General election – 18 per cent of adult males entitled the vote, Whigs return to power
1834 – Tamworth Manifesto – Sets out Robert Peel’s vision for future Conservative Party, Peel becomes PM
1835 – General election - Peel leads a Conservative minority administration
Lichfield House Compact – Combination of Whig, Irish and radical MPs bring down Peel’s government
Municipal Corporations Act – Borough corporations, the body of people responsible for running the boroughs, to be elected annually, establishment of local political clubs and associations
1836 – London Working Men’s Association (LWMA) founded – Founder members were William Lovett, Francis Place, and Henry Hetherington, they aimed to appeal to skilled workers seeking reform
Founding of Reform Club – Formed by Whigs and middle-class radicals to encourage voter registration and dissemination of Whig/Liberal propaganda
1837 – Queen Victoria accedes to the throne – General election
Six points of the ‘People’s Charter’ written – Produced by the LWMA, together with 6 radical MPs
First appearance of the Northern Star – Chartist newspaper printed in leads, and edited by Feargus O’Connor
1838 – Publication of the People’s Charter – Printed in London along with a National Petition for Chartists to sign
London Democratic Association (LDA) founded – A re-branding by George Julian Harney,of the East London Democratic Association (formed in 1837) and intended to be the unskilled workers’ alternative to the LWMA
Mass rallies and meetings – Held throughout the country, many to elect delegates to a National Convention
1839 – Year of action – National Convention met in London, National Convention moved to Birmingham
Bedchamber Crisis – Melbourne offers resignation of Whig ministry, Queen Victoria refuses to swap some of her Whig-leaning ladies of the bedchamber for Conservative-inclined ones; Peel refuses to form a ministry and Melbourne’s Whigs carry on
1840 – National Charter Association founded – The Chartist convention in Manchester forms the NCA and attempts to reinvigorate the movement, Lovett released from prison, Local groups nominate delegates to a general council
1841 – Second Chartist Petition launched – National Association founded by William Lovett as a rival to the more militant NCA, Feargus O’Connor released from prison, NCA agrees to present another petition, general trade depression leads to Chartist support
General election – Peel and the Conservatives have a common majority of about 80 seats
1842 – Presentation of the second Petition to parliament – Chartist convention meets in London, second Chartist Petition rejected by parliament, industrial unrest including the ‘Plug Plot’ riots supported by Chartists, trials of Chartist leaders following their arrest
1843 – Chartist Land Plan established – O’Connor tried in Lancaster, convicted on minor charges and released, Chartist Convention agrees to support O’Connor’s Land Plan to buy land on which to settle Chartists
1846 – Repeal of the Corn Laws – Peel’s Conservative Party splits between Peelites, who favoured repeal, and the majority who did not
1847 – Chartist settlement – First Chartists’ colony (O’Connorville) opened in Hertfordshire, O’Connor elected as MP for Nottingham
1948 – Year of revolutions – Revolution in France, followed by widespread revolutions across Europe. Riots in London, Manchester and Glasgow. Massive Chartist demonstration in London on Kennington Common; third Chartist petition rejected by parliament. Chartist riots in London and Bradford. Chartist land colonies opened in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire
1850 – Death of Peel – Peelites absorbed into the emerging Liberal Party under, Lord Aberdeen (Peelite) and then Lord Palmerston
1851 – Chartist Land Company closed down – Chartist Convention adopts programme of socio-democratic reform, National Co-operative Land Company wound up, Ernest Jones and George Julian Harney resign from NCA
1852 – Ernest Jones and George Julian Harney in control of Chartism – Last issue of the Northern Star, O’Connor declared insane, Support drifts away as economy revives
Reform Bill brought in by Lord John Russell’s government (Liberal) – Proposed to extend the vote to men living in property boroughs worth £5 a year and in the counties, £10, Radicals opposed the Bill because it didn’t go far enough; others opposed it because it went too far, and so Russell withdrew the Bill
1853 – Reform Bill brought in by Lord John Russell’s government (Liberal) – Proposed to extend to vote to £10 county and £6 borough householders, Bill fell on the outbreak of the Crimean War
1858 Last Chartist Convention held – Agreement made to co-operate with moderates to press for further parliamentary reform
1859 – Reform Bill brought in by the Earl of Derby’s government (Conservative) – Proposed to extend the vote to £10 householders in boroughs and counties, and no redistribution of seats, minority government and Bill defeated in the House of Commons by 39 votes
1864 – Formation of National Reform Union – A mainly middle-class organisation, pledged to fight for household suffrage and redistribution of seats
1865 – Death of Palmerston (Liberal) – Palmerston had been a leading opponent, within the Liberal Party, of further reform
Bad harvest – widespread distress
Formation of Reform League – A mainly working-class organisation pledged to fight for universal manhood suffrage
1866 – Financial crisis – Speculation leads to the collapse of Overend and Gurney, a leading London financial house
Reform Bill brought in by Lord John Russell’s government (Liberal) – Introduced in Commons by Gladstone, proposed to extend the vote to £14 county and £7 borough householders, lodgers paying £10 a year rent, men with £50 savings and to redistribute some seats; Bill defeated by a combination of Conservatives and some Liberals, Government falls
1866-67 – Cholera epidemic – 14,000 people die
1867 – Reform Bill brought in by the Earl of Derby (Conservative) – Introduced to the Commons by Disraeli, who accepts a range of radical amendments, Bill accepted by parliament and becomes law, size of electorate almost doubled to include most of the artisan working-class
Conservative National Union founded – Aimed at uniting all existing Conservative Working Men’s Clubs under one umbrella organisation
Birmingham Education League founded – Founded by Joseph Chamberlain and Jesse Collings to press for universal, secular education, Chamberlain begins to develop the Birmingham Caugus
1868 – General election – Liberal victory
1869 – National Education League founded – Joseph Chamberlain and other radicals press for a system of national, secular education
1870 – Conservative Central Office established in London – John Gorst employed as party manager
Education Act – Increases grant to Anglican Church schools and establishes secular school boards to provide schools in areas where schools previously did not exist
1871 – Trade Union Act – Trade unions given legal status and the right to strike
Criminal Law Amendment Act – Severe penalties for picketing
1872 – Ballot Act – Voting in general elections and by elections becomes secret
Licensing Act – Creates crime of being drunk in public and regulates opening times in public houses
1874 – General election – Conservative victory
1877 – National Federation of Liberal Associations – Founded by Joseph Chamberlain, in Birmingham, with the aim of providing an umbrella organisation and co-ordinating body for all local Liberal organisations pressuring the government to accept their policies
1879-80 Midlothian Campaign – Gladstone attacks Disraeli’s imperial policy as being ‘immoral’, and takes issues directly to his electors
1880 – General election Liberal victory
1883 – The Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act – Wipes out more severe cases of bribery and coercion
Primrose League founded – Admitted me and women in a hierarchical membership scheme and aimed to promote conservatism and conservative candidates
1884 – The Representation of the People Act (the Franchise Act) – The counties are given householder representation
1885 – The Redistribution of Seats Act – Seats are redistributed more sensibly to reflect the population redistribution
