The Reform Act of 1867

The Lion Vs The Unicorn.

To provide learners with a detailed knowledge

of the passing of the Second Reform Act of 1867.

To Explore the what motivated the Conservatives to pass the reform act and the effects that it had.

Aim

Identify the causes for a renewal in the issue

of Parliamentary reform. Describe the passage of the Act through

Parliament. Describe the content of the Act Evaluate the motivations behind the

Conservatives putting the act before Parliament.

Identify why the Liberal Party benefited from the Reform Act.

Analyse the impact the Act of the Conservative party.

Outcomes

Background

Failure of 1832 Great Reform Act Increasing population, particularly in

urban areas Development of Railways, printed

materials and education Changing political identities Strengthening of Trade Unionism Growth of Radical calls for reform Growth of reform organisations

Why the calls for reform?

1864 – Reform Union founded 1865 – Reform League founded 1865 – Lord Russell Became PM 1866 – Gladstone introduced a reform bill

(June)This bill was defeated in the Commons (June)Russell resigned and Lord Derby

became PM, Disraeli becomes Chancellor (July) Hyde Park riots

1867 – (March)Disraeli introduced the Reform Act (August) Reform Act became law.

Passage of the Act

Thinking back to the Great Reform Act of 1832, what differences do you notice about

the passage of the Second Reform Act?

Question

Extended the Franchise

In the Boroughs: All male householders could vote, regardless of the type of

dwelling as long as they had lived there for 12 months. Lodgers paying at least £10 per month in rent could also vote,

again as long as they had been there 12 months. In the Counties:

Arrangements remained as per 1832 but with the addition: Owners or leaseholders of lands of yearly value of £5 or more

could vote, along with owners of land to a rateable value of £12 per year who also paid poor rates.

Redistribution: 45 Seats were taken from Boroughs with populations of under

10,000 inhabitants and 7 towns were disenfranchised for corruption.

25 seats were given to counties, 20 seats were created for new boroughs, 6 boroughs received 1 extra seat each, and London University was given a seat.

What did the Act do?

What do you notice about the content of the

reform bill, what sort of things are missing?

Question

Read through the following extracts to see if you can identify any reasons why the

Conservative would be willing to put forward a reform bill.

Why would the Conservatives want

reform?

Effective election campaigning by Gladstone and

the Liberals.

Liberals won the Middle Class and Working Class vote.

Non-conformists were won over by the Liberal election promises concerning the dis-establishment of the Anglican church in Ireland.

Poor election campaign by the Conservatives.

Why did the Liberals win the 1868 election?

Disraeli was now outright leader of the party

Instigated party reform

Developed One Nation Conservatism

Sought to combine support from the W/C, M/C and L/C

How did 1867 impact the Conservatives?

It did not include any aspect of secret ballot

The distribution of seats left a lot to be desired

People such as miners still did not have a vote, nor did many agricultural labourers

Increased electorate meant that they were now too large to bribe effectively.

Forced political parties to realise that they would need to start explaining their policies – development of election campaigns

How did impact Britain?

Read through the article from the Spectator as

well as drawing on your own knowledge and consider the following question:

“Was Disraeli genuinely interested in creating a nation based upon the notion of ‘One Nation

Conservatism’ or was this a pragmatic political response to win the 1874 general election”

Assessment Hour