A badge commemorating the Glasgow Franchise Demonstration of September 1884.
This huge demonstration was called to demand that the vote be extended to include rural working-class men. The 1867 Reform Act had extended the vote to all men in urban areas who owned or rented properties worth £10 or more, and to some men in rural areas who held long leases. This left many men in rural areas without the vote. The 1884 Reform Act extended the vote to all men in the countryside who held land worth £10 or who paid an annual rent of that amount.
Even after the 1884 Act, only about 5.6 million men (about 40 per cent of the total population) were entitled to vote. It was not until 1918, with the passing of the Representation of the People Act, that the vote was given to all men over the age of 21 (and for the first time to to women, but only to those over the age of 30 who were ratepayers or were married to ratepayers).
Reference: 685.77.484
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
badges, franchise, Glasgow Franchise Demonstration, political demonstrations, politics, Reform Acts, Second Reform Act, 1867, suffrage, Third Reform Act, 1884, voting
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