Why was reform necessary

• Corporation Boroughs

  Local council decided who was elected which was undemocratic
• Burgage Boroughs

  Houses or plots that carried the right to vote —> bought or sold
• Scot and Lot Boroughs

  Paid certain taxes could vote
• Potwalloper Boroughs

  Fireplace to fit a cauldron
• Freemen Boroughs

  Those with a status
• Freeholder Boroughs

  held property in their own right could vote
• Counties

  Voter had to own land worth £2 per year
• Rotten Boroughs

  Devoid of population but still has an MP -> Dunwich had 2 even though it had disappeared into the sea
• Pocket Borough

  in control of the landlord so they basically chose the MP by forcing their workers to vote for him
• What was the political system like before 1832:

  • Britain had no written constitution -> still doesn’t -> our system is not uniformed
  • rules for voting and procedure were not defined or consistent
  • little change since the Glorious Revolution of 1688 ==> Mary II and William III -> requirement meet regularly and there should be regular elections to the House of Commons —> 7 years at this time
  • House of Commons -> the budget and debated new legislation but the House of Lords and Monarch had to approve -> HoC and HoL had equal power
  • Parliament not meant to be fully democratic
• Who could vote before 1832:

  • Britain was divided into 2 types of constituencies -> Boroughs (towns) and Counties (countryside) -> had the right to send an MP or 2 to the House of commons —> rules varied
  • 27 corporation boroughs
  • 29 burgage boroughs
  • 37 Scot and Lot boroughs
  • 16 potwalloper boroughs
  • 92 Freeman boroughs
  • 6 freeholder boroughs
• Both Pitt and Fox benefitted from Rotten and Pocket Boroughs -> Pitt -> Applebee -> Pocket
• How a many could vote before 1832:

  • Only about 11-13% of the population could vote
  • 200 000 in the boroughs and 239 000 in the counties
  • in Scotland and Ireland this was considerably lower
• Other issues:

  • No general act defining voting rights
  • voting was an open process and often took place over Many days
  • prospective MPs could hirer lambs (thugs) to kidnap or threaten opposition
  • voters were intimidated by open voting if powerful men stood for election
  • Many constituencies -> no contests -> in 1784 only 72/243 had more then one candidate
  • MPs were not paid so had to be wealthy
  • new industrial towns didn’t have MPS
  • too many constituencies in the south and very little in the north
• The Counties:

  • qualifications to vote in the counties was more uniform and therefore simpler to understand
  • Voter had to own land => and have his name on the title deeds —> which was worth £2 per year = freeholder
  • influence of the great landowners could encourage voters to pick their choice of candidate
  • elections in the countryside were more uniform and less corrupt that those in the cities
• How else did the system differ from today:

  • no clearly defined political groupings -> MPs moved easily between Whigs and Tories
  • no manifestos or general election campaigns as the number of voters was small -> but elections themselves were more expensive as alcohol was bought so they could get voters drunk
  • ownership or a ’stake in the land’ was the reason for inclusion in politics rather than a notion of popular democracy
  • some people had more than one vote —> graduates of Oxford or Cambridge had a vote in their place of residence and could vote for an MP to represent the university
• Few elections in the 18th century went against the King’s government -> many were uncontested. In 1784, in 243 constituencies only 72 had more than one candidate. This fell to 60 in 1796.
• County elections had larger electorate. The qualification hadn’t changed since 1430 and this was the freehold. Voting in the open.
• No universal sufferage
• Voting in the open:

  • people had informal influence
  • alcohol and kidnapping
  • social betters