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ScotlandHistorySyllabus dot point

How and why did Britain become more democratic between 1851 and 1951, and how far did it deal with poverty?

The growth of democracy through the Reform Acts and the campaign for the female vote, the reasons for the changing political franchise, and the Liberal and Labour welfare reforms that tackled poverty by 1951.

An SQA Higher History answer on Britain 1851 to 1951, covering the growth of democracy through the Reform Acts, the campaign for female suffrage, the reasons democracy widened, and the Liberal and Labour welfare reforms that tackled poverty by 1951.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.812 min answer

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  1. What this key area is asking
  2. The growth of democracy
  3. The campaign for female suffrage
  4. Why democracy changed
  5. Tackling poverty: the Liberal and Labour reforms
  6. Examples in context
  7. Try this

What this key area is asking

The SQA wants you to explain how Britain became more democratic between 1851 and 1951, why the franchise widened, how women won the vote, and how governments tackled poverty through welfare reform. This is a British option assessed by extended-response (essay) questions worth 20 marks, so you need balanced, evidenced arguments with a clear line of argument and a supported judgement. The dot point covers three linked strands: the growth of democracy, the female suffrage campaign, and welfare reform.

The growth of democracy

  • Extending the franchise. The 1867 Reform Act (Disraeli) enfranchised many urban working-class male householders; the 1884 Act extended the household franchise to the counties, bringing in agricultural labourers and miners.
  • Fairer and cleaner elections. The 1872 Secret Ballot Act ended open voting; the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act capped election spending and curbed bribery; the redistribution acts of 1867 and 1885 redrew boundaries so growing industrial towns gained seats.
  • The female vote. The Representation of the People Act (1918) gave the vote to all men over 21 and to women over 30 with a property qualification; the Equal Franchise Act (1928) gave women the vote on the same terms as men, at 21.

The campaign for female suffrage

Historians debate how far each approach won the vote. The constitutional campaign built respectability and cross-party support; the militants forced the issue into the headlines but may also have alienated some MPs. Women's contribution during the First World War strengthened the case and let politicians grant the vote without appearing to surrender to militancy, though the 1918 settlement was deliberately limited to women over 30 to keep them a minority of the electorate.

Why democracy changed

  • Industrialisation and the towns created a large, concentrated working class that demanded representation.
  • A more literate, organised population, helped by the 1870 and 1872 Education Acts and trade unions, pressed for the vote.
  • Party advantage. Disraeli in 1867 and Gladstone in 1884 each calculated reform might win them grateful new voters.
  • Foreign example. The wider franchises of the USA, France and the dominions made British limits look outdated.
  • The First World War made it hard to deny the vote to men who had fought and women who had worked.

Tackling poverty: the Liberal and Labour reforms

  • The Liberal reforms (1906 to 1914). Free school meals (1906) and medical inspection (1907) for children, old age pensions (1908) for the over-70s on low incomes, labour exchanges (1909), and the National Insurance Act (1911) giving limited sickness cover (Part I) and unemployment cover in some trades (Part II), funded partly by Lloyd George's "People's Budget" of 1909.
  • The Labour welfare state (1945 to 1951). Acting on the Beveridge Report (1942) and its "five giants" of want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness, Attlee's Labour government created universal national insurance (1946), national assistance (1948), the National Health Service (1948), and council housing, constructing the modern welfare state.

Examples in context

A strong middle paragraph for a "how far did the Liberal reforms deal with poverty" essay would run: "The 1908 Old Age Pensions Act gave five shillings a week to people over 70 whose income fell below a set level, removing the fear of the workhouse for many of the elderly poor Rowntree had identified. Its importance was limited: the pension was small, was paid only from age 70 when many labourers were already dead, and excluded those who had received poor relief. The reform eased rather than solved old-age poverty, and the universal pensions of 1946 were needed to complete the work." That makes a point, supports it with precise detail, analyses its importance and links forward, which is what SQA rewards.

Try this

Q1. Which 1867 reform measure widened the franchise to urban working men, and roughly how many voters did it add? [2 marks]

  • Cue. The Second Reform Act of 1867, adding around one million voters to bring the electorate to about 2.5 million.

Q2. Name the 1942 report that shaped the post-war welfare state and its "five giants". [2 marks]

  • Cue. The Beveridge Report, naming want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness.

Exam-style practice questions

Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.

SQA Higher 201920 marksTo what extent was the growth of democracy in Britain between 1867 and 1928 due to the campaigns for female suffrage?
Show worked answer →

SQA marks the essay out of 20, splitting the marks across structure, a relevant introduction with a line of argument, knowledge, analysis and evaluation, and a conclusion that answers the question. Aim for a clear isolated factor (the female suffrage campaigns) weighed against the others.

Set up the suffrage campaigns first: the law-abiding NUWSS (Millicent Fawcett, founded 1897) and the militant WSPU (the Pankhursts, founded 1903). Argue they kept the issue visible but did not by themselves win the 1918 settlement, which still excluded women under 30.

Then balance the other factors: the 1867 and 1884 Reform Acts and the redistribution acts, the changing political climate (a literate, organised working class), party self-interest, the example of other countries, and the impact of the First World War. Reach a judgement: most candidates argue the war and the long process of reform mattered more than the suffrage campaigns alone, and SQA rewards a conclusion that ranks the factors rather than just listing them.

SQA Higher 202120 marksHow important were the Liberal social welfare reforms of 1906 to 1914 in dealing with the problem of poverty in Britain?
Show worked answer →

A "how important" essay rewards judgement, not narrative. Detail the Liberal reforms: free school meals (1906), medical inspection (1907), old age pensions (1908), labour exchanges (1909), and the National Insurance Act (1911, parts I and II).

Argue their importance: they marked a shift to state responsibility and targeted the groups Booth and Rowntree identified (the young, the old, the sick, the unemployed). Then weigh the limits: pensions were small and means-tested, insurance covered only certain trades and only the worker not the family, and much poverty remained untouched.

Set this against the later Labour reforms (1945 to 1951) and the Beveridge Report (1942) to judge how far the Liberal reforms "dealt with" poverty. SQA rewards a conclusion that the Liberal reforms were a significant but partial start, completed only by the post-war welfare state.

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