British Politics in the 19th Century
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William Gladstone, 1809-1898
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Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881
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House of Commons
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Liberals
In the late17th century the term Whig was used to describe those opposed to the religious policies of Charles II. The Whigs, in contrast to the Tories, favored reform. The aristocratic connotations surrounding the name caused some politicians to refer to themselves as Liberals, a term used by reforming politicians in Europe. However, the term Liberal was not used officially until 1868 when William Gladstone became Prime Minister.
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Conservatives
The word Tories was originally used to describe rural bandits in Ireland. In the 17th century it became a term applied to monarchists in the House of Commons. By the 18th century, Tories favored royal authority, the established church and the traditional political structure and opposed parliamentary reform. After 1834 this political group in the House of Commons preferred to use the term Conservative.
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Party Voting
Year Con. Lib.
1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900
43.9 42 43.5 51.4 47 49.1 50.3
52.7 55.4 47.4 45 45.1 45.7 45
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Reform Bill of 1867
The 1867 Reform Act gave the vote to every male adult householder living in a borough constituency. Male lodgers paying £10 for unfurnished rooms were also granted the vote. This gave the vote to about 1,500,000 men.
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Lib Labs
Following the 1867 Act, the working class made up the majority of the electorate. It was now possible for members of the working class to win elections. In 1874, the Liberals agreed not to put up candidates against two working class candidates. In 1880, a third was elected. The three then became Lib-Lab supporters of the government led by William Gladstone.
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After the 1885 election there were twelve Lib-Lab MPs in the House of Commons. The formation of the Independent Labour Party in 1893 undermined the trade union agreement with the Liberals and by the outbreak of World War I, there were no Lib-Lab MPs left in Parliament.
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Reform Bill of 1884
In 1884 Gladstone introduced proposals that would give rural males the same voting rights as those living in the boroughs. Although the bill was passed in the Commons it was rejected by the Conservative dominated House of Lords. Gladstone refused to accept defeat and reintroduced the measure.
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Reform Bill of 1884, Cont’d
This time the Conservative Lords agreed to pass Gladstone's proposals in return for the promise that it would be followed by a Redistribution Bill. Gladstone accepted their terms and the 1884 Reform Act became law. It gave the counties the same franchise as the boroughs, adding about six million to the number who could vote in parliamentary elections. 12
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Redistribution Act of 1885
The Redistribution Act made the following changes: (i) towns with populations smaller than 15,000 lost their right to elect an MP; (ii) those with populations between 15,000 and 50,000 lost one of their MPs (iii) towns with populations between 50,000 and 165,000 were given two seats; (iv) larger towns and the country constituencies were divided into single member constituencies.
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The Labour Party
The Labour Party won 29 seats in the 1906 election. The 1910 election saw 40 Labour MPs elected to the House of Commons. In 1922 the Labour Party won 142 seats, making it the second largest political group in the Commons after the Conservatives. Ramsay MacDonald was elected leader of the party.
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Labour Party Poster
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