Parliamentary Reform:
Topic content:
Whigs and Tory attitudes to reform 1783-1830
Early reform attempts 1785-1830
Reasons for parliamentary reform 1828-1830
Extent of popular discontent 1830-1832
The aims and terms of the 1832 Act
The Electoral System before 1832:
There were many different franchises in the boroughs so that some had very high numbers of
voters, others scarcely any at all
Rotten Boroughs with very few voters had MPs, but growing industrial towns did not have any
representation
Elections in Pocket Boroughs were controlled by wealthy landowners
Only one-third of elections were actually contested
Bribery and threats were used in elections because there was no secret ballot
Only 11% of adult men could vote and less than 5% of the population overall
All counties returned two MPs regardless of their population
Types of boroughs:
In 27 places the corporation selected two MPs. This governing body was not elected but the
members simply co-opted other people to replace those who died or stood down
In 29 places, certain houses or plots of land carried the right to vote while others did not by
ancient custom. They were called ‘burgage boroughs’. They were usually small boroughs with
tiny numbers of voters and owned by patrons – such boroughs were often openly bought and
sold
In 37 boroughs, those who paid local taxes – called ‘scot and lot’ – were eligible to vote.
Westminster had a large number of these voters but some boroughs only had a handful and one
borough had only two such taxpayers
In some cases, voting was restricted to the ‘potwallopers’. These were the male heads of
household who had a hearth wide enough to boil a cauldron. This resulted in quite a wide
franchise but in the 1780s there were only 16 of these boroughs out of 203
In 92 boroughs, the vote was open to the ‘freemen’ of the borough and cold result in quite a
large electorate. The City of London had 7,000 voters and though 25 boroughs had 1,000 voters,
most had under 200. The corporations decided who had the freedom of the boroughs and so
numbers varied
The widest right to vote existed in the six freeholder boroughs. Here the vote was given to
anyone who held property freehold i.e. in their own right. However, these were mainly small
towns with quite small electorates
How could the system be justified?
Thought of as a MODEL – not just adequate – passionately defended and Pitt unable to secure
reform
Many believed they (the ruling classes) were the only sort capable of power
Vast majority uneducated – so would be irresponsible
Non-voters could still make views known – hustings, petitions etc. (Riots)
Authority came from the representation of INTERESTS not wide franchise
The interests – East India, west India, dissenting, city, canals, industrialists
Virtually represented all ranks and orders
Pitt’s Attempts at Parliamentary Reform:
, 7th May 1782:
o Put forward proposals to set up a Select Committee on reform
o ‘Not innovation, but a recovery of constitution’
o Defeated 161 to 141
7th May 1783:
o Brought specific motion to:
Prevent bribery
Disenfranchise boroughs guilty of Corruption
Add 100 seats for London and the Counties
o Defeated 293 to 149
o ‘My defeat was much more complete than I expected’
18th April 1785
o Small extension of the Franchise
o Disenfranchising 36 Rotten Boroughs
o Reallocating seats to the largest counties and the City of London
o Gained George III’s agreement not to oppose the reform
o Defeated 248 to 174
In 1782-5 Pitt stood for moderate reform
First attempt to push through his ideas was under the Rockingham administration, which Pitt
supported. His idea was moderate – set up a select committee to establish what reform would
be sensible. However, even such moderate proposals were defeated by a margin of just 20 votes
– this was the closest Pitt would ever come to reform
Pitt tried again 1 year later where he was more specific about the reforms he sought, but again
he spoke of the proposals as trying to return to the perfection of the constitution which had
been corrupted over time
His ideas were to prevent bribery and corruption, and to increase the representation of London
and the Countries is certainly moderate
His final call for reform came after he was in office, after the 1784 election when he was
normally secure of a majority
Pitt even took the sensible precaution of gaining a very reluctant George III’s agreement not to
stand in the way of his ideas. He appealed to the model of the constitution and sought only to
remedy errors which had arisen
His ideas for disenfranchising 36 rotten boroughs and reallocating the seats to those areas in
glaring need of more representation can hardly be seen as radical. He even intended to
compensate the rotten boroughs for their loss. Still the strength of opposition, even in a
normally friendly Commons, soundly defeated the bill
Pitt didn’t raise the issue again and in the second part of his ministry, dominated by the French
Revolution, Pitt was faced with radical demands for parliamentary reform, which he rejected
with considerable firmness.
After 1785:
War with France, threat of Radicalism
End of war, threat of Radicalism
Strong Tory party, Whigs in disarray
No realistic prospect of Parliamentary Reform in this context
Why did Parliament not substantially reform between 1784 and 1828?
