Evolution of Britian’s Voting System.

Jeremy Bentham

Emmeline Pankhurst

                
                       1430 : Males who own land worth 40 shillings so called forty shilling freeholders—had the right of giving vote.

                                                      1817 : Legal and Social reformer Jeremy Bentham was the first to advocate votes for woman.

                   1832 : Reform Act increases number of individuals entitled to vote in parliamentary elections to one in six adult males, but majority of working men still can’t vote.

                    1867 : Second Reform Act doubles electorate to around two million, giving vote to all male householders as well as lodgers who pays rent 10 pound a year or more, agricultural landowners and tenant farmers.

1869 : Municipal Corporation Bill results in unmarried women householders being allowed to vote in local elections.

                           1872 : Voting by secret ballot introduced by William Ewart Gladstone’s Liberal party.

1884 : Third Reform Act extends vote to 2/3 rd of adult males in England and Wales, but servants and most members of armed forces remain disenfranchised. Electorate now totals over 5,500,000.

 1897 : Women’s suffrage campaign, led by Emmeline Pankhurst, gains momentum.

                  1918 : Representation of People Act gives right of voting for women aged 30 and older, and men aged 21 or older.

1928 : Equal voting rights granted to women from age 21.

                   1966 : Harold Wilson’s Labour Government extends vote to 18 year olds.

 2000 : First trials of touch screen electronic voting machines and on-line voting.

                   2001 : Postal voting introduced.

2011 : Uk’s voters had chosen first-past-the-vote against the alternative voting system.

                             United Kingdom’s first referendum in more than 30 years was held on May 5, 2011 when the people had decided not to abandon the current first-past-the-post (which is used to elect MPs to The House of Commons) against the alternative vote ( in which voters ranks candidates in order of preferences ). The voting decision of UK was somewhat like this; 6,152,607 (32.10%) votes was polled in favour of changing to alternative voting system and 13,013,123 (67.90%) votes was polled against changing to alternative voting system. Alternative voting system is practiced only in three countries—Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

William Gladstone