Schedule

•Warm-Up•British Parliament- Lecture

•Web Walk•Homework Check

WARM-UP ACTIVITY

Draw a political spectrum and

label the following:

• Radical• Change• Status quo• Communism• Democracy• Socialism• Totalitarianism• Conservative• Liberal• Reactionary• Moderate

Work alone for

4 minutes

The British Houses of Parliament The Westminster

system of government

Roles of the British Parliament

Form the governmentExamine and check the governmentDebate and pass laws

Parliament has two chambers The Upper House: The House of Lords

The Lower House: The House of Commons

The House of Lords

In the 19th century the House of Lords represented the aristocracy and the Church

It is the Upper House

The House of Commons

Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected to represent a region or district

The party with the majority of MPs forms government

It is the Lower House

Stop and Check

•The House of Commons was the _________house.•How were the members of the lower house chosen?•Who are the aristocracy?•Which house was controlled by the aristocracy and the church?•What are the roles of the British Parliament?

What does the Monarch do? The1689 Bill of Rights

restricted the role of the King The King or Queen can only

advise or warn the government

Head of State – he/she represents Britain on important occasions

Law-making The Houses of Parliament are a legislature A bill (proposed law) must be passed by a

majority vote in both Houses to become law Once the monarch signs this law, it

becomes an Act of Parliament

The Great Reform Act Before 1831 Only male

land and property owners

Only 3% could vote No MP represented

boom cities Birmingham or Manchester

The Reform Act (1832) extended the vote (franchise) to 14%

The Whigs More reform Faster industrialization Many had their own businesses After the 1832 Reform Bill was passed they

became the Liberal Party Their supporters – urban middle class and

mill owners

The Whigs, continued More power for Parliament Less power for the King Lower taxes More free trade Most wanted to extend the vote to the

middle class “laissez faire” economics

Celebrity Whigs/Liberals

Richard Cobden, manufacturer and radical peace activist

William Gladstone PM 1868-74 “The Grand Old Man”

The Tories Supported the monarchy Strong links with the Church of England Loved tradition and life in the countryside Many had titles and lived on country estates Feared rapid change would lead to revolution After 1832 was called the Conservative Party

The Tory view of the French Revolution

If you give too much power to the masses there will be chaos and horror

Tories and the Industrial Revolution Distrusted “new money” – businessmen Worried that big cities led to crime and sin Wanted to preserve the old class system But – one group of Radical Tories believed

the aristocracy should help the poor “noblesse oblige” Christian ethics: “from those to whom much

has been given, much will be required”

Michael Sadler: radical Tory “The parents rouse them in the morning

and receive them tired and exhausted after the day has closed; they see them droop and sicken, and, in many cases, become cripples and die, before they reach their prime; and they do all this, because they must otherwise starve. It is a mockery to contend that these parents have a choice. They choose the lesser evil, and reluctantly resign their offspring to the captivity and pollution of the mill.”

 Speech to House of Commons 1832

Earl of Shaftesbury Supported Michael Sadler’s campaign for

factory reform Factory Act 1833 Campaigned against child labour

Shaftesbury’s 1842 report into child labour in the coal mines

Radical ToryBenjamin Disraeli PM 1874-78

“Two nations between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other's habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets. The

rich and the poor. “

Disraeli’s novel “Sybil”

Queen Victoria loved him… He made her Empress

of India!

Celebrity Tories

William Wilberforce helped ban slavery

Margaret Thatcher PM 1979-90

Famous Conservative PM Winston Spencer

Churchill World War II PM

1940-45