In this topic
What to be able to answer
- Understand democracy as voting directly or through representatives.
- Know what pocket and rotten boroughs were and what the 1832 Reform Act changed.
- Know what the Chartists wanted in the 1830s and 1840s.
- Recall the voting-rights dates: 1918, 1928, and 1969.
Learn
From restricted franchise to universal suffrage
Democracy is a system of government where the whole adult population gets a say. This might be by direct voting or by choosing representatives to make decisions on their behalf.
The franchise (that is, the number of people who had the right to vote) grew over the course of the 19th century and political parties began to involve ordinary men and women as members.
In the 1830s and 1840s, a group called the Chartists campaigned for reform. They wanted six changes.
The six Chartist demands
Every man to have the vote
Elections every year
All regions to be equal in the electoral system
Secret ballots
Any man able to stand as an MP
MPs to be paid
The road to the vote
Voting rights widened step by step. The three dates to know are 1918, 1928 and 1969.
- Before 1832Not yet a democracyAt the turn of the 19th century there were elections for MPs, but only men over 21 who owned property could vote. Pocket boroughs were controlled by a single wealthy family; rotten boroughs had hardly any voters.
- 1832Reform ActGreatly increased the number of voters, abolished pocket and rotten boroughs and gave more seats to towns and cities. Voting still depended on owning property.
- 1867Another Reform ActCreated more urban seats and lowered the property needed to vote. Most men still could not vote, and no women could.
- 1918Women over 30Women over 30 gained the vote, partly for their contribution to the First World War. The Chartists were seen as a failure at the time, but by 1918 most of their reforms had been adopted.
- 1928Equal at 21Men and women over 21 could vote on equal terms.
- 1969Voting age 18The voting age was reduced to 18 for men and women.
Read the full explanation (1 min)Optional: the facts above, told in order as one read.
Democracy is a system of government where the whole adult population gets a say. This might be by direct voting or by choosing representatives to make decisions on their behalf.
At the turn of the 19th century, Britain was not a democracy as we know it today. Although there were elections to select Members of Parliament (MPs), only a small group of people could vote. They were men who were over 21 years of age and who owned a certain amount of property. Some constituencies, called pocket boroughs, were controlled by a single wealthy family; others, called rotten boroughs, had hardly any voters.
The franchise (that is, the number of people who had the right to vote) grew over the course of the 19th century and political parties began to involve ordinary men and women as members.
In the 1830s and 1840s, a group called the Chartists campaigned for reform. They wanted six changes.
At the time, the Chartist campaign was generally seen as a failure. However, by 1918 most of these reforms had been adopted. The voting franchise was also extended to women over 30, and then in 1928 to men and women over 21. In 1969, the voting age was reduced to 18 for men and women.
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