Lesson video

Hi, I am Miss Miah.

Thank you so much for joining me in this lesson today.

In this lesson, you'll be able to explain why the Great Reform Act was introduced in 1832, and assess its impact on representation for industrial workers.

Your keywords are on the screen now and you can write them down if you'd like to.

So you've got franchise, constituencies, disproportionate, rotten borough, representation.

Great.

Let's find out what these keywords mean.

The franchise refers to the group of people who can vote in a country's elections.

The individual areas of a country that elect someone to represent them in parliament, are called constituencies.

Something may be described as disproportionate if it is too large or small in comparison to something else.

A rotten borough was a constituency which was able to elect an MP despite having very few voters.

Representation is the act of speaking or doing something efficiently for another person.

So guys, those are our keywords.

Let's see if we can use them in our writing later on.

So this lesson is all about calls for reform and the 1832 Great Reform Act.

So we've got three lesson cycles today, and our first lesson cycle focuses on unreformed Parliament.

We're then going to be having a look at pressure for reform.

And lastly, we'll be looking at reform and industrial workers.

I'm super excited about this lesson.

I hope you're too.

Let's begin.

By the start of the 1830s, pressure to reform Parliament was growing stronger and stronger.

The unreformed Parliament was particularly poor at representing Britain's growing population of industrial workers.

Three key reasons why Britain's unreformed Parliament represented industrial workers poorly.

Let's have a look at them.

So we've got franchise, person voting.

Constituencies, and here we've got an outline of the UK.

And MPs, and this image shows a men in top hats.

So let's look deeper.

The franchise for the unreformed Parliament was a major problem for industrial workers because of property qualifications across the country to gain the right to vote.

Most people were expected to own property worth a certain value.

However, the low wages, which most industrial workers earned, made it unrealistic for them to own property.

In 1830, it is estimated that less than 1% of the population had the right to vote in parliamentary elections.

Representation for industrial workers in the unreformed Parliament was also poor because of the way constituencies were organized.

In 1831, an area known as Old Sarum, was represented by two MPs in Parliament, whereas, Manchester had no MPs of its own.

This was despite the fact that nobody lived in Old Sarum by 1831, whilst over 140,000 lived in Manchester.

British constituencies had mostly been organized in the Medieval period long before the industrial revolution began.

This meant that new industrial cities like Manchester, Birmingham, or Glasgow, often elected no MPs to the House of Commons, whilst places like Old Sarum, that had been important in the Medieval period but had since declined, still elected their own MPs.

Because of its disproportionate representation in Parliament, Old Sarum was often described as a rotten borough, and there were many others like it.

Finally, representation for industrial workers also suffered because of the rules around becoming an MP.

MPs had to pass a property qualification.

This meant that to sit in Parliament, MPs had to own their own property.

Most industrial workers did not own property of their own, so would not have been eligible to attend Parliament if they were elected.

MPs also did not receive a salary.

This made it virtually impossible for industrial workers to become MPs themselves as they simply could not afford to effectively work without paying for several years.

Over to you.

Write the missing word.

"Most people had to own to be part of the franchise.

" What do you think this is?

You can pause the video here.

So what did you get?

If you got "property", you are correct.

Let's move on.

Back to you.

Which two barriers prevented many industrial workers from becoming MPs?

Is it A, MPs did not receive a salary, B, MPs had to be literate, C, MPs had to own property, or D, MPs had to be from noble backgrounds?

What do you think?

You could pause the video here and click play once you've got the answer.

So if you got A, you are correct, MPs did not receive a salary, and C, MPs had to own property.

Let's move on.

Rotten boroughs were a problem as they elected more MPs just because lots of people live there.

Is this true or is this false?

You could pause the video here and click play once you've got the answer.

So what did you get?

If you got false, well done.

Now I'd like you to justify your answer.

Is it because A, nobody lived in Old Sarum, but it still had two MPs in 1831, or is it B, no one who lived in Old Sarum got to vote for an MP in 1831?

What do you think?

You could pause the video here and click play once you've got the answer.

So what did you get?

If you got A, you are correct.

Let's move on.

Back to you again.

Write the missing keyword.

"Rotten boroughs meant that representation in Parliament was compared to the population.

" What do you think?

You could pause the video here and click play once you found the missing keyword.

So what did you get?

If you got "disproportionate", well done.

Task A.

I'd like you to match each of the three terms with the correct explanation of why they were a problem in the unreformed Parliament.

So we've got franchise, constituencies, and MPs.

And on the right, we've got the explanation.

So we've got, "Only property owners could sit in Parliament and members were not paid.

" "Rotten boroughs were overrepresented whilst many industrial cities elected no MPs.

" And, "High property qualifications meant that only 1% of people had the right to vote.

" You could pause the video here and click play once you've completed this task.

So how did that go?

Well, this is what you should have got.

Franchise, "High property qualifications meant that only 1% of people had the right to vote.

" Constituencies, "Rotten boroughs were overrepresented whilst many industrial cities elected no MPs.

" And lastly, MPs, "Only property owners could sit in Parliament and members were not paid.

" Well done if you managed to match those correctly.

Let's move on.

Two, explain why Britain's unreformed Parliament was a problem.

You may use your answers to part one of Task A to help you.

So how did that go?

Well, your answer may have included something like this.

Let's read this paragraph together.

"Britain's unreformed Parliament was a problem because it failed to represent most people in the country.

For example, poor people were not represented as property qualifications prevented them from voting and from becoming MPs.

Similarly, rotten boroughs were overrepresented whilst many industrial cities elected no MPs.

" Well done if you managed to include some of those key points and for completing this task.

Lesson cycle two, pressure for reform.

In 1832, a new law to reform parliament and the electoral system was successfully passed.

This became known as the Great Reform Act.

Pressure from within and beyond Parliament contributed to the passing of the Great Reform Act.

On the left, we have a portrait of Earl Grey, Prime Minister from 1830 to 1834.

And on the right, we have an engraving of Thomas Attwood.

New government led by Earl Grey came to power in 1830.

Earl Grey and his political party, The Whigs, supported reform of Parliament.

Unlike many members of the Tory party, which had previously been in government, Grey's government began preparing plans for a reformat as soon as it came into power.

There was also growing public pressure for reform.

In 1830, Thomas Attwood set up the Birmingham Political Union, otherwise known as BPU.

The BPU argued that all men who pay taxes should be able to vote, that industrial cities and towns should be represented by their own MPs, that the property qualification for becoming an MP should be abolished, and that MPS should be paid a salary.

Most members of the BPU could not vote in elections for the unreformed Parliament, but by 1832, BPU meetings attracted up to 200,000 people, and similar organizations were established in other industrial areas.

Which statement is the most accurate?

A, both the Tory and Whig party supported reform, B, the Tory party supported reform, but not the Whigs, C, the Whig party supported reform, but not the Tories, or D, neither the Tories nor the Whigs supported reform?

You can pause the video here and click play once you've got the answer.

So what did you get?

If you got C, the Whig party supported reform but not the Tories, well done.

Let's move on.

Back to you again.

Which of these was not a demand of the BPU?

A, more MPs for industrial cities, B, salaries for MPs, or C, votes for female taxpayers?

What do you think?

You could pause the video here.

So what did you get?

If you got C, votes for female taxpayers, well done.

Let's move on.

Back to you again.

True or false?

The BPU was only able to put limited pressure on the government.

Is this true or is this false?

You can pause the video here and click play to continue.

So what did you get?

If you got false, well done.

I'd like you to now justify your answer.

Is it because A, the BPU organized its members to ensure pro-reform MPs were elected, or B, the BPU organized mass meetings with crowds of over 200,000 people?

You can click play once you've got your answer.

So what did you get?

If you got B, you are correct.

The BPU organized mass meetings with crowds of over 200,000 people.

Let's move on.

Task B.

I'd like you to complete table below by identifying an example of, pressure from within government for reform and pressure from outside Parliament for reform.

You can pause the video here and click play when you're ready to continue.

So what did you get?

Well, let's have a look.

Pressure within the government.

"So a new Whig government, committed to reform and led by Earl Grey, came to power in 1830 and introduced the Great Reform Act.

" And then let's move on to pressure from outside of the Parliament.

"So the Birmingham Political Union, BPU, was founded by Thomas Attwood.

The BPU held mass meetings and called for changes such as expansion of the franchise.

" Well done for completing this task.

Lesson cycle three, reform and industrial workers.

Let's begin.

The Great Reform Act expanded the franchise for parliamentary elections.

The number of people who could vote increased by more than 60%.

However, a property qualification remained, which continued to exclude most industrial workers.

For the first time, the Great Reform Act also formally excluded women from voting in elections.

Although it had not been common, there were not any formal restrictions to prevent women from voting in elections before 1832, unlike those included in the Great Reform Act.

As a result, the franchise only expanded to include one out of five adult males after 1832.

The Reform Act also abolished most rotten boroughs, such as Old Sarum.

This allowed seats in the House of Commons to be redistributed so that 67 new constituencies were created.

Industrial cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, and Glasgow, were able to elect their own MPs for the first time and were each represented by two MPs in the reformed Parliament.

Thomas Attwood, the man who had founded the BPU, became one of Birmingham's first two MPs.

However, representation in the House of Commons was still disproportionate as some small constituencies survived.

For example, Totnes, which had a population of just 6,000 people in the 1830s, continued to be represented by two MPs.

The Great Reform Act did not change any of the laws around sitting as an MP in Parliament.

This meant that anybody who was elected as an MP still had to pass the property qualification to actually attend Parliament, and it remained the case that MPs were not paid a salary for their work.

Over to you.

How did the Great Reform Act affect the franchise in Britain?

Is it A, it increased the number of constituencies by more than 60%, B, increased the number of voters by more than 60%, or C, reduced the number of voters by more than 60%?

What do you think?

You could video here and click play once you got the answer.

So what did you get?

If you got B, you are correct.

The Great Reform Act affected the franchise in Britain by increasing the number of voters by more than 60%.

Let's move on.

Back to you again.

True or false?

The Great Reform Act did not meet all of the BPUs key demands.

Is this true or is this false?

You could pause the video here and click play to continue.

So what did you get?

If you got true, well done.

I'd like you to now justify your answer.

Is it because A, cities like Birmingham, Manchester, and Glasgow still do not have their own MPs, or B, MPs elected to Parliament still receive no salary and had to pass a property qualification?

You could pause the video here and click play once you've got the answer.

So what did you get?

If you got B, you are correct.

Let's move on.

Back to you again.

True or false?

After 1832s, a number of MPs representing an area was proportionate to its population.

Is this true or is this false?

You could pause the video here.

So what did you get?

If you got false, well done.

I'd like you to now justify your answer.

Is it because A, some small constituencies continue to send a disproportionate number of MPS department, or B, industrial cities were given disproportionately more MPs to reflect their growing economic importance.

What do you think?

You can pause the video here and click play when you've got the answer.

So what did you get?

If you got A, you are correct.

Well done.

Task C.

Lucas says, "Industrial workers would've been happy with the changes made by the Great Reform Act.

" Sofia says, "Industrial workers would've been disappointed with the changes made by the Great Reform Act.

" Whose opinion do you agree with more?

Explain your answer.

And you can use this sentence starter here.

"I agree with opinion of the Great Reform Act more.

For example, this was important because.

.

" So I'd like you to explain why as well.

You could pause the video here.

So how did that go?

Let's have a look at this example.

So I agree with Sofia's opinion of the Great Reform Act more.

For example, the Great Reform Act made no changes to the salary or property qualifications in place for MPs.

This was important because it meant that industrial workers still could not afford to become MPs, so their interests could still be overlooked in Parliament.

Alternatively, your answer may have also included something like this.

"I agree with Sofia's opinion of the Great Reform Act more.

For example, the Great Reform Act left some small constituencies like Totnes with two MPs.

This was important because the same number of MPs also represented large industrial cities like Manchester, and so representation remained disproportionate.

" Well done for completing this task.

We've now reached the end of this lesson so let's summarize our learning.

So this lesson was all about cause for reform and the 1832 Great Reform Act.

You now understand that the unreformed Parliament before 1832 represented industrial workers very poorly.

The BPU created public pressure for parliamentary reform, which was passed by Earl Grey's Whig government in 1832.

The 1832 Great Reform Act extended the franchise, but most industrial workers remained without the vote.

The Great Reform Act gave industrial towns and cities their own MPs.

And lastly, you understand that the Great Reform Act did not make it easier for industrial workers to become MPs.

Thank you so much for joining me in this lesson.