Reason Explanation Mark Reason for mark
(/5)
Many No single group to press for change and no single strategy 2 This would not have been
, different to get reform. Pressure also came from radical groups important if the main parties had
groups which could be easily dismissed agreed on change
Aims were Different groups and individuals who called for change 2 This wouldn’t have been
broad were very varied and prevented any concerted or important if groups were united
coordinated actions
Persuasion The old system had so many vested interests in 4 Traditional views of government
of Parliament that even Pitt, after a large election in 1784 prevented change from occurring
Commons victory could not persuade the Commons to vote for
reform
Other Reforms were accompanied by other demands for 3 One aim would have been easier
demands example currency reform or lower taxes, which to achieve
weakened their impact and caused divisions
French The revolution in France alarmed the government and 5 British government was scared of
Revolution the propertied classes who saw any change as too a possible revolution and didn’t
dangerous – even moderate ideas for reform were want to rock the boat during a
rejected highly unstable time
Property Ownership of boroughs was seen as property and there 2 Wealthy landowners held power
ownership was reluctance by MPs and governments to interfere in Parliament so wanted to keep
with property ownership money in their favour
Division of Whigs were divided into separate sections – Portland and 3 Mood if tory minded and loyalist
Party his group had joined during the war as a coalition. Whigs during war years.
were left in a mess over the Regency Crisis which further
splits the party
Further attempts at reform:
1790 – Henry Flood (chairman of SCI) – proposed widening franchise to include householders
Society of the Friends of the People (founded 1792) (Whig young reformers incl. Charles Grey)
o Debate Reform in Commons May 1793 – lost 282 to 41
Paying taxes entitled men to have a say? (ideas of American Revolution)
o May 1797 – war going badly, taxes rising – defeated 256 to 91
1809 Bribery Act proposed by Whig John Curwen was passed but not acted on
1809 Francis Burdett reforms proposals overwhelmingly defeated
1810 Thomas Bryand – franchise extension and Parliamentary life reduced to 3 years – defeated
234 to 115 (NB over 100 votes for first time since 1785)
Different attitudes (1783-1830):
WHIGS AND REFORM TORIES AND REFORM
Fox supported Flood’s 1790 proposals (to prevent a Pitt favourable but pragmatic in face of Tory hostility
hurricane bursting forth!) and prevent revolution Revolution abroad hardened attitudes at home
Some younger Whigs admired ideology of American & While the Tories were in power there was little the
French Rev (divided) Whigs could do beyond put forward motions
o Society of the Friends of the People (1792) – which were duly defeated
incl Grey, Major Cartwright
More representation
Annual parliaments
Reform bill proposed 1793: defeated
282 to 41
Tax entitled representation
(American idea)
o Split the Whigs (older, Fox & co. vs younger
men)
Topic content:
Whigs and Tory attitudes to reform 1783-1830
Early reform attempts 1785-1830
Reasons for parliamentary reform 1828-1830
Extent of popular discontent 1830-1832
The aims and terms of the 1832 Act
The Electoral System before 1832:
There were many different franchises in the boroughs so that some had very high numbers of
voters, others scarcely any at all
Rotten Boroughs with very few voters had MPs, but growing industrial towns did not have any
representation
Elections in Pocket Boroughs were controlled by wealthy landowners
Only one-third of elections were actually contested
Bribery and threats were used in elections because there was no secret ballot
Only 11% of adult men could vote and less than 5% of the population overall
All counties returned two MPs regardless of their population
Types of boroughs:
In 27 places the corporation selected two MPs. This governing body was not elected but the
members simply co-opted other people to replace those who died or stood down
In 29 places, certain houses or plots of land carried the right to vote while others did not by
ancient custom. They were called ‘burgage boroughs’. They were usually small boroughs with
tiny numbers of voters and owned by patrons – such boroughs were often openly bought and
sold
In 37 boroughs, those who paid local taxes – called ‘scot and lot’ – were eligible to vote.
Westminster had a large number of these voters but some boroughs only had a handful and one
borough had only two such taxpayers
In some cases, voting was restricted to the ‘potwallopers’. These were the male heads of
household who had a hearth wide enough to boil a cauldron. This resulted in quite a wide
franchise but in the 1780s there were only 16 of these boroughs out of 203
In 92 boroughs, the vote was open to the ‘freemen’ of the borough and cold result in quite a
large electorate. The City of London had 7,000 voters and though 25 boroughs had 1,000 voters,
most had under 200. The corporations decided who had the freedom of the boroughs and so
numbers varied
The widest right to vote existed in the six freeholder boroughs. Here the vote was given to
anyone who held property freehold i.e. in their own right. However, these were mainly small
towns with quite small electorates
How could the system be justified?
