posted on 2018-02-08, 10:51authored byStuart R. Ball
Before the First World War, the Conservative Party feared the extension of the suffrage to all adult
males, and was divided over even a limited granting of votes to women. However, the patriotic public
response to the war moderated these attitudes, and by 1916 the Conservatives were in favour of giving
the vote to all servicemen. Although the Conservatives were represented in the Speaker’s Conference
which drew up proposals for electoral reform, when its report was published in January 1917 these
were almost entirely opposed by the party organisation. However, the Conservatives came to accept
adult male suffrage as the only practicable way of recognising the servicemen’s contribution. During
the passage of the electoral reform bill, they successfully amended it in several respects and secured
gains from the redistribution of constituencies. This article assesses the Conservative response to the
reform proposals and the impact of the Representation of the People Act 1918 upon the party’s
fortunes, organisation and culture. During the following decade, the Conservative Party made
substantial efforts to reach the female, younger and working-class voters. Whilst it was reassured by
electoral success, and especially support from women, there remained concerns about the nature of
democracy and demands from the grass-roots for a defensive restoration of powers to the House of
Lords. However, by 1928 giving the vote to women on equal terms of adult citizenship was seen as
the inevitable completion of the new electoral system – in which the Conservatives became the most
successful party.
History
Citation
Parliamentary History, 2018, 37 (1), pp. 23-46
Author affiliation
/Organisation/COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, ARTS AND HUMANITIES/School of History
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