Politics Quiz 1.Name the 3 main political parties. 2.Who can vote for a Member of Parliament? 3.What is the area of land an MP represents called? 4.What is a secret ballot and why is it important? 5.Who can become an MP? 6.How much are MPs paid? 7.Why are MPs paid a salary? 8.How is the PM decided?

1.Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats. 2.Adults over 18 years who are not in prison. 3.Constituency. 4.So no one knows how you vote; you can’t be intimidated. 5.Anyone over 18, selected by their party’s constituency office. 6.The basic annual salary for an MP from 1 April 2013 is £66,396. MPs also receive expenses to cover the costs of running an office, employing staff, having somewhere to live in London and in their constituency, and travelling between Parliament and their constituency. 7.Equal opportunities, can’t be bribed. 8.Leader of the majority party in the House of Commons.

Learning Objective How had universal male suffrage been achieved in Britain in the 19 th century, so that by 1900 all men had the franchise. Suffrage and Franchise both refer to the right to vote

Key Terms for today… 1. ROTTEN BOROUGHS 2. PETERLOO 3. CHARTISTS 4. GREAT REFORM ACT 5. SECRET BALLOT ACT 6. SECOND AND THIRD REFORM ACT 1. Use the information sheet and valid websites (such as ‘BBC’; ‘learning curve’ and ‘history learning) to research the KEY TERMS and make short notes under each TERM 2. Write a summary to the question ‘How have your investigations today helped you to understand the process women would have to go through to get the vote?’

The first Reform Act (Great Reform Act) The Representation of the People Act 1832, known as the first Reform Act or Great Reform Act: Disenfranchised 56 rotten boroughs in England and Wales and reduced another 31 to only one MP Created 67 new constituencies Broadened the franchise's property qualification in the counties, to include small landowners, tenant farmers, and shopkeepers Gave the vote to all male householders who paid a yearly rental of £10 or more and some lodgers Limited change had been achieved but for many it did not go far enough. The property qualifications meant that the majority of working men still could not vote.

The Chartist movement The Chartist movement was the first mass movement driven by the working classes. It grew following the failure of the 1832 Reform Act to extend the vote beyond those owning property. Chartists' petition In 1838 a People's Charter was drawn up with six demands: All men to have the vote (universal manhood suffrage) Voting should take place by secret ballot Parliamentary elections every year, not once every five years Constituencies should be of equal size Members of Parliament should be paid The property qualification for becoming a Member of Parliament should be abolished Unrest In June 1839, the Chartists' petition was presented to the House of Commons with over 1.25 million signatures. It was rejected by Parliament. This provoked unrest which was swiftly crushed by the authorities. A second petition was presented in May 1842, signed by over three million people but again it was rejected and further unrest and arrests followed. In April 1848 a third and final petition was presented, without success.

Second Reform Act 1867 The call for universal manhood suffrage or 'one man, one vote' was still resisted by Parliament and the second Reform Act, passed in 1867, was still based around property qualifications. There was no question of campaigning for the right to vote for women too. They were still excluded. The 1867 Reform Act: granted the vote to all householders in the boroughs as well as lodgers who paid rent of £10 a year or more reduced the property threshold in the counties and gave the vote to agricultural landowners and tenants with very small amounts of land Men in urban areas who met the property qualification were enfranchised (given the vote) and the Act roughly doubled the electorate in England and Wales from one to two million men.

Third Reform Act 1884 Parliament’s resistance to ‘one man, one vote’ was partly overturned in 1884 with the third Reform Act which: established a uniform franchise throughout the country brought the franchise in the counties into line with the 1867 householder and lodger franchise for boroughs the Redistribution of Seats Act redrew boundaries to make electoral districts equal. Parliament and the political landscape changed greatly over the 19th century, beginning with a small ruling elite in Parliament and gradually increasing to be more democratic and representative. By the beginning of the 20 th Century all men had the right to vote in Britain. Votes for women However, one section of society was still completely excluded from the voting process - women. To be truly representative, Parliament still had changes to make.