Thought of as a MODEL – not just adequate – passionately defended and Pitt unable to secure
reform
Many believed they (the ruling classes) were the only sort capable of power
Vast majority uneducated – so would be irresponsible
Non-voters could still make views known – hustings, petitions etc. (Riots)
Authority came from the representation of INTERESTS not wide franchise
The interests – East India, west India, dissenting, city, canals, industrialists
Virtually represented all ranks and orders
Pitt’s Attempts at Parliamentary Reform:
, 7th May 1782:
o Put forward proposals to set up a Select Committee on reform
o ‘Not innovation, but a recovery of constitution’
o Defeated 161 to 141
7th May 1783:
o Brought specific motion to:
Prevent bribery
Disenfranchise boroughs guilty of Corruption
Add 100 seats for London and the Counties
o Defeated 293 to 149
o ‘My defeat was much more complete than I expected’
18th April 1785
o Small extension of the Franchise
o Disenfranchising 36 Rotten Boroughs
o Reallocating seats to the largest counties and the City of London
o Gained George III’s agreement not to oppose the reform
o Defeated 248 to 174
In 1782-5 Pitt stood for moderate reform
First attempt to push through his ideas was under the Rockingham administration, which Pitt
supported. His idea was moderate – set up a select committee to establish what reform would
be sensible. However, even such moderate proposals were defeated by a margin of just 20 votes
– this was the closest Pitt would ever come to reform
Pitt tried again 1 year later where he was more specific about the reforms he sought, but again
he spoke of the proposals as trying to return to the perfection of the constitution which had
been corrupted over time
His ideas were to prevent bribery and corruption, and to increase the representation of London
and the Countries is certainly moderate
His final call for reform came after he was in office, after the 1784 election when he was
normally secure of a majority
Pitt even took the sensible precaution of gaining a very reluctant George III’s agreement not to
stand in the way of his ideas. He appealed to the model of the constitution and sought only to
remedy errors which had arisen
His ideas for disenfranchising 36 rotten boroughs and reallocating the seats to those areas in
glaring need of more representation can hardly be seen as radical. He even intended to
compensate the rotten boroughs for their loss. Still the strength of opposition, even in a
normally friendly Commons, soundly defeated the bill
Pitt didn’t raise the issue again and in the second part of his ministry, dominated by the French
Revolution, Pitt was faced with radical demands for parliamentary reform, which he rejected
with considerable firmness.
After 1785:
War with France, threat of Radicalism
End of war, threat of Radicalism
Strong Tory party, Whigs in disarray
No realistic prospect of Parliamentary Reform in this context
Why did Parliament not substantially reform between 1784 and 1828?
Reason Explanation Mark Reason for mark
(/5)
Many No single group to press for change and no single strategy 2 This would not have been
, different to get reform. Pressure also came from radical groups important if the main parties had
groups which could be easily dismissed agreed on change
Aims were Different groups and individuals who called for change 2 This wouldn’t have been
broad were very varied and prevented any concerted or important if groups were united
coordinated actions
Persuasion The old system had so many vested interests in 4 Traditional views of government
of Parliament that even Pitt, after a large election in 1784 prevented change from occurring
Commons victory could not persuade the Commons to vote for
reform
Other Reforms were accompanied by other demands for 3 One aim would have been easier
demands example currency reform or lower taxes, which to achieve
weakened their impact and caused divisions
French The revolution in France alarmed the government and 5 British government was scared of
Revolution the propertied classes who saw any change as too a possible revolution and didn’t
dangerous – even moderate ideas for reform were want to rock the boat during a
rejected highly unstable time
Property Ownership of boroughs was seen as property and there 2 Wealthy landowners held power
ownership was reluctance by MPs and governments to interfere in Parliament so wanted to keep
with property ownership money in their favour
Division of Whigs were divided into separate sections – Portland and 3 Mood if tory minded and loyalist
Party his group had joined during the war as a coalition. Whigs during war years.
were left in a mess over the Regency Crisis which further
splits the party
Further attempts at reform:
1790 – Henry Flood (chairman of SCI) – proposed widening franchise to include householders
Society of the Friends of the People (founded 1792) (Whig young reformers incl. Charles Grey)
o Debate Reform in Commons May 1793 – lost 282 to 41
Paying taxes entitled men to have a say? (ideas of American Revolution)
o May 1797 – war going badly, taxes rising – defeated 256 to 91
1809 Bribery Act proposed by Whig John Curwen was passed but not acted on
1809 Francis Burdett reforms proposals overwhelmingly defeated
1810 Thomas Bryand – franchise extension and Parliamentary life reduced to 3 years – defeated
234 to 115 (NB over 100 votes for first time since 1785)
Different attitudes (1783-1830):
WHIGS AND REFORM TORIES AND REFORM
Fox supported Flood’s 1790 proposals (to prevent a Pitt favourable but pragmatic in face of Tory hostility
hurricane bursting forth!) and prevent revolution Revolution abroad hardened attitudes at home
Some younger Whigs admired ideology of American & While the Tories were in power there was little the
French Rev (divided) Whigs could do beyond put forward motions
o Society of the Friends of the People (1792) – which were duly defeated
incl Grey, Major Cartwright
More representation
Annual parliaments
Reform bill proposed 1793: defeated
282 to 41
Tax entitled representation
(American idea)
o Split the Whigs (older, Fox & co. vs younger
men)
