Growth of Democracy in 19th Centuary Britain.

Authors Avatar

     

                                                       British Democracy - Topic 1

1.2

a)  

 A democracy is a form of Government where a constitution guarantees basic rights, fair free                         elections and independent courts of  law. Within a democracy all adults should be given the right to vote on equal footing, and be able to vote in confidence and have a choice of who to vote for. Anyone should be able to stand up for parliament and the actions of the parliament should be accountable to the voters.  

b)  

 The French revolution popularized the idea of a reform as more and more people were becoming aware of the power they held if united against the government. The Industrial revolution brought about a change in how people lived and the people felt it about time that the government changed too. Towns grew larger and more concentrated due to job dispersion, resulting in the fast spread if new radical political ideas. The development of railways and a national press also helped to spread new ideas and allow people to access information they could not before.

Prior to any reform there was a large divide between the poor working class and the rich aristocracy that owned most of the land. At this point only the rich aristocracy were in government and allowed to vote, but the industrial revolution brought a change in the dynamics of the classes as a new breed of  middle class merchants and industrialists were formed who were also making money and felt that they to ought to have the vote due to their economic advantage. The industrial revolution brought wealth to the common folk, which influenced them to change the way the government worked.

c)

The Tory party believed that only the rich aristocrats should be allowed the vote as only those landowners had the intelligence to vote. They were opposed to giving any power to the working class as they believed them to be ignorant and selfish and felt that they would bring down the power of the government. The Tories believed the current system in place should stay how it was and was the reason behind British supremacy in the international        

world at the time.

 The Whigs, despite being, like the rest of the government at the time, an aristocratic party themselves, supported the idea of a moderate reform. They were aware of the discontent amongst the people and wished to extend the franchise to the skilled working class, who they felt were worthy of the vote. The Whigs held the rest of the working class in low regard and did not want to give into the demands of the working class, yet still wanted to enact a reform that would prevent a result similar to  that of the bloodshed of the French Revolution.

   

   

d)

It took a long time for the act to be passed due to stiff opposition from the Tories. Despite riots and protests, the House of Lords remained hostile and refused to pass the law easily.    

       

e)  

VOTERS: A further 217,000 people were allowed to vote, bringing up the electorate to 652,000. Men renting property in Boroughs rateable £10 or more per annum, owners of land worth more than £2 in rent per annum, tenants holding land on long lease for over £10 a year were all also given the vote.

Join now!

   

   

 CONSTITUENCIES: The number of MPs did not increase or decrease but the dispersion of MPs changed significantly, many rotten boroughs were stripped of their MPs and franchise was distributed more evenly to towns and larger populated areas.

   

       

f)  

Despite introducing a slightly more fair political system the 1832 Reform Act still progressed very little towards democracy as the majority of men and still no women were were given the right to vote. Voting was still corrupt, there was a property qualification for MPs and ...

This is a preview of the whole essay