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The Things That Made England

UK Party Politics - Victoriana

The Great Reform act transformed politics and parties in the UK - and Victoria's reign was the stage for one of the great political rivalries - Gladstone and Disraeli


  • 1832: The Reform Act of 1832 expands the electorate, giving more men the right to vote.
  • 1867: The Second Reform Act expands the electorate further, giving many working-class men the right to vote.
  • 1885: The Liberal Party, led by William Ewart Gladstone, wins a general election.
  • 1886: The Irish Home Rule Bill is introduced, but it fails to pass.
  • 1892: The Liberal Party, led by Gladstone, wins another general election.
  • 1895: The Conservative Party, led by Lord Salisbury, wins a general election.
  • 1906: The Liberal Party, led by Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, wins a landslide victory in a general election.


More episodes

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  • David and Roifield answer your questions on UK political history.

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    David and Roifield answer your questions on British political history. This episode is the last in a five-part miniseries going from The Exclusion Crisis to the vote on Brexit.
  • UK Party Politics - 1945 to 2019

    01:15:52
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  • UK Party Politics - 1906 to 1945

    01:07:14
    David and Roifield tackle the first half of the 20th century.Labour Representation Committee (1900–1906)Liberal reforms 1906–1914People's Budget (1909)David Lloyd GeorgeFirst Labour government and period in opposition (1923–1929)1926 General Strike
  • UK Party Politics - Whigs and Tories - Exclusion to The Reform Act

    55:55
    David and Roifield go over the start of UK party politics from Exclusion Crisis to the Great Reform act of 1832 Make the point that the growth of political parties is closely linked to the growth in the power of parliaments in Britain, and the exercise of politics in parliament rather than court, in the public eye (importance of war in that process)What are political parties?  A few definitionsParliamentary politics before the Stuarts & the shock of the Civil Wars, & the arrival of adversarial parliaments; the concept of representation & involvement in politicsThe Exclusion crisis and the Glorious Revolutions: The appearance of Whig and Tory, and what they stood forThe Whig Dominance, Hanoverians, Walpole and the unconstitutional office of PMGeorge III and the attempt to turn back the clock – putting the Bute inPitt, the French Revolution and Tory dominance The Great Reform Act & it’s impact.
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    Luke and Roifield discuss whether Rave Culture can be considered a Thing That Made England. The episode includes an interview with globe-trotting DJ Tristan and we hear one of his banging tunes. We also have music from Occult playing while we chat and this chilled, ambient track plays out to the end of the episode.