Representation and Democracy in Britain 1830 – 1931

Authors Avatar

Yemi Makinde

Representation and Democracy in Britain 1830 – 1931

1830 - 1850

The political system in 1830

Before the Great reform act of 1830 parliament had many defects. The voting qualifications were outdated and illogical. In the counties, 40 shillings free holders had the vote, but in the boroughs there were a wide range of voting qualifications. Also the electorate was not proportional to the population. It was the aristocrats that mainly had the vote and that amounted to around less than 500,000 voters. The distribution of seats was also not match the distribution of the population. The South was over-represented while the North was under-represented. There were also rotten and pocket boroughs. There was no secret ballot, which meant there was often bribery and intimidation of voters.

The demand for political reform

The demand for reform dated back to the 18th century. There was some proposal of limited reform being introduced in 1785 but this was dropped due the outbreak of the French revolution. The Tories after the Napoleonic war were strongly opposed parliamentary reform. However the split in the Tory party over Catholic emancipation, led to the Wigs coming to power on the fall of Wellington in 1830. Earl Grey, who was long in favour of limited reform, led the new Whig government.

Most opposition for reform came from those who would not benefit it. For example, Tories in the House of Commons and members of the House of Lords who were able to nominate MPs for pocket boroughs.

With this also came some genuine against reform. Some argued that the system at the time was good and that it did not need changing. Members of the House of Lords said that pocket boroughs allowed ‘promising young men’ into parliament. There were also arguments that the important ‘interests’ of the country such as landowners and merchants were already represented. Robert Peel finally added that it would not be the end of reform and that one reform would lead to another.

The Great (first) Parliamentary Reform Act 1832

The 1832 act abolished the pocket, or rotten borough, which had formed unrepresentative constituencies, redistributed seats on a more equitable basis in the counties, and formed some new boroughs. The franchise was extended to male householders in property worth £10 a year or more in the boroughs and to owners of freehold property worth £2 a year, £10 copyholders, or £50 leaseholders in the counties.

Earl Grey and the Whigs of the 1830’s

Earl Grey was leader of a Whig government that came into power in November 1830. The Whigs promised moderate reform of parliament and so in 1830 passed the First (great) Reform Act. The Act pleased the middle class industrialists and traders but it upset working class radicals. Despite their refusal to grant further parliamentary reform after 1830 they did pass some other important reforms such as the abolition of slavery in the British Empire (1833), regulation of working hours in factories, the Marriage Act (1836), The Municipal Corporations Act (1835) and The Poor Law Amendment Act  (1834) as well others. Humanitarian such as William Wilberforce, Lord Shaftsbury and Robert Owen influenced them.

Despite the progressive reform that they introduced these reforms were driven with the need to make society more efficient and cost effective. The middle classes were pleased with the Whig government but the working class gained little.

Sir Robert Peel and the Conservatives 1841-46

In 1834 Sir Robert Peel reformed the traditional Tory party into the New Conservative Party (Tamworth manifesto).  The Tories disliked the idea of any kind of reform and in particular in the New Conservatives, Parliamentary Reform. The Conservatives were divided into two factions. One was the ‘Old’ Tories who favoured the aristocracy, the Church of England and feared reform. The other was the ‘New’ Tories who were pro agricultural, religiously tolerant and disliked the rise of the new industrial middle class. In contrast to the Old Tories, the New Tories were at least willing to consider the prospect of social and economical reform. During Peel’s government they passed a number of economic reforms but while doing this the party became increasing divided. Two main reforms led to the eventual separation of the party. The first was in 1845 when many Old Tories voted against the Maynoth grant which was a piece of religiously tolerant legislation and the party was ultimately destroyed over the Repeal of the Corn Law Act. The party divided into protectionist (Old Tories) and Peelites (New Tories). This period saw the birth of the hatred between Gladstone (Peelites) and Disraeli (Protectionist) who were both members of Peel’s Conservative party.

Chartism

This was a movement which occurred between 1838 and 1848. The Chartist movement was a result from widespread dissatisfaction with the Reform Bill in 1832 and the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834. There aim were based on a Bill called the People’s Charter which had 6 main points. These were:

Universal Male Suffrage

Secret Ballot

Equal Electoral Districts

No property qualification for MP’S

Payment for MP’s

Annual Elections

The movement submitted three petitions to parliament calling for the six points to be enforced, all of which were rejected. After the rejection of the third petitions in 1848, the movement dispersed. Ironically, all but the sixth point of the Charter has been passed.

 


1850 - 1868

Britain as “the Workshop of the World”

By 1850, Britain was the `workshop of the world'; no other country was ready to compete with it in industrial production. The towns were the source of the country's wealth, though the landowners retained their social prestige and often became much richer by ownership of coalfields. The north of England became the most advanced region in Britain; its towns grew rapidly, unplanned and frequently characterized by ugliness and dirt. Economic motives often outran a sense of social conscience and the new urban proletariat worked and lived in evil conditions under employers who had often risen from poverty and had the ruthlessness which was the consequence of their own struggle. England was divided as never before; the industrial north from the agricultural south, the industrial working classes from their employers, and both from the long-established gentry, particularly of the south.

The Great Exhibition

The Great Exhibition of 1851 in London was conceived to symbolize this industrial, military and economic superiority of Great Britain.  Just representing the feats of Britain itself would have excluded many of the technological achievements pioneered by the British in its many colonies and protectorates, so it was decided to make the exhibit truly international with invitations being extended to almost the entire colonized world. The British also felt that it was important to show their achievements right alongside those of "less civilized" countries. The prevailing attitude in England at the time was ripe for the somewhat arrogant parading of accomplishments. Many felt secure, economically and politically, and Queen Victoria was eager to reinforce the feeling of contentment with her reign.

Conceived by Prince Albert, the Great Exhibition was held in Hyde Park in London in the specially constructed Crystal Palace. The Crystal Palace was originally designed by Sir Joseph Paxton in only 10 days and was a huge iron goliath with over a million feet of glass.

Over 13,000 exhibits were displayed and viewed by over 6,200,000 visitors to the exhibition. The millions of visitors that journeyed to the Great Exhibition of 1851 marvelled at the industrial revolution that was propelling Britain into the greatest power of the time. The objects on display came from all parts of the world, including India and the countries with recent white settlements, such as Australia and New Zealand that constituted the new empire. The profits from the event allowed for the foundation of public works such as the Albert Hall, the Science Museum, the National History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

After the Great Exhibition closed, the Crystal Palace was moved to Sydenham Hill in South London and reconstructed in what was, in effect, a 200-acre Victorian theme park. Queen Victoria opened the new Crystal Palace Park at Sydenham on June 10th, 1854.

Lord Palmerston and the Liberals

Ever since Sir Robert Walpole had become Britain's first prime minister in 1721, the two main competing political groups or parties were the Tories and the Whigs. However, in 1846, the repeal of the Corn Laws by the Tories and their Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel caused such anger and disgust, particularly among certain elements of the Tory party, that the party was literally split into two. Those who had supported Peel and the Corn Law reform became known as the 'Peelites', and those who were against the reform where known as the 'Protectionists' and were led by Lord Derby and Benjamin Disraeli. These two groups became more distinct, hating each other, refusing to have anything to do with each other, and voting against each other in Parliament simply out of spite. The Peelites were usually seen to be siding with the Whigs, and this was one of the main reasons why the Tory party became so ineffective for the next twenty years.

Join now!

Parliament was effectively split into three parties. The Peelites, although the smallest of the three groups, held the balance. It was the Peelites support for Sir John Russell that helped the Whigs form a government in 1846. The Whigs won the election of 1847, but with a majority of only 100, they still needed Peelite support to get anything accomplished. As a group, the Peelites began to dwindle following the death of Peel in 1850, but their support was still vital to the Whigs and to secure power in the 1852 election, they formed a coalition government with the Whigs ...

This is a preview of the whole essay