Britain 18501979

1
Britain 1850-1979

• The Growth of Democracy

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Aims

• To define democracy
• Identify why the British political system before
  1832 was undemocratic.
• Identify the pressures for reform which existed
  by 1832
• Identify the main features of the 1832 Reform Act

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Before the 1832 Reform Act

• No uniform rules about who could vote.
• In some areas ratepayers could vote, in others
  the local landowners nominated the voters.
• Two types of constituencies boroughs (urban
  areas) and counties (rural areas).
• Large towns like Leeds, Manchester and Bradford
  had no MPs.
• Rotten boroughs like Old Sarum had ceased to
  exist but still sent MPs to Parliament
• In pocket boroughs the local landowner
  nominated the MP.

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1832 Reform Act

• It is important to realise that the first
• Reform Act did not pass easily
• through Parliament.
• 1831 Whig Government introduces a reform bill to
  Parliament
• Due to fierce Tory opposition the bill was
  defeated and the government resigned.
• An election was held, the Whigs formed a new
  government and introduced a second Reform Bill.
• The House of Lords refused to pass the bill
  riots, disturbances, damage to property across
  the country.

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1832 Reform Act

• A third Reform Bill was introduced but again the
  Lords refused to pass it.
• The Whig government resigned, the Conservatives
  were too disunited to form a government.
• The Whigs returned to government and the Reform
  Bill finally passed in June 1832

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Pressure For Change 1832-1867

• Aims
• To identify the debate over whether the working
  class should have the vote.
• To identify where pressure for change came from
  after 1832.
• To identify the main terms of the 1867 Reform Act

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1867 Reform Act

• 1866 Liberal Government introduced a Reform Bill
  it would have increased the electorate by 5.
• It divided the Liberals as some saw the bill as
  being far too radical and the Government was
  forced to resign.
• The Conservatives then formed a government but
  they needed the support of the Liberals to pass a
  Reform Bill.
• In 1867 the Second Reform Act was finally passed.

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The Reform Debate

• Pro-Reform Lobby
• Government needs the support of a wider
  electorate.
• Giving the working class the vote will lead to
  its moral improvement.
• This would break the power of the aristocracy.

• Anti- Reform Lobby
• Working class people are selfish and ignorant.
• They cannot be trusted to use the vote wisely.
• Only men with property have the intelligence to
  participate in politics.

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Ongoing Issues of Democratic Change

• To identify aspects of the British government
  which had not been reformed by 1928.

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Reform of the House of Lords

• Parliament is made up of two chambers.
• House of Commons which initiates or introduces
  legislation
• House of Lords which examines and revises
  legislation.
• The House of Lords is subordinate to the House
  of Commons because it is not elected by voters.
• In the 19th century, the Lords was composed of
  hereditary peers, Law Lords and
  Archbishops/Bishops from the Church of England

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Reform of the House of Lords

• During the 19th/early 20th century most of the
  members in the House of Lords supported the
  Conservative party.
• On a number of occasions the House of Lords
  refused to pass legislation introduced by the
  Liberal government e.g. 1884 Reform Act, 1909
  Peoples Budget which proposed to tax the rich to
  pay for social reforms (See notes on Liberal
  reforms).
• The Liberals felt that this was an attack on
  democracy. Why should a non-elected chamber be
  able to stop laws which a democratically elected
  government wanted to introduce?

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Reform of the House of Lords

• In 1911 the Liberal Government passed the
  Parliament Act.
• The House of Lords had no longer had power over
  bills concerning taxation/government spending.
• The House of Lords could still amend bills but
  they could only delay them for a period of two
  years.

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Proportional Representation

• Elections in Britain use the First Past the Post
  System (FPTP). This basically means that the
  person with the most votes wins the election.
• This system has always benefited the larger
  parties. The percentage of seats they end up
  with in Parliament is always greater than the
  percentage of the votes they have achieved in the
  election.
• The smaller parties lose out under FPTP. They may
  come second and third in many constituencies but
  end up with few MPs in Parliament.

14
2005 General Election
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Proportional Representation

• For many years smaller parties like the Liberals
  have argued for a system of Proportional
  Representation e.g. if a party gets 20 of the
  votes they should get 20 of the seats in
  Parliament.
• However the large parties would lose out if PR
  was adopted and since they are the ones that are
  usually in government, they are reluctant to
  introduce reform.
• In 1918 FPTP was confirmed as the voting system
  for general elections in the UK. That has never
  changed.

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The Arrival of the Labour Party 1880-1925

• Aims
• To identify how the Labour party was established.
• To identify the progress made between 1900-1925
• To identify the reasons for the rise of the
  Labour party and the decline of the Liberal Party.

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Replacing the Liberals 1910-1925

• In the 1910 election, 42 Labour MPs were elected
  and the party did well in local elections.
• During the First World War, some Labour MPs such
  as Arthur Henderson gained valuable experience in
  the wartime coalition government.

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Replacing the Liberals 1910-1925

• By 1918 the Labour Party was in an even stronger
  position.
• The 1918 Representation of the People Act gave
  the vote to working class men and women over 30.
• The party was well organised with local branches
  across the country.
• The party had adopted a new constitution which
  committed them to socialist aims.

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Replacing the Liberals 1910-1925

• By the 1922 election the Labour party won 142
  seats and had overtaken the Liberals who won only
  115 seats. For the first time the Labour party
  became the official opposition.
• In 1924 the first ever Labour government was
  formed under Ramsay MacDonald.

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Final Conclusions The Decline of the Liberals
and the Rise of Labour

• The Liberals Were Struggling by 1914
• Most of the problems the party faced were
• not about the party itself but aimed at the
• constitutional system e.g. women and the
• vote. However the negative publicity
• caused by various problems was bound to
• have an effect on the partys popularity.

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Final Conclusions The Decline of the Liberals
and the Rise of Labour

• The Effects of World War One
• Despite leading the wartime coalition
• government the party was very
• divided over the issue. Meanwhile
• Labour MPs gained valuable
• experience in government.

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Final Conclusions The Decline of the Liberals
and the Rise of Labour

• Labours Rise Meant The Liberals
• Decline Was Inevitable
• The Liberals had to balance the needs of
• both the middle and working classes which
• often proved difficult. At the end of the war
• the 1918 Reform Act enfranchised the rest
• of working class men and women over 30.
• Many turned to the Labour party which
• solely represented the interests of the
• working class.