History of the Vote

Mass peaceful and violent struggles ensued in the 19th century, demanding that the franchise of the vote be extended to all men. This was known as universal suffrage, as promoted by the Chartist Movement.

Some were killed in the clashes. Three were even sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered, but were later transported to Australia instead. Many of the chartists did not live long enough to see their demands met in their lifetime.

Only a small minority of the population, property owners, had the vote. Living conditions were overcrowded and unsanitary. Large swathes of the poor were exploited in low paying factory jobs and coal mines, including children, risking life and limb.

Many had no choice but to surrender to the workhouses and the good or bad will of whoever was running it. Around half of the workhouse population were children.

It was only after the sheer scale of the First World War that the extension of the vote to all men would be conceded to. Never before had that many millions from so many nations and colours sacrificed their lives in war before.

You cannot have failed to notice that in every single village and town centre across the whole of Britain, lies a sizeable memorial that was expected by its populace, to honour the dead. Each one contains a long list of boys and men from that very town or village from every sector of our society, who never came home.

For reasons of fear or favour, or just due to public attitude, and in the newly-found bonds between the usually divided social classes, the government would have surely felt no choice but be compelled to pass a motion in extending the franchise of the vote to all men (regardless of their social status). Or maybe, if it was for no other reason than that these men who were the majority of the population, were now trained and battle hardened fighters, who had already lost so much, would never have accepted any less.

Five of the six demands the original Chartist Movement generally agreed upon were eventually won. A lesson for us to learn.

The living standards and freedoms that the Chartists claimed would be gained from achieving their aims, actually bore fruit and were eventually realised.

Quality of life improved massively, the workhouses closed, children were freed from the dangerous and exploitative cycle of factories and pits, health provisions and workers’ pay became more important and politicians now had to appeal more to poorer people as well to get their vote.