They displayed a greater incentive to accept the standards of the society in which they lived. This is apparent as they had formed Free Libraries, hence showing that they were more aware of culture and were educated. So in a sense this put popular pressure on the government, as more men were becoming educated and civil and therefore felt they should be represented better. Moreover the working classes began to use the press to spread political knowledge this candidness put pressure on the government for reform as the masses were coming together for improvements.
Additionally the defeat of Gladstone’s Bill in 1866 could have helped with the passing of the 1867 Act. Gladstone wanted to extend the electorate as he had noticed the advance of the working people by using travelling opportunities for public speaking. Gladstone was always received well by the public who were impressed by his ideas of reform. His Reform Bill came with mild conditions and split the Whigs, Disraeli also argued against the Bill claiming that it wasn’t possible. It was defeated in the end and the Liberal government resigned, which gave the Conservatives a chance to take office. Though the Bill was defeated in a sense some started to see the necessity of reform. Moreover the public were disappointed as Gladstone seemed to have promised reform as a result there was an increase in pressure for reform when the Derby/Disraeli government came into power.
Disraeli had always wanted a sort of democracy – an alliance between the aristocracy and the urban workers. Therefore it could be argued that Disraeli’s personal ambitions are what drove through the Reform Act as he was very passionate about it and convinced many Conservatives of the advantages and necessities of reform. The Conservatives had begun to see reform as being inevitable hence Disraeli managed to gain their support. Moreover Disraeli wanted to out-do Gladstone, this competitive spirit meant that Disraeli ensured that his Reform Bill would be stronger and better than Gladstone’s. This was another reason why the Reform Act was passed as Disraeli’s competitiveness led to him being ardent about his Bill and doing all that he could to get it passed.
Another factor that helped with the passing of the Bill, that wasn’t popular pressure, was the death of Palmerston in 1865. His death provided a huge opportunity for Disraeli, to not only take office but also to make major changes. As Palmerston was generally against reform and while he was alive, he was a relatively popular person who people would have followed. So Disraeli’s Bill might have been defeated but since he was dead there wasn’t much opposition to reform and Disraeli’s tactics helped hugely in getting the Act passed. Disraeli introduced the Bill at the right time this helped its acceptance as had he done it before it wouldn’t have been received as well as it had. For these reasons it could be said that popular pressure wasn’t as important as other factors.
Likewise Disraeli accepted some radical liberal amendments to the Reform Act in order to gain support from them. There were a lot of Radical demands that needed to be met and since Disraeli had at least accepted some of them he had managed to gain their support for the Reform Act. However Disraeli had accepted these demands mostly to gain support and not necessarily to satisfy the demands of the Radical Reform League therefore popular pressure wasn’t as important as other factors.
Moreover the 1832 Reform Act had proven to be safe. This Act also meant that further reform of parliament was no longer a matter of controversy thus helping the passing of the 1867 Reform Act. Additionally the 1832 Act had already begun to bring the middle class into the governing process and they had shown that they were capable of making the right choices. There was an increase in the number of £10 householders as the middle classes were gaining wealth. Therefore MP’s weren’t completely hesitant in supporting further reform. It could be argued that popular pressure was important here as more people were receiving the vote therefore the government was less reluctant to make further changes. The public also seemed to force the government for reform as the government felt the need to develop with the society.
Possibly the most important factor that helped with the passing of this Act was the fact that the perception of the Conservative Party needed to be changed. The conservative Party wasn’t seen as one of reform especially as they had supported Protection. This fact was losing them a lot of support as the public wanted reform and the Liberal party were usually seen as the Party of Reform. Therefore Disraeli had to do something in order to change this perception. Hence the Reform Act of 1867, after the Act the Conservative Party was accepted as one of reform, this helped gain a considerable amount of support from Liberal thinking people.
Another factor that helped was the ineffectiveness of Conservative opponents. They were somewhat split over the rejection of the 1866 Bill put forward by Gladstone and this meant that the Party lacked organisation, therefore making it easier for the Reform Act to be passed. Additionally something that added to the amount of popular pressure on the government was Garibaldi and his visits to the public in 1864. He created huge amounts of excitement within Radical circles for Liberal democratic excitement. His visits created an atmosphere for reform amongst the public thus putting pressure on the government.
In conclusion popular pressure was the most important factor as the other factors are all linked in with it, in one way or another. For example the safety of the 1832 Act was a result of the public showing that they could cope with the responsibility. Disraeli’s tactics was another factor which helped in the passing of the reform act, he was motivated by the idea of gaining support and this support was essentially to come from the public. Also the demonstrations put huge amounts of stress on the government for reform. Therefore the pressure put on the government by the public was the most important factor for the passing of the 1867 Reform Act.
by
scar986 (student)
