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,

more than L14 per year would get the vote. In addition the electorate

All the factors had a knock on effect on each other. However, i found

1848 there were plenty of revolutions occurring around the world

in democratic changes which allowed the expansion of franchise in

The "apprehension" of the French Revolution saw an greater extend

encouraged other people, therefore it had a knock on effect on other

Representation of the people Act 1884 and the Redistribution of the

Some common words found in the essay are:
Britain Gladstone, Unions People, Reform Bill, Party Changing, , Chartists Chartists, French Revolution, Freanch Revolution, Lords Eventually, Seats Act, people act, french revolution, franchise britain, changing society, individuals reform, widening franchise, extension franchise, people act 1884, social political, revolution encouraged, reform movements, act 1884 redistribution, representation people act, political social economic,
Approximate Word count = 809
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)