23.1

  In 1815 Britain was ruled by a constitutional monarchy with a parliament and two political parties.  Fewer than 5% had the right to vote, the wealthy dominated politics and the rich members of the House of Lords could veto any bill proposed by the House of Commons.  In the 1820s Catholics and non-Anglican Protestants gained suffrage rights.  During the Industrial Revolution population centers shifted. Rotten boroughs, rural towns that lost citizens had more parliamentary representatives than new industrial cities. The Reform Act of 1832 fixed this problem and increased the electorate.  During the 1830s, protestors known as Chartists pushed for reform. They demanded a secret ballot, annual parliamentary elections, and salaries for members of parliament. Reforming Parliament

  Queen Victoria was the longest reigning British monarch( ).She embraced a strict code of morals and acknowledged the fact that lower classes deserved more rights. The Victorian Age

  Benjamin Disraeli created the Tories, a conservative political party. William Gladstone was the leader of the liberal Whig Party. Both men served individually as prime minister  Disraeli widened suffrage to include working class men with the Reform Bill of  Gladstone gave the right to vote to farmers and most other men.  By 1900 Britain had become a parliamentary democracy in which its leaders were chosen by and had to answer to parliament. The veto power of the House of Lords was limited. A New Era in British Politics