Parliamentary Reform between 1830 and 1832 in Great Britain

There were many reasons why between 1830 and 1832 parliamentary reform became a big and unyielding issue on the political landscape. The industrial revolution was in full swing, discontent was rife and consequently revolutionary ideas were materialising. But how did the parliamentary reform gain momentum and become such a significant matter among so many other pressing conflicts and issues?

The Tory party were in office prior to parliamentary reform and for years they had time and again strenuously refused to widen the electorate, arguing what made the British political system so very successful was due to the fact that their was more emphasis on the landowning than the sheer numbers of electorate. The Tory party dominated British politics with the support of royals such as George III and George IV. However, by 1830 divisions in the party began to form and came to prominence. The cause of these divisions was the issue of Roman Catholic Emancipation which led to Tory hardliners threatening to support reform in order to ensure a wider electorate that would throw out any idea of emancipation with fervour. This split in the Tory government eventual became so bitter that the Tory government eventually collapsed in November 1830.

Simultaneously, the Whig party were facing a resurgence of support and fortune. The Whig party were keener on the idea of cautious reform and believed that through reform key aspects of the political system had to be preserved. Such democratic ideas were bourn from Whig MPs who were more in tune with society at the time since some MPs were not from aristocrat families but from the middle classes- those at the forefront of the industrial revolution. Previously, the Whigs had attempted at sponsoring reform ...

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...During this time a closer relationship was built between the middle and working class. The trigger for this new partnership was a Birmingham banker by the name of Thomas Attwood. Attwood created the group General Political Union which campaigned for reform. This was an example of a flourishing pressure group by raising the profile of their cause through petitions, rallies and peaceful protest. Grey however had the intention of splitting this alliance by promising the middle classes moderate reform.

Overall, the most important reason for parliamentary reform becoming a promising issue was because of the collapse of the Tory government. Without the collapse of the Tory government the consequential events could not have occurred such as the Whig party gaining momentum and support from the people of Britain which eventually led to the out-dated system being reformed.