British Politics in the 19th Century

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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 43.9 52.7
1880 42 55.4
1885 43.5 47.4
1886 51.4 45
1892 47 45.1
1895 49.1 45.7
1900 50.3 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, Contd

• 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.

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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