The Growth of Democracy
In 1850, Britain was an undemocratic country. At this time the electoral system divided Boroughs and Counties. Voting qualifications were different in boroughs and constituencies. The vote was only given to men over the age of 21 providing their property was valued at L10 or more, or land was more than L2 per year in rent. Seats were distributed unequally and traditional ruling families usually formed the Cabinet. Furthermore, bribery and corruption were widespread and only the minority of the population were entitled to vote. At this time there was no form of a basic education for the population masses and there was still a lot of power lying within the House Of Lords and not with elected officials. A certain degree of money was necessary to stand for election because this was not a paying job, which, as a result stopped vast numbers of people standing for election because the did not have the finances to support themselves. Nor were they able to afford to stand for election as due to bribery and corruption, the poor stood no chance of winning as they did not have the money to provide voters with what they wanted in return for their support. For democracy, there needed to be regular elections and although at this time elections w
Towns with a population between 15,000 and 50,000 lost 1 seat and universities were now allowed only two seats. This act also helped the problem of redistribution of seats as it meant seats were organised in a more reasonable way with 25 in the Counties and 19 to the Boroughs. This way even the smallest parties will be represented in some form. Even today there are ongoing arguments about the democratic state of the British Political System. Plural voting was also still an issue in Bringing Britain towards becoming a Democratic Country. Although this act limited plural voting, this was a direct limit on the level of democracy being introduced as the wealthier were still regarded as being superior. However between 1850 and 1918, progress was made towards Britain becoming a democracy. Also the 1872 act in Scotland made education compulsory for 5 to 13 year olds. This act did not address the level of bribery and corruption. Many argue for this to be abolished and for more accountability of top Civil Servants. Many argue that our 'First Past The Post' system is undemocratic and think we should operate by means of 'Proportional Representation'. This Act also limited what funds could be spent on. In 1872, the Secret Ballot Act had reduced intimidation but failed to stop bribery. Public funds now paid back election expenses under this act, not the candidates, which allowed even the poorest people to stand.
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Acceptance Essays
