Evolution of Democracy

• The Great Reform Act 1832

  20% of men - only those who paid over £10 per year in rent

  2.7% of all people
• The Great Reform Act 1832

  Workers' rights movement, including political unions (BPU), after the industrial revolution led to Parliament working with business and land owners to extend the franchise as little as possible to reduce substantial protests from the working class to give the appearance of fairness
• Reform Act 1867

  Working men in cities could vote which was only 1 in 3 men and even less so in the counties

  MPs paid salaries so lower classes could also become MPs without being financially witheld
• Reform Act 1867

  Chartist and the People's Charter campaigned for further change to the voting system including equal sized constituencies, secret ballot, and MP wages

  Petitions were ignored so they resorted to violent protests
• Representation of the People Act 1918

  All men above the age of 21 regardless of property qualification could vote. Women over 30 or paying over £10 in rent were given the right to vote - the first time women were given the vote
• Representation of the People Act 1918

  Suffragettes brought a lot of attention to the movement while suffragists worked more diplomatically with groups such as the Labour Party and trade unions to promote their cause

  WW1 also saw an increase in women's roles in society, proving themselves to be equal to men and therefore deserving of the same rights
• Representation of the People Act 1928

  All men and women over the age of 21 could vote regardless of property qualification

  First time women and men had the same voting rights
• Representation of the People Act 1969

  Voting age lowered to 18 for men and women to match the social age of adulthood

  The UK was one of the first coutries to lower the voting age and other countries soon followed