Britain and Parliamentary Reform: Changes in Parliament

Define the Tories

William Pitt was the PM in 1783 and Tory leader who led to Tory dominance in 1783-30, which was broken by the Duke of Wellington

* Pitt outlined the principles of the Tories
* Maintenance of Law and Order
* Defense of Property
* Strong Armed Forces
* Moderate Economic Policies
* The Tories were opposed to reform out of fear of social and economic upheaval
* Pitt’s 1775 reform to abolish 36 rotten boroughs was opposed and ridiculed
* In 1829, Wellington’s Catholic Emancipation Act divided the Tories and forced Wellington to resign, leading to the Whig government
* O’Gorman: "One of the greatest shocks to the Tory Party in its entire history"

Define the Conservative Party under Robert Peel

Following the Great Reform Act, Peel updated Tory beliefs to be more acceptable to the new electorate

* Peel expanded the Carlton Club to create connections with the constituencies
* FR Bonham was appointed to reorganize the Tory organization
* Peel’s 1934 Tamworth Manifesto changed the name to the Conservative Party and sought to protect established institutions
* Conservative Seats rose to 279 in 1835
* In 1841, the Conservative Party won by 76 seats, as well as 124/144 county seats
* The Conservative Party was divided over the Corn Law repeal in 1845
* Disraeli spearheaded the “protectionists” that led to Peel’s 1846 resignation
* The "Peelites" would later be absorbed into the Liberal Party in 1850

Define the Conservative Party under Disraeli

In 1866, Disraeli believed the Conservative Party needed reform to appeal to the new electorate

* Disraeli passed the 1867 Second Reform Act to win support from the working-classes
* Disraeli encouraged local organization in 1868
* Gorst formed NUCCA to consolidate local branches and Central Office to oversee the selection of candidates
* Disraeli’s 1872 Manchester Free Hall and Crystal Palace speeches outlined new values
* Maintenance of pre-existing institutions
* Support for the British empire
* Elevation of the conditions of the people
* Disraeli formed Tory Democracy, which called for a one-nation conservatism rather than a class-based Party
* Disraeli was only elected in 1874 and lost a majority of elections
* Disraeli is considered to be the Father of the Modern Conservative Party because of his reforms

Define the Conservative Party after Disraeli

The Conservative Party would eventually outlast the Liberal Party by 1924

* Lord Salisbury created the Primrose League to encourage social conservatism
* 1891 membership reached 1 million
* 1910 membership reached 2 million
* Lord Salisbury used the 1885 Redistribution Act to create single-member constituencies and an increase of suburban seats to 62
* Lord Balfour introduced tariff reform in 1904 which was unpopular, reducing Conservative seats to 157 following the 1906 elections
* Following WWI, Bonar Law allowed the Liberal Party to resume power with social instability
* The Conservatives won convincingly under Baldwin in the 1924 elections

Define the Whigs

The Whigs refer to MPs that organized themselves under Charles James Fox, who supported Liberal reforms such as the reduction of executive powers

* Earl Grey became PM in 1829 and created the 1832 Reform Act to introduce reform 'large enough to satisfy public opinion'
* Grey continued his drive for reform to appeal to the middle-classes
* The 1833 Abolition Act abolished slavery across the British Empire
* The 1834 Factory Act reduced work hours for factory children
* When Conservatives won in 1835, the Whigs created the Lichfield House Compact which was thought to be the first Liberal Party
* Under Melbourne, Whig radicalism declined but the Conservatives still won in 1841 by 76 seats because the Whigs appeared too radical

Define the Liberal Party under Gladstone

Gladstone founded "Gladstonian Liberalism" in 1868 after Palmerstone and Russel’s dismissals

* Liberalism under Gladstone included:
* Meritocracy
* Retrenchment
* Self-Reliance
* After the 1846 Conservative split, the Whigs formed with the Irish Repeal Party and Peelites to form the Liberal Party in 1859
* Gladstone was popular for Retrenchment and his civil policies (1870 Education Act)
* Gladstone was known as the People’s William and represented the working-class
* By 1872, people were disillusioned as Gladstone’s laissez-faire approach became unpopular
* By 1886, the Liberal Party became split over Irish Home Rule
* Chamberlain and supporters left to join the Liberal Unionists
* In 1892, Gladstone’s Home Rule Bill was rejected and he resigned in 1894

