How has the franchise

been extended?
New vocabulary: Use page 214 to answer the following questions:
• suffrage 1. How is the franchise (who can vote) decided

STARTER
• franchise in the UK?
• Suffragists 2. Who currently has the franchise in the UK?
• Suffragettes 3. Give an example of a one-off extension of the
franchise.
4. What % of the population can vote and how
does this compare to 200 years ago?
5. What is the main argument for extending the
franchise to more people? Lesson 03a
 Learning Outcomes
• EVALUATE how important the use of
violence was in women winning the right
A*/A
to vote.
• EXPLAIN the methods used by women to B
win the right to vote.
• DESCRIBE the historical extension of the C
franchise.
 Complete
this reverse
storyboard
using
pages 215-
217.

First
explain
why there
was a
demand for
change,
then outline
how the
franchise
 WHY WAS THERE A WHAT SIGNIFICANT
DEMAND FOR CHANGE? CHANGES WERE MADE?

Middle class wanted 20% of men could

to vote – formerly Great Reform Act vote. Based on value
only landowners. 1832 of property, not land.

Women’s suffrage Representation of the All men over 21 could

campaigns and their vote, and all women
People Act 1918
help during WW1. over 30.

Women wanted Representation of the Franchise extended

equal suffrage, pay People Act 1928 to all over age of 21,
and civil rights. regardless of gender.

Representation of the
18-20-year-olds People Act 1969 Voting age lowered to
wanted more rights 18 to match their
and not to be minors. other rights.

Challenge: read the orange box on p.217. How was war a driving
factor behind extending the franchise in the UK and US?
Go here to find a brilliant poster from Politics
Review magazine:
https://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/media/Do
cuments/magazine-extras/Politics%20Review/
Pol%20Rev%20Vol%2027%20No%203/Politi
csRevew_27_3_Poster.pdf?ext=.pdf

Read this and tag it into your book.

Do you think the franchise should be extended

further?

How? Why / why not?

Read pages 217-218 and answer the
questions on women & franchise.
1) Why were the NUWSS (Suffragists) formed and how
did they operate?
2) In what ways did the methods of the WSPU
(Suffragettes) differ from the Suffragists’?
3) What was the Cat and Mouse Act 1913 and why was
it passed?
4) Why was WW1 a significant turning point for the
WSPU?
5) Would women have won the vote without the use of
violent methods? Read page 219 and make a decision.

Research the gender make-up of the House of Commons

following the most recent general election in 2019.
Since 1918, 552 women have been elected to
the House of Commons; 55% were first
elected as Labour MPs and 31% as
Conservatives.
There were 218 female Peers as of Feb 2020
– 27% of the Members of the House of
Lords.
47% of Members of the National Assembly for Wales are women, as
Six of the members of the Cabinet (27%) as are 36% of Members of the Scottish Parliament and 34% of Members of
of Feb 2020 are women. The highest the Northern Ireland Assembly. About 36% of local authority councillors
proportion of women in Cabinet was 36% in England are women. 26% of councillors in Northern Ireland are women,
while the proportion rose to 29% in Scotland after the 2017 elections and
between 2006 and 2007. sits at 28% in Wales. 40% of members of the London Assembly are
 Doubled the electorate to 2 million.
Great Reform Act
1832 Principle of ‘one person, one vote’
Second Reform Act established.
1867 Extends the franchise to British citizens
Ballot Act 1872 residing abroad.

Third Reform Act Franchise extended to all adults over 21,

1884 including women.
Representation of the People Act Franchise extended to most working men.
1918 16-17 year-olds allowed to vote in Scottish
Equal Franchise Act
elections (not UK-wide elections).
1928
Representation of the People Act Voting age reduced from 21 to 18.
1948 Married, graduate or property-owning
Representation of the People Act women aged over 30 given the vote.
1969
Representation of the People Act Franchise extended to shopkeepers and
1985 small farmers.
Scottish Election Act Introduced the secret ballot.
2016
 New vocabulary: You will now add to your glossary of key politics vocabulary.
• suffrage
• franchise In your books at the end of this lesson’s work, write out each
of these lesson’s key terms.
• Suffragists
• Suffragettes For each one, write a one-sentence definition.

Then draw a box around this with a highlighter.