Rotten Borough Rotten Boroughs Pocket Boroughs End Of The

The true Rotten Borough was a borough of a ridiculously small electorate. The pocket borough was a borough constituency with a small enough electorate to be under the effective control of a major landowner.

1 Rotten Boroughs

In some constituencies and boroughs, due to the small number of electors, the post of Member of Parliament could effectively be bought. Because the constituencies were not realigned as population shifts occurred, MPs from one borough might represent only a few of people (giving those people a relatively large degree of political representation), whereas entire cities (such as Manchester) might have no representation at all. Examples include: Old Sarum in Wiltshire had eleven voters, Dunwich in Suffolk had 32 voters (the bulk of the settlements in the borough having fallen into the sea), Plympton Earle with 40 voters, and Newtown on the Isle of WightThe Isle of Wight is an island off the south coast of England opposite Southampton. Colloquially, it is known as 'The Island' by residents. Its population was 132,731 in the 2001 census (and 126,600 in 1991). The Island has a single MP (currently Andrew T with 23 voters (all figures for 1831Events February- March Revolts in Modena, Parma and the Papal States are put down by Austrian troops February 20 Battle of Grochow. Polish rebel forces divide a Russian army. March 1 Democrat Samuel Smith becomes President Pro Tempore of the United States). All of these boroughs could elect two MPs. At one point, out of 405 electedSee also Election (movie) for the film directed by Alexander Payne For the Theological concept of election, see Predestination An election is a process in which a vote is held to elect candidates to an office. It is the mechanism by which a democracy fill MPs, 293 were chosen by less than 500 voteFor the Finno-Ugric people, see Votes. US in 1945 Voting is a method of decision making wherein a group such as a meeting or an electorate attempts to gauge its opinion usually as a final step following discussions or debates. Alternatives to voting inclurs. ( SpielvogelJackson J. Spielvogel is an associate professor at the Pennsylvania State University. He has a Ph. from the Ohio State University, in Reformation history. He is married to Diane Spielvogel. His textbooks are commonly used in high school and college Wester) Many such rotten boroughs were controlled by peers who 'gave' the seats to their sons, they thus having influence in the House of Commons while also holding seats themselves in the House of Lords. The Duke of Wellington, prior to being awarