issues with pre 1832 and the lead up to 1832

the secert ballot

• no secert balot

• people publicsing their results meaning they are prone to influence and coersation from others

• exentaution of the corruption within the voting system

• idimmation and bribery

pocket boroughs

• money which could be paid in order to buy your seat in parliment e.g gratton bought for £90,000 at auction in 1801

• led to wealth land owners being amoung those whom controlled parliment meaning the maintance of the system which they benefiited from occured

rotten boroughs

• a borough due to urbansation which had become less populated than it had been before e.g old salrem

• new industrial cities such as birmingham which had 144,000 population had no repressentation, whilst others still gave 2 mps to parliment

• shows how the new system wasnt working well with the times

gordon riots 1780

• anti catholic discrinmination riots

• scared the upper classes due to a fear of revolutions which turend the classes away from the idea of poltical change if the lower classes where going to behave in such a manner

• it did however help to raise the issuse of reform, further publicsing it → seen through william pitt early wanting to grant reform but being stopped by wider parliment showing how it did resignate with some whom were more radical minded but not others

the French Revolution 1789

• wider contextual element as to why there was no reform occuring

• some took advantage of the changing poltical atompshere, e,g thomas paine + rights of man whilst others such as edmund burke sought to act as a repressant towards revolution and down play it

• the government and their underlying fear of the wc power to rebel so by not giving reform this reduced their chances since they would have less poltical signifcnce within the country

• lt this highlighted how a slow gradual movement towards poltical change was wanting to occur

end of the nap wars

• 1815 → 40,000 soliders return to an econmoically depressed england (link to the swing riots)

• although not a direct causer towards parlimentary reform it showed the socio-econimcal instabilitly within england by highlightning the larger divisions between the poor and ther rich

peeter loo massacre 1819

• manchester a fields a family peaceful campagain over the working class having a poltical envolvement

• the contextual fear of revolution led to an overreaction from authorties with yeomary being relaised killing 18 and injuring 400 more

• there was a major press backlash over the brutaility of what had just occured, bring the issue of enfranchisement into public sphere

• however, it did have negative consqeucnes for the movment due to the six acts implored by parliment decreasing freedoms

the corn laws and poor harvests

• HUNGER POLTICS → it times of econmoical desitution = more likely to have more campaigns

• 1815 introduced corn laws, which put a restriction on the forgien import of grain

• role as an in direct driver towards the movement

• also further perpectualted by government lassiez faire attuide

• growth in inequalitly between classes due to a growing divide meaning wc are more likely to want to support the cause in order to pioneer for change to protect their own means

• insignifance however when it led to violenent uprsing occuring

the birmingham poltical union 1829

• founded by mc thomas attwood whom discussed the idea of wider enfranchisement in a repsectable and peaceful manner whilst cultivating a more ideological sense towards reform

• with poltical affilation due to francis burdett mp

• singifacnt by its nature creating a model for other simialr start ups but also through its role in brining attention towards the cause, 12,-000 people turning up to speeches and 8,000 signing a petition for government

• however, the cause lacked forcefulness in return for its more respectable manner meaning the government had less intresets and could reject its means without fears

• nonetheless, still signifacnt towards the public to push the idea of reform

decline in tory power

• catholic ammacipation 1829 had caused a split

• led to an internal weakness within government

• lord liverpool keeping everything together

lord liverpool and the tory crisis

• lord liverpool resigns 1827

• leads to them splitting thus further declining their power and influence in parliment only 42 mps

• signifacant in the growth of liberals within parliment whom were pushing towards enfranchisement occuring

• first bill introduced in 1831 however tories were still able to repress

the middle class

• middle class wanted enfranchisement → because they were so important often econmically to britian and had grown in both their relative size and strength they felt as if they also desevred a say

• formed pressure groups both peaceful and more radical to persuse their cause into the mindest of wide society which overall aided pressure on parliment

• due to the middle classes importance, the government was also more likely to listen to them out of their own interests

first and second bills

• not radical → disenfranchise 100 rb

• blocked by house of lords and common whom all had their intresets supplimented by the current system and didnt want to engdanger their postion by giving reform

• public = bad reaction

bristol riots

• 1831 riots due to a visit from the mp whom blocked the bill

• repressented the desire for reform too occur amoungst the population and the outrange in which bills rejection led to

• violence → started off with a poltical angenda but ended up resulting in mainly chaos leading to repression from government as seen through the use of special constumbles to appease the crowd

3rd reform bill

• context of riots led to a reconsdieration due to public backslash given

• easier passage = more conservative reform

• tory concerns due to an increase in riot behaviour

• made people think that the wc were not ready for the vote

the days of may

• 3rd reform bill is rejected by governement and earl grey resigns

• mc anger results in a protest occuring → begin withdrawing investments from banking £1.8 million

• this put pressure on government to pass the bill over the consquences that this economical backlash could have

passage of the reform act

• earl grey = resigns over the rejection of the 3rd bill

• the tories due to divisions cannot put together a parliment

• this ment that the liberals had to be called back under the provisonal for a duiltion of tory power through more liberal mps

• shows this internal failure as a direct and final push to creatin reform

provisons of the 1832 great reform act

• passed 106-22

• 56 boroughs disenfranchised

• vote = £10 owned or rened

• regesteration of voting required

significance of the GRA

• it acted as a first step towards the increase in enfranchisement - enabling later reforms to occur

• only 18% of the population could vote however, not a large increase from the 11% before, showing how to governmwnt only engranchised those whom had threatened their stabilitly and were also deemed as far more respectable

• but long term arguable that a stabilitly and maintaince of the old systen is also maintained

• signifacnt in increasing the repressentation in boroughs e.g bham and manny both had 2 mps thus signifacnt

• overall → in terms of an indivual repressentation there was only lmited and conseravtive reform provided. however in a more collective sense there was more puplic influence on gov.