Political parties in context
Women had a very difficult time gaining the vote. From 1903 onwards the suffragettes fought with increasing
vigour, but the decisive event was the First World War. After the success of women in performing jobs previously
exclusively done by men, they could scarcely any longer be regarded as incompetent to vote. The Representation
of the People Act of 1918 gave the vote to women over 30 who were local government electors (or whose
husbands were) and effectively gave adult male suffrage. These changes increased the electorate from eight
million to 21 million. Women were given the vote on equal terms with men in 1928, and as a result, there are now
more women voters than men. Until 1948, second votes were possible for university graduates and for owners of
business premises, and in 1950 the last of the double-member constituencies were abolished. The voting age was
lowered to eighteen in 1969.
Since 1944 electorate boundaries have been adjusted regularly by independent commissions with the intention of
ensuring equality of representation. The populations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been falling in
comparison with that of England. Because the distribution of seats between the four countries is done by an act of
parliament and changes are always controversial, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been able to resist
reductions in their numbers of seats and are relatively over-represented while England is under-represented.
Voting has always been first-past-the-post and voluntary, though there has been some recent pressure for
proportional representation. In its manifesto for 1997, election the Blair Labour Government promised to set up
an independent commission ‘to recommend a proportional alternative to the first-past-the-post system.’ This was
done, and the commission reported in October 1998, with a proposal that the commission described as an
‘alternative vote with top-up members. Each elector would have two votes, the first for a constituency MP's
choice, the other for individuals or a party list. The commission envisaged that 80-85 per cent of the MPs should
be constituency members, the remaining 15-20 per cent should be the top-up members
Factors affecting party success:
1997 election:
John Major became Prime Minister in 1990, following the departure of Margaret Thatcher and a bigger contrast
with his predecessor it would be hard to find. However, despite many opinion polls predicting a Labour win, he
had led his party to victory in the 1992 General Election, keeping a small majority. He served a full term from 1992
to 1997, and it was far from uneventful.
Leadership
Cartoons and satirical television programmes like Spitting Image made fun of John Major for being cynical and
uninteresting. He had trouble keeping his backbenchers and some members of his cabinet under control because
of his thin majority. Famously, he was caught on tape calling some of his cabinet members "bastards," and after
some Eurosceptic backbenchers kept defying the whip in votes on the Maastricht Treaty, he lost his parliamentary
majority by removing the whip from those habitual defiant.
Women had a very difficult time gaining the vote. From 1903 onwards the suffragettes fought with increasing
vigour, but the decisive event was the First World War. After the success of women in performing jobs previously
exclusively done by men, they could scarcely any longer be regarded as incompetent to vote. The Representation
of the People Act of 1918 gave the vote to women over 30 who were local government electors (or whose
husbands were) and effectively gave adult male suffrage. These changes increased the electorate from eight
million to 21 million. Women were given the vote on equal terms with men in 1928, and as a result, there are now
more women voters than men. Until 1948, second votes were possible for university graduates and for owners of
business premises, and in 1950 the last of the double-member constituencies were abolished. The voting age was
lowered to eighteen in 1969.
Since 1944 electorate boundaries have been adjusted regularly by independent commissions with the intention of
ensuring equality of representation. The populations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been falling in
comparison with that of England. Because the distribution of seats between the four countries is done by an act of
parliament and changes are always controversial, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been able to resist
reductions in their numbers of seats and are relatively over-represented while England is under-represented.
Voting has always been first-past-the-post and voluntary, though there has been some recent pressure for
proportional representation. In its manifesto for 1997, election the Blair Labour Government promised to set up
an independent commission ‘to recommend a proportional alternative to the first-past-the-post system.’ This was
done, and the commission reported in October 1998, with a proposal that the commission described as an
‘alternative vote with top-up members. Each elector would have two votes, the first for a constituency MP's
choice, the other for individuals or a party list. The commission envisaged that 80-85 per cent of the MPs should
be constituency members, the remaining 15-20 per cent should be the top-up members
Factors affecting party success:
1997 election:
John Major became Prime Minister in 1990, following the departure of Margaret Thatcher and a bigger contrast
with his predecessor it would be hard to find. However, despite many opinion polls predicting a Labour win, he
had led his party to victory in the 1992 General Election, keeping a small majority. He served a full term from 1992
to 1997, and it was far from uneventful.
Leadership
Cartoons and satirical television programmes like Spitting Image made fun of John Major for being cynical and
uninteresting. He had trouble keeping his backbenchers and some members of his cabinet under control because
of his thin majority. Famously, he was caught on tape calling some of his cabinet members "bastards," and after
some Eurosceptic backbenchers kept defying the whip in votes on the Maastricht Treaty, he lost his parliamentary
majority by removing the whip from those habitual defiant.