Outline the Collapse of the Liberal Party

When the Conservatives introduced tariff reform under Balfour in 1906, the Liberal Party created "New Liberalism" to reinvent itself

* "New Liberalism" was popular with the working class and secured Liberal victories under Asquith and Lloyd George
* However, the Liberal Party was no longer seen as the 'reform party' and became unpopular
* Civil unrest after WWI was exacerbated by inadequate leadership
* The Labor Party replaced the Liberals and became the new opposition

Define the Labour Party

In the 1892 General Election, 3 independent Labor MPs, such as Keir Hardie were elected

* Trade Union membership increased to 1 million in 1874 and socialism became more popular
* In 1893, the Independent Labor Party was founded, which included ex-Liberals such as Ramsay MacDonald
* In 1900, the Labor Representative Committee was created to support the Labor Party
* The 1901 Taff Vale Decision ruled unions liable for financial losses during strikes
* Unions affiliated with the LRC, which became a mass political movement with over 100 trade unions in 1903
* The 1903 Lib-Lab pact saw the former agreeing not to implement Liberal candidates in certain Parliamentary seats during the 1906 Election
* The LRC received 254,000 total votes and 29 seats
* The Independent Labor Party changed their name to the Labor Party

Outline the Growth of the Labour Party

The Labor Party became the new opposition after the 1918 Reform Act

* Labor Party support increased to 22% of the vote in the 1918 General Election, which saw an increase of Labor seats by 60
* The Labor Party outlined their aims to provide workers 'the full fruits of their labor’ in their Constitution
* Union membership increased to 8 million in 1918
* In 1924, Ramsay MacDonald formed the first Labor government with 191 Labor seats and 158 Liberal seats
* MacDonald resigned later in 1924, and the elections saw 412 Conservative seats, 151 Labor seats, and 40 Liberal seats

Define the Composition of Government in 1780-32

The Cabinet was dominated by Lords, with only 3 MPs included in 1783 and 1830

* The monarch could directly influence and intervene in the composition of Lords and the Cabinet
* Membership into the House of Lords was either inherited or provided to bishops
* The House of Lords could affect who became an MP, with their control over pocket boroughs
* The 1782 Civil Services Act under Paymaster Burke saw the abolition of 130 royal and government sinecures
* The 1832 Reform Act strengthened aristocratic influence since many county tenants and boroughs required their landowners’ goodwill
* Historian Gash believes that 60 seats remained under aristocratic control
* 70% of MPs were related to aristocracy while 20% were from middle-classes

Outline the Decline of Aristocratic Control in the 19th Century

The new electorate was primarily drawn to political parties than aristocratic influences

* The 1867 and 1884-5 Reform Acts transformed the electorate
* The Ballot Act reduced the intimidation of the aristocracy on tenants
* The Corrupt Practices Act effectively annulled electoral corruption
* The wealth of the aristocracy declined in 1846 with the abolition of the Corn Law
* British landowners struggled to compete with cheap American corn imports
* The 1894 introduction of Inheritance Tax weakened aristocratic families

Outline the Easing of Requirements to Parliament

In 1906, only 10% of MPs came from aristocratic families, since political parties became preferred

* Property qualification became an 'absurd fiction' in 1832, which resulted in the abolition in 1858
* MPs only used property qualification to remove MPs they disagreed with, such as Chartist leader Samuel Carter in 1852
* MPs who did not meet the traditional requirements could subsequently run for Parliament
* The 1911 Parliament Bill provided a £400 annual salary
* Only working-class MPs sponsored by a trade union could run prior, such as James Keir Hardie in 1906
* The Bill showed the unpopularity of the aristocratic families
* The Reform Acts also weakened the aristocracy
* Boroughs with