Did Britain Become More Democratic Between 1850-1918?
...influence the current situation of British politics. Britain’s population was, however, growing rapidly and due to the agricultural and industrial revolution, the lives of the lower classes had begun to change as urbanisation began to take place. The concentration of people in industrialised towns and cities led to the change and the emergence of new political ideas which in turn put pressure on the government for reform. Before 1850 there had been limited reform prompted by the fear of a revolution such as France’s. In the 1880s, Britain’s conservative government introduced a parliamentary reform act that raised the electorate from around 1.3 million to 2.5 million voters. Although this was historically of great significance it only really affected the middle class and so the lower classes were still left without a voice in parliament. The franchise gradually increased and by 1918, the Representation of the People Act was put into place where all males over the age of twenty-one and all women over the age of thirty were given the right to vote. This was seen as a positive gesture given to the people for fighting in the First World War. Even though the British public were progressively given the right to vote, the election process was deemed to be corrupt and illegally organised for many years to come. By request of the franchise the 1872 Ballot Act was introduced in an attempt to deal with the problem of electoral malpractice by allowing secret ballots. Before this Act voters could be pressured, bullied or bribed into placing votes and so this Act moved Britain closer to democracy by helping put a stop to the corruption and intimidation in elections. After the 1880 election the government also set up a Royal commission to investigate electoral practices, thus hardening the governments anti-bribe policy. This Act also ensured that voting became more of a political act than a social occasion. The Corrupt And Illegal Practices Act which established what was suitable as election expenditures and what would be seen as bribes furthered the ideals of the Ballot Act and was published in 1883. These Acts along with the Royal commission helped direct British politics towards a fairer democracy. Reform had taken place in areas that affected mainly the franchise. The government finally decided to review itself, the section of the growing democracy that needed reform the most. In 1885 The Redistribution Of Seats Act gave growing towns the right to send more members to parliament and the redistribution of one hundred and forty two seats took place. The result of this was a fairer and more modern parliament as now even more of the franchise voices could be heard and so the government continued on it is path to democracy. The 1911 Parliament Act also had a great affect on the British political system as it reduced the power of the House of Lords. This was a great leap forward in political evolution as it replaced the Lords veto, the constitutional right of the Lords to reject bills put forward by the House of Commons, with only the power to delay Bills from the House of Commons for two years. The Lords could no longer interfere with ‘Money Bills’ thus meaning ...