Conclusion: is the franchise settled?
Pankhurst’s claim that being excluded from the vote meant being excluded from law-making has been substantially answered since 1908: the property, sex and, in most of the UK, age barriers she and her contemporaries faced have all fallen. But the claim still has live edges in August 2026. The Representation of the People Bill 2026, […]
Current participation by age, class, gender and ethnicity
Winning the legal right to vote has not produced equal rates of voting. At the 2024 general election, turnout varied sharply by demographic group. Group 2024 turnout Note Age 18-24 37% Down from 47 per cent in 2019, and back to levels last seen in 2015. Age 25-34 41% Down from 55 per cent in […]
Should Voting be Compulsory?
Key terms Compulsory voting: a system in which citizens are legally required to vote (or at least to attend a polling station), usually enforced with a small fine for non-compliance. Voter apathy: a lack of interest or motivation to participate in politics, often used to explain low turnout. The UK has never had compulsory voting, […]
Should other barriers to the franchise remain?
Votes at 16 is not the only unresolved question about who should be entitled to vote. Three groups remain excluded, or partially excluded, from the UK franchise, each involving different arguments. Group Current rule Case for retaining the barrier Case for removing it Prisoners A blanket ban on all serving prisoners voting, under section 3 […]
Votes at 16?
The most active campaign to widen the UK franchise today is the push for votes at 16, which by 2026 has moved from youth-led campaigning into government legislation. Group Position Evidence / actions UK Youth Parliament Campaigns for votes at 16 across the whole UK. Votes at 16 has been one of the top five […]
The work of the suffragists and suffragettes
Key terms Suffragist: a supporter of women’s suffrage who used constitutional, peaceful methods such as petitions and lobbying; in this period, associated with the NUWSS. Suffragette: a term coined by the Daily Mail for the more militant wing of the women’s suffrage movement, associated with the WSPU, whose tactics included direct action and civil disobedience. […]
A Wider Franchise – Introduction
Edexcel A-level Politics, Component 1: UK Politics and Core Political Ideas “We are here, not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers.” Emmeline Pankhurst, 1908 Pankhurst’s speech captured a claim that runs through the whole history of the franchise (suffrage, or the right to vote in public elections): that […]
Types of Democracy: Direct and Representative Democracy
Edexcel A Level Politics (9PL0/01) — UK Politics, Topic 1.1: Democracy and Participation “Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgement; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.” Edmund Burke, Speech to the Electors of Bristol, 3 November 1774 Edmund Burke was the MP for […]
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Teach Yourself: Presidential Elections
Topic 2.1 (Edexcel 3A.5.1, Electing the president and Congress, and 3A.5.2, Financing US elections; AQA 3.2.1.5, The electoral process and direct democracy) The activities below accompany the Presidential Elections in the USA pages on histpology.co.uk: the presidential election process, primaries and national conventions, the Electoral College, incumbency, campaign finance, and the 2020 and 2024 case […]