1850 - 1900 Reforms

1850 - 1900 Reforms

1. 1832 to 1884

   • Britain was still far from being a true democracy
   • Changes between 1832 and 1884 were important
   • Electorate
     • Increased in size from 366000 in England and wales in 1831 to slightly fewer than 5 million in 1885.
   • Parliamentary seats
     • Redistributed to give greater weight to larger towns and cities
   • Ballot act of 1872
     • Introduced secret ballot
       • Made it far more difficult for voters to be bribed or intimidated

2. 1867 Second Reform Act

   • Gave the vote to largely to the middle class
   • Gave vote to all ratepayers in towns
   • Gave the vote to town lodgers of higher value properties (£10).
   • In countries
     • Ratepayers of over £5 rateable valuation
   • Tenants of over £!2 rateable valuation
   • Did this made britain more democratic ?
     • Traditional elite had grip on power weakened by the 1867 act.
     • Worst predictions about how new electorate would behave proved unfounded
     • Further reform became seen to be more inevitable
     • Lack of parity between town and country
     • Large towns unrepresented while country towns returned 2 MPs
     • Household vote only in the towns
       • Industrial workers such as miners were unrepresented
     • Unfair distribution of seats that favoured the south east
     • 1/4 of the electorate chose 2/3rd of MPs

3. 1872 Secret Ballot act

   • Brought in secret ballots at the elections, in place of open voting.
   • The intention was to stop bribery and prevent landlords and employers from influencing voters
   • Initially the act had to be renewed by each parliament, but it was finally made permanent in 1918
   • The act had the effect of ending rowdy public nominations, and elections became more sober affairs

4. Did the 1872 secret ballot act made Britain more democratic?

   • The act made it far more difficult for voters to be intimidated
   • Christopher Kam argues
     • argues that the amount spent at elections actually increased as voters were corrupted by the opportunity to take multiple bribes
   • The act made it possible for all men to vote freely
     • There were also liberal support in the counties
       • Especially among coal miners

5. 1883 Corrupt and Illegal Pratises Act

   • Bribery was commonplace at elections
     • Outcry over corruption followed the 1880 election
       • Spending per candidate had reached a high of £1600
   • Fixed a limit on the amount that candidates can spend at elections and anyone that are caught to breaking the rules are fined or imprisoned.
   • Did this make britain more democratic
     • Bribery and corruption was not wiped out immediately
     • The act was seen as being comprehensive and effective