Class, gender and politics

UK Electorate 1866-1911

• electorate was extended and by 1880 mass electorate

  • Deliberately gradual

  • linked to ownership of property

    • men with household seen as more responsible and likely married

• 1911 = 7.9 million

  • 60% all men

women’s advancements in local gov

• 1869 vote in local elections

• 1900 around 1 million vote in local elections

  • 14% electorate

• by 1900

  • 450 on school boards

  • 200 on parish councils

  • 1000 poor law guardians

  • 160 as district or municipal councillors

• 17 groups arguing WS

  • other countries already have e.g., austrailia = britain lagging behind

Women’s Social and Political Union

• pankhursts

• radical

• increased visibility

• ‘suffragette‘ newspaper

• invaded House of Commons, property attacks, arson, hunger strikes in prison

  • cat and mouse act 1914 = forced feeding, used in anti-gov propaganda to show gov willing to do violence towards women

• media tactics

  • front of middle class newspapers with large female readership

  • aware they are being filmed = publicity stunts

  • risking polarising people = proof extreme

National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies 1897

• Milicent Fawcett = led gov inquiry into boer war

• huge profile

• kinda succeeds

• work within the law

  • rallies

  • marches

  • petitions

suffrage in parliament

• LAB want all men first

• LIB largely positive

  • Asquith not enthuaistic but DLG is (DLG disliked gradual approach because CON women would vote first)

• CONs mostly oppose as think would benefit LAB

bills in parliament stalling

ROPA 1918

• universal male and most female suffrage

  • reward for wartime service

  • munitions, farming, keeping farms and buses going

  • more visible

  • by 1918 c.80,000 women in VADs, 40,000 in WAAC

• voting age 21 unless served in war

  • women = 30+ because feared young unmarried vote

  • universal 1928 = CONs gain most

• except Consiencous Objectors and plural voting is unfair

  • 80% plural voters are CON

women as MPs

• from 1918, 21+ can stand

• one elected 1918 for sinn fein BUT refuse to take seats in protest

• nancy astor = first 1919 CON

• max 15 in 1931

  • 13 CON

  • small growth then back down

rise of labour

• TU membership from

  • 0.75 million in 1888

  • 4.1 million in 1914

• LAB MPs = 42 in 1910

• conservative posters = labour depends on capital

  • wear of wc votes

  • posters are key part of campaign

  • NEED capitalism for jobs

joseph chamberlain

• radical imperialist

• free trade dominated mid C19

• chamberlain says needs tariffs to protect from foreign competition so campaigns against FT

• lost in elections = people dislike

WW1 and class tension

• middle class dislike gains of WC = union power increased

• increased industrial action = TU powerful

• increased resentment to really rich = seen as sacrificing less

• Russian Revolution 1917 = polarised domestic politics

• Middle Class Union 1919 = pressure group to defend New Poor = higher tax + inflation means fewer servants

• LAB New manifesto = nationalisation, improved worker’s rights, better healthcare and education, state funded housing programme, more left wing radical

stanley baldwin

• rejects left and right radicals

• industrialist before politican

  • unique insight into industrial relations

• concilliator

• moral conservatism

• technically CON and Unionist Party and creates backstory of helping WC = pamplet by CONs 1925 listed 100 laws passed 1866-1923

Neville Chamberlain

• father = joseph#

• social reformer

  • key legislaton as minister of health

  • subsided housing = housing act

  • widows, orphans and OAP act = OAP now 65, offically ends poor law

• moderate langauge

1918-1924 CON dominance

• LIB split

• LAB growing

• polarisation

• LIB losing voters

• 412 MPs = Oct 1924

CON appeal to women

• anti socialism

  • aren’t contaminated by radicalism in workplace like men

  • strike then no wages for family

  • anti-communism as well = anti-family values

• empire shopping

  • empire marketing board 1928 = propaganda about buying empire goods = empire as a family promoted

  • DUTY to buy empire goods

• modernity and adaptibility

  • clear role and status

• pitched them in domestic role

  • tradiitonal victorian ideas of separate spheres for men and women

  • Mrs Maggs and Betty

  • “domestic chancellor“ = Baldwin as exchequer 1923

    • alligns with women to appeal to them

    • country needs to budget like a family

    • reducing spending and balance budget

primrose league

• founded 1883

• 1 mil members 1891

• organisation would build CON support

• for MEN so need new after 1928

  • Home and Politics 1921 = popualr with general audience

  • merged 1930 = Home + Empire

• women in central management and branches of the league

general elections 1918-35

• almost clean sweep'

• 1929 LAB have more

  • NG 1931, but crushing vicotry 1931 = 470 MPs vs 52 LAB

• shows class doesnt matter

  • impact of female voters 1928

  • CONs targetted women specifically

General Strike 1926

• in support of miners

• shows polarised

• 1.5 mil go on strike

• elites fear = upending conditional gov

• baldwin dealt with HARSHLY

  • TU back down quickly then gov limits strikers rights, Baldwin resented by some TU but didn’t get more radical

  • strike breaking volunteers

    • army and elites used