influence
• Extend their political status and power, even if only through seat redistribution
• Gladstone was converteed to a belief in reform and led the party in this direction
• Radicals were becoming more effective within the Liberal Party
• Conservatives also accepted the need for change

The Conversion of Gladstone to belief in reform:

• Gladstone began to defend the moral right of decent working men to have the vote
• Enough evidence to be confident that they would vote responsibly 
• Gladstone's statement offered encouragement ot Radical reform groups
• Became convinced of the need for reform 

The Growth of Interest in the Democratic Ideal:

• American Civil War and the movement for Italian Uniication 
• Seen by British people as struggles for freedom and democracy 
• Created a popular surge of interest in reform
• Garibaldi - hero of the Italian unification movement 
• Visited London in 1864 and thousands flocked to hear him speak 
• Authorities clamped down on public meetings 
• Angry protests from his supporters 
• Repressive response led to setting up of "The Reform League" in 1865 

The Reform League (1865), The Reform Union (1864) and Trade Union Pressure:

• Reform League = working-class alliance with strong trade union support 
• Aim was to work towards democracy through universal male suffrage and a programme of radical reform
• Local branches sprang up in the manufacturing towns 
• Central organisation = chaotic 
• Able to mobilise its considerable force of trade union members and make presence felt
• Additional pressure = London Trades Council who organised a campaign for reform
• Reform League = more successful than Reform Union 
• Created a few months earlier in 1864 
• Largely middle-class organisation that called for a secret ballot
• Focused on seeking the redistribution of seats to correct the imablance caused by changes and movement in the population
• John Bright encouraged the two to work together but the class divide created tensions 

Radical Pressure:

• Kept up the pressure for reform from both inside and outside parliament
• John Bright toured the country encouraging men to demand their democratic rights
• Put forward convincing arguments on behalf of the skilled workers in favour of extending the franchise 

The Impact of Rise in Living Standards and Population Changes:

• Economic prosperity after 1850 led to overall rise in the standard of living
• Made Liberals keen to accepting the idea of extending the franchise to include skilled working class 
• Saved wages in friendly societies and the Post Office Saving Bank set up by Gladstone in 1861
• Formed responsible trade unions through which they provided self-help and a form of social security
• They had proved themselves to be responsible 
• For example, the Lancashire Cotton Workers 
• Responsible attitude had not brought them any political advantage
• Few of them had the right to vote
• Many lived in industrial cities with one or two MPs
• Largely under-represented
• Size of constituencies became very uneven as a result of population growth 
• No new constituencies had been formed even though industrial revoltion created new towns and cities
• Demographic changes were forcing the issue of reform on the political agenda 
• Tackled by whichever party was in power

• Death of Palmerston cleared the way for Liberals to address the question of reform
• Gladstone and Lord John Russell drew up a Reform Bill
• Well reasoned and moderate 
• Backing of Radical John Bright
• Proposed an extension of the vote for those in the towns who owned or rented a propery with a rateable value for £7 a year, instead of existing £10 qualification
• Counties = vot was given to those who rented property with a rateable value of £14 a year
• Give to vote to skilled workers and smallholders
• Extended the electorate by 400,000 men 
• They called a meeting in the Town Hall in 1865 to demonstrate their approval
• Reform League was disappointed and the Bill was thrown out
• Damaging = opposition from 40 liberals led by Robert Lowe
• Claimed the reform would give political power to the 'ignorant' 
• They rejected the idea that the skilled workers had proved themselves
• He saw the vote as a privilege to be awarded to those who improved themselves to the extent that they could meet the existing qualifications
• Amendedment = cutting number of new skilled voters in the boroughs
• Russell resigned 

• Conservatives formed a minority government under Lord Derby
• Reform League organised demonstrations across the country
• They were not going to give up until they had achieved their aims

• Lord Derby led a minority Conservative government into office 
• Disraeli = leader in the commons and chancellor of the exchequer
• Lack of progress on the franchise 
• Working classes were feeling the effects of the bad harvest from the previous ear
• Another outbreak of cholera causing panic 
• Collapse of London's most successful finance houses, Overend and Gurney 
• Followed by a stock market tumble
• Domino effect brough about the collpapse of many other businesses 
• Threatened high unemployment and helped to spark the huge demonstrations
• Outbreak fo violence near Hyde Park in 1866, after a Reform League meeting was prevented from taking place
• Similar demonstration took place in 1867
• Resulting pressure persuaded Disraeli to seize the moment and take credit for what had generally been regarded as a Liberal reform

• Conservative reform bill contained checks to restrict the number of working-class voters 
• Balances with 'fancy franchises' and dual votes for many members of middle classes 
• Dropped these when there was fierce opposition from Gladstone and a chance the bill would be lost
• Disraeli = accepted the radical proposals in the amendment of Hodgkinson, simply in order to get the Bill throuhg the commons and get the better of Gladstone
• Derby secured its smooth passage
• Convinced the Lords that it would ensure a Conservative victory in the next election
• Ended up being more democratic than Derby or Disraeli imagined
• Hodgkinson's amendment enfranchised the skilled worker in the towns
• Further shifting of the centre of political power away from the landed classes
• Disraeli = opportunist 
• He thought that the Conservative could win over the skilled workers who were to be enfranchised
• He hoped that the Conservatives could then break a long record of poor election results 
• Essential to change public perception of the Conservatives as an anti-reform party
• They introduced parliamentary reform legislation that was more far reaching than the Liberal Bill of the previous year 
• Conservatives lost the 1868 election 
• Gladstone was awarded for his consistent support for the Reform Act 
• Gladstone had united the Liberals and pleased the Nonconformists by putting Irish Church Reform on agenda

The Franchise was extended:

In the boroughs to:

• All male householders over 21, who had lived at the same address for 12 months
• Lodgers who paid £10 a year in rent and had lived at the same address for 12 months

In counties to:

• The forty-shilling freeholders
• The £5 copyholders and £12 tenants 

Redistribution of Seats:

• 53 seats were taken from boroughs with a population of under 10,000
• 25 seats were given to English counties 
• 20 seats were given to larger English boroughs and towns
• 8 seats were given to Scottish burghs and counties 

Effects of the 1867 Reform Act: 

Positives:

• Number of voters had increased - 1.2 million to 2.5 million
• 1/3 of the male adult population could now vote
• Greatest increase occured in boroughs, where skilled workers had the vote
• Parties improved their organisations to capture new voters 
• Led indirectly to the 1870 Education Act 
• Expedient to educate new voters 

Negatives:

• Impact reduced for artisan class because of limited nature of the redistribution of seats
• No women could vote
• Huge cities such as Birmingham were only given 1 extra seat to add to the two they had
• Distribution of seats did not correspond to the size of the population 
• Rural areas remained over-represented 
• Industrial Midlands = under-represented
• Smaller increase in the electorate in the counties 
• Boroughs with a population of just over 10,000 had same representation as those with 400,000

• 1868 election = Gladstone became PM for the first time
• Liberal majority = 106 over the Conservatives 
• Clear mandate to implement policies based on the principles of Gladstonian Liberalism
• Administration efficiency, cut backs on government spending, pursuing free trade and prmoting the freedom of the individual
• Gladstone's cabinet = Liberals, Radicals, Peelites,Whigs 
• All were Anglican except for John Bright who was a Quacker 
• Reforms = vast in number
• Addressed important social and political issues
• Debate = to what extent they satisfied
• Liberals = awkward coalition
• Gladstone held the party together, on the surface, for five years 

• Several key pressure groups existed 
• Single issue groups 
• Shared some of the same membership and the thread of Nonconformism ran through them
   
  • The Liberation Society: aimed at the disestablishment of the Church of England. In 1871, pressure was put on Nonconformist MPs to accept a disestablishment motion, but it was firmly defeated with a clear lead from Gladstone
  • The National Education League: campaign for free, compulsory and non-religious education in State schools. It's leadership was Nonconformist and included Chamberlain. Its dissatisfaction with the 1870 Education Act caused potential division in the party
  • The United Kingdom Alliance: Temperace movement founded in 1852. It was based in Manchester and sought the outlaw of the sale of alcohol. It regarded the 1872 Licensing Act as a partial success 

• Little concept of a separate Labour party 
• Few working-class men who entered parliament did so as Liberals
• Regional Trades Councils encouraged the setting up of a national organisation for unions
• A Trade Unions Congress (TUC) met for the first time in 1868 in Manchester
• Pressure to bear on the government to give trade unions legal recognition 
• Union leaders = keen to cooperate with the Liberals 
• TUC became an annual event after its London meeting in 1871 
• It represented the trade union movement as a whole