1. Election Day By Hogarth 1807
1832 Electoral Reform
Election Day
By Hogarth 1807

2. What was wrong with the electoral system at this time?
The Whig government that took over in 1830, under Earl Grey, realised that some parliamentary reform was badly needed to take into account the changes that had happened in Britain.
After a long fight with the Lords the Reform Act was passed. The actual changes were not as important as the fact that the principle of reform had been established.
The major questions asked about this period are:-
What was wrong with the electoral system at this time?
How was the Reform Act passed?
How did the Reform Act change things?
How close did Britain come to Revolution at this time?

3. Political and Economic Background
By 1828 the Tory party’s attitude to reform was becoming increasingly unpopular
From 1828 the British economy was in decline and bad harvests were not helping
Popular discontent in the usually quiet countryside did not help the government
Swing Riots
The Whigs were promising Reform
Tory’s were splitting into progressives and Ultra’s

4. Earl Grey

5. Politics before 1830 [I] The Constituencies
The parliamentary system had developed in the middle ages and no longer reflected the true situation in Britain.
Each County elected 2 MPs, and each borough (town) also elected 2 MP’s.
Many boroughs no longer had people living in them while new, large, industrial towns did not have any MP’s - Pocket and Rotten Boroughs
Geographical imbalance - The South of England had 380 out of 588 seats so landowners dominated Parliament

6. [ii] The Franchise (right to vote)
The Franchise was full of anomolies.
In the Counties the vote went to owners of land worth £2 (40 shilling freeholder)
In the boroughs there were a variety of qualifications
In some virtually all males had the vote
In others hardly anyone was qualified.
This meant that most of the workers and some of the new middle classes had no vote.

7. [iii] Other factors
Only about 440,000 out of a total population of 14,000,000 could vote
Women could not vote
There was no secret ballot which led to bribery and bullying
The south was still over-represented at the expense of the North.
Parliament was dominated by landowners
MP’s were not paid
MP’s had to have £300 worth of land
Constituencies were unequal

8. Who was For Reform?
The Whigs - led by Earl Grey
Supported by the industrialists and middle classes - they believed that unless there was some reform from above there could be revolution from below.
They did not want democracy - but they would limit the vote to ‘responsible’ (property owning) members of society - Their arguments for change were:-
An unreformed Parliament did not reflect the changes in society
The unreformed Parliament was open to corruption
An unreformed Parliament would not make needed changes in society.

9. Who was against Reform?
The Tories - They saw reform as an attack on the establishment and status quo which would ultimately destroy the great institutions of the country
Peel (their greatest spokesman) argued :-
The anomolies in the system made sure that all interests were represented somewhere
Rotten and Pocket Boroughs were useful in allowing men of talent to enter Parliament
Reform would make it difficult to carry out the government’s business as there would not be enough Government MP’s
Once started, reform would be difficult to stop

10. How the reform Bill was Passed
Grey instructed a committee to draw up a Bill that would satisfy demands for reform but would not go too far.
March 1831 Lord Russell introduced the Bill to Parliament, it said:-
56 small boroughs lost 2 MP’s 30 others lost 1
22 towns gained 2 MP’s 20 others gained 1
The vote - In the countryside 32 qualification remained but tenants with property worth £50 could now vote
In towns the vote went to men who owned or rented property worth £10 a year
Voters had to be registered

11. The bill got through the House of Commons by one vote as the Tories had planned not to oppose the introduction but sabotage it at a later stage. This they did in the committee stage, delaying it. The King allowed the Whigs to hold a general election with reform as the main issue.
The result was an overwhelming victory for the Whigs and reform. The Tories then blocked the Bill in the Lords. This led to riots and demonstrations throughout England and Wales. Finally, the threat by King William IV to create as many Whig nobles as necessary forced the Lords to back down. In June 1832 the Bill became law.

12. The Results of the Act
The Act increased the number of voters by about 50% from about 440,000 to 652,000. However, the first elections after the Act saw a Parliament similar to those before the Act. The south was still over-represented at the expense of the North.
Still only a fifth of the population could vote
still no secret ballot
Parliament remained dominated by landowners
Although the Great Reform Act had not brought in democracy it had paved the way for future reforms of Parliament. It did not end the demands of reformers and radicals.
Many people were disappointed with the Act and it would not be long before more reform happened

13. Discussion points
Why were the Whigs in favour of parliamentary Reform?
Why were the Tories against Parliamentary Reform?
What changes were made to the electoral system by the great reform Act?
Was Britain near revolution in 1832?

14. Possible examination Questions
Why was there a demand for parliamentary reform in 1830?
How far did the government meet the demand for reform?