Reform of Parliament 1780-1928

Reform of Parliament 1780-1928

1. System 1780

   • Political Parties
     • Whigs
       • More likely to question Monarch
       • Mostly land owners but increasingly land owners
       • More sympathy for non-conformists
       • Began to demand reform 1820s
     • Tories
       • Defended monarch & CofE
       • Nearly all landowners
       • More resistant to change
   • Main features
     • 658 constituencies
     • Constituencies returned 2 MPs each
     • Two types of constituency
       • Borough
       • County
     • Small minority of men could vote - 5% population
     • Polling stations widely distributed - took hours to travel there
     • Open voting
   • Types of Borough
     • Open Borough
       • Had to meet various qualifications eg payment of local poor rates
         • Preston gave all men the vote
         • 20 boroughs had electorates of over 1,000 (eg Westminster 11,000)
     • Corporation borough
       • Only voters were members of the town council
       • Filled seat by nomination & corrupt
       • E.g. Sudbury Suffolk