4º CC.SS. - TEMA 2 - Why no revolutions in England? The Reform Act

• The 1832 Reform Act was the result of a long struggle both in the streets and in Parliament, but although it enfranchised some, it had little real impact on the lives of the working classes.
• Until the 1830s, Britain's elections were neither representative nor balanced.
• A range of factors determined whether you were eligible to vote, including whether you lived in a county or a borough and whether your area was eligible to send an MP to Parliament at all.
• In a few places all men could vote, but in the vast majority of locations it depended on whether you owned property or paid certain taxes.
• Some boroughs, such as those in the rapidly growing industrial towns of Birmingham and Manchester, had no MPs to represent them at all.
• At the same time, there were notorious 'rotten' boroughs, such as Old Sarum at Salisbury, which had two MPs but only seven voters.
• There were also 'pocket' boroughs – those owned by major landowners who chose their own MP.
• Moreover, with no secret ballot, voters were easily bribed or intimidated.
• A range of factors, including a popular campaign by the Birmingham Political Union, caused many people to begin to realise that change was necessary.
• The Prime Minister at the time, the Duke of Wellington, remained defiantly against reform, but he was forced out of office.
• King William IV asked the Whig, Earl Grey, to form an administration and he used his position to pursue reform of the electoral system.
• The path of the resulting reforming Bill through Parliament was extremely tough and its being finally passed on 4th June 1832 was only as a result of widespread public unrest and the resignation of Earl Grey.
• In its final form the Reform Act of 1832 increased the electorate from around 366,000 to 650,000, which was about 18 per cent of the total adult-male population in England and Wales.
• The vast majority of the working classes, as well as women, were still excluded from voting and the Act failed to introduce a secret ballot.
• The working classes felt betrayed by an act which made no real difference to their lives.
• However, the reform of Parliament had begun, and this paved the way for the popular agitation of the Chartists.