Attitudes of the British Liberal Party toward franchise extension, 1867 - 1884

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with the responses within the British Liberal Party toward the question of Parliamentary reform between 1867 and 1884. It is an attempt to delve beneath the strictly party considerations involved in the legislative process of Parliamentary reform in this period to determine what were the underlying assumptions and expectations of Liberals toward franchise reform. This involves the examination of the role of popular movements like that of the Agricultural labourer and the movement for female suffrage in reform-making. It also looks at the Whig/Radical relationship within the Party, the Irish question, the importance of Party leadership and the host of social changes which contributed to the Liberal undertaking of reform in 1884. It is a study of Liberal Party attitudes toward reform, not so much in terms of two isolated pieces of legislation, but in terms of the broad perspectives behind the reform impulse throughout this period.