The Advent Of Democracy: The Impact Of The 1918 Reform Act On British Politics

The Representation of the People Act of 1918 was a landmark in modern British history and the most substantial change ever made in the electoral system. It nearly trebled the electorate, extending the franchise to all adult men and giving the vote to women for the first time by enfranchising 8.5 million women aged over 30 years, and it also made other significant changes to the conduct of elections. However, its provisions and effects have rarely been closely examined by historians. In its centenary year, this volume addresses that gap by focusing upon the impact of the 1918 Reform Act in key areas. The essays examine its effects upon the Conservative, Liberal, and Labour Parties; in the three diverse regions of the West Midlands, Scotland, and Ireland, and in relation to the house of commons, the national press, and the evolution of the women s franchise from 1918 to full equality with men in 1928.

1. The Reform Act of 1918 the Advent of Democracy (Stuart Ball)
2. The Conservative Party and the Impact of the 1918 Reform Act (Stuart Ball)
3. The Liberal Party and the Impact of the 1918 Reform Act (Gavin Freeman)
4. The Labour Party and the Impact of the 1918 Reform Act (Chris Wrigley)
5. The Impact of the 1918 Reform Act on the Politics of the West Midlands (Ian Cawood)
6. The 1918 Reform Act, Redistribution and Scottish Politics (Ewen A.Cameron)
7. The Impact of the 1918 Reform Act in Ireland (John Coakley)
8. The Impact of the 1918 Reform Act on the House of Commons (Martin Farr)
9. The British Press and the 1918 Reform Act (Adrian Bingham)
10. Women and the Vote: The Parliamentary Path to Equal Franchise, 1918 28 (Mari Takayanagi)
Chronology of the 1918 Reform Act
Index

Stuart Ball is emeritus professor of modern British history at the University of Leicester, where he taught from 1979 to 2016. He has published extensively on the history of the Conservative Party in the 20th century, and his most recent books are Portrait of a Party: The Conservative Party in Britain 1918 1945 (Oxford, 2013), and Conservative Politics in National and Imperial Crisis: Letters from Britain to the Viceroy of India 1926 31 (Farnham, 2014). He has also has written a short biography of Churchill, Winston Churchill (2003), and edited the political diaries of Sir Cuthbert Headlam (2 vols, 1992 and 1999).