How far do you agree that the transition from meritocracy to democracy between 1832 and 1932 was the result of pressure from below and timely concession from above?

The move towards democracy may have been helped along by popular pressure, the coming together of groups in society for a political cause but as to whether it was the main driving force for concessions by Parliament, is a different matter. There are two types of pressure, the first being moral forces, which is those that use peaceful protest to get their views heard, the second grouping physical forces used other methods such as violence to put their point across, as they believed it to be the only way that worked. There are other factors that may have had an impact that should be considered also, such as the war.

The physical forces within the Chartist movement (1837 to 1848) and the Suffragettes movement (1903 to 1914), proved to be a destructive to their causes more than anything else. After a Chartist meeting in Birmingham in July of 1839 there were the Bull Riots which saw the arrest of William Lovett, the leading spokesman of the “moral force” Chartism view, shortly after this the House of Commons rejected the Chartist petition, the riots would have had a negative effect on this decision, however small. The Suffragette movements’ tactics, for example, setting fire to lamp posts, as well as “Black Friday” on the 18th November 1910. These attacks on property could not be tolerated, Asquith was said to have been repulsed by the violence and did not want to be seen giving into terrorism especially with the situation in Ireland. Millicent Fawcett, the leader of the Suffragist Movement, believed the WSPU, by 1913 had become a more serious obstacle to success than the anti – female suffrage members in the Cabinet. It may appear that physical forces played some kind of part in the passing of the 1832 and 1867 Reform Acts, as there were larger bouts of disorder from groups like the Luddites who were smashing machinery. When looking closer at the Acts it is clear those that were enfranchised were so under the principle of meritocracy meaning that they would own property themselves and so would what to protect it. Thus only those with property were given the vote and not those involved in revolution, which shows that physical force as a pressure from below if anything hindered the transition to democracy.

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The moral forces within the Chartist and the Suffragist movements may not have been the primary reason for reform but were of some help as it made it harder to deny them the vote as they were working within the political system. The Chartists used petitioning as their vehicle for the six point plan, which is an example of them working within the system, though they did fail to achieve any of their aims. The Suffragists, 1866 to 1918, tried to gain support of all the political parties, this showed them to be a moral force since it was done peacefully. Though, by doing this they did lengthen their struggle as it caused divisions within the parties and so party leaders would ignore their issues so as to not cause splits within their own parties. In the long term the Suffragists had a greater impact, as they showed themselves to be no threat to those in power, however the concessions made were in no way timely as they were only given if those above did not feel threatened.

Trade Unions were a type of pressure from below as they were a working class organisation, their involvement in the political system showed those above that some sectors of the working class were working within the meritocratic principle. 1851 saw the establishment of the Amalgamated Societies of Engineers, the first for skilled workers. For the first time trade unions were seen to be respectable and responsible, due to the fact they were taking responsibility for their own, providing unemployment funds as well as a widow and orphan fund to its members and their families. This showed that there were elements of the working classes that were stake holders in society with property, rented and owned, thus they merited the vote. In 1871 the Trade Union Act was passed, after the Royal Commission had advised Gladstone to do so. Trade unions became very involved in politics and in getting political reform, at the turn of the century trade unions became linked with the Labour Party, trade unions decided in1900 to found their own political party, the Labour Representation Committee, which became the Labour Party in 1906. By becoming a political party, Trade Unions established themselves as a part of the system, thus showing that they are working within the meritocratic principle which equates to them not being a threat to the aristocracy as they were working with them, under their terms.

Gaining concessions through out this period proved to be a difficult task as the aristocracy wanted to maintain their position within society and so before any concessions could be made they had to be sure they would still be in the driving seat. It was the ends what they kept in mind, the means were almost an irrelevance. The 1832 Reform Act was passed to keep the aristocracy in power, it was a meritocratic measure to conserve the political system as much as possible, though it did set a precedent that would later make the transition to democracy easier. Political parties in 1867 eventually made concessions because it became apparent, especially to the Conservative Party, that they had little to lose and a lot to gain from changing the electoral system. Even further on in 1928, the Equal Franchise Act was not opposed by the Labour Party because they were set to receive the working class vote and the Conservative Party too because they would receive they middle class support, by this time the Liberals were in decline. Therefore concessions, not timely, were only made because the aristocracy felt they were not under threat

The transition from meritocracy to democracy was slowed down by the dominance of the aristocracy who had no intention of forming a democratic state, concessions were only to be made if it benefited the parties and their position was assured. This is why John Bright’s Reform Union was successful at getting skilled workers the vote, because the aristocracy still felt that they were in control. The 1867 Reform Act forced Gladstone down the line of the Education Acts 1870 and 1872 as well as the 1883 Corrupt and Illegal Practices Acts and the 1884 Representation of the People Act to protect the enfranchised. The significance of the legislation passed under Gladstone is that in the long term it made democracy easier to reach, as moral forces could use them to show that others deserved the vote even without property. This is despite the fact the Gladstone had intended for the 1885 Redistribution of Seats Act to be the end of all reform.

The impact of World War I as a short term factor has importance to the transition to democracy. It had become apparent to the coalition government in place at the 1915 General Election that the electoral registers needed to be revised. Most men were overseas and to qualify to vote you had to be a resident for at least a year in Britain, which meant that many were unable to vote. The coalition government were unable to come to any sort of resolution and so in 1916 a committee was set up consisting of parts of the House of Lords and Commons, known as the Speaker’s Conference. The committee agreed on all recommendations for extension except for how the vote should be granted to women this effectively became the 1918 Reform Act, bringing the largest increase in the electorate seen of late. Concessions, therefore were not timely but were given because the coalition government needed some kind of solution though it turned out to be more of a compromise made by all the parties.

A long term factor was the struggle to enfranchise women, the Suffragette Movement’s violent tactics hindered the movement on the whole. The Suffragists proved that women were not hysterical or without reason as well as that they worked within the meritocractic principle leaving little reason for them not to be enfranchised. They also helped in the war effort stopping everything to help, they also changed the name of their magazine to “Britannia” to show patriotism. The women who received the vote in 1918 did nothing with it, which proved that they were no danger to the political system, they may even make it more conservative, and so the Equal Franchise Act in 1928 was not going to be a huge risk for the government to take. Once again the transition to democracy was based on the results being of no threat to the aristocracy, therefore not timely concessions or popular disorder.

Physical forces proved to be ineffective as governments could not afford to be seen to be giving in to violence, moral forces on the other hand made politicians see that they merited the vote and although they are not the primary reason for the transition they certainly played a part. It is clear that the governments in office gave concessions only when it suited them, it was all for their benefit. Therefore the meritocratic democracy that was put in place was come to by fault rather than intention.

Louise Vaz