Account for the widening of the franchise in Britain

             Account for the widening of the franchise in Britain
             Between 1850 and 1928 enfranchisement had grown rapidly. There
             were many aspects which contributed to the rapid growth of the
             franchise in Britain: government legislation, changing society, various
             reform movements, different individuals who worked for reform, the
             womens right movement, emergence of socialism, a factor which
             preached equality and finally the Labour Party.
             Changing society, the period 1867 to 1928 saw a very large change in
             Britains political identity. The effectiveness of industrialisation and
             urbanisation were catalysts for social change which transferred the
             political system from a limited democracy to a modern representative
             Liberal democracy. This made people fight for justice and equal
             rights. They began to fight for political, social , economic change
             through pressure groups like the Independent Labour Party, Woman
             Social, Political Unions and Trade Unions. People sought social,
             political and economic change, however reform was not given,
             therefore it had to be fought for. I think this partly contributed to the
             widening of the franchise because people now began to want change,
             they sought for equality and were determined to get it. This
             encouraged other people, therefore it had a knock on effect on other
             people. More and more people wanted the right to vote.
             Another aspect, the Government dreaded the idea of revolution. In
             1848 there were plenty of revolutions occurring around the world
             there was the French revolution, this encouraged ideas to spread. the
             Government despised this reaction. the French revolution led to an
             upsurge of interest in reform, however the violence of the French
             Revolution made the consider enlarging the franchise.
             The "apprehension" of the French Revolution saw an greater extend
             in democratic changes which allowed the expansion of franchise in
             ...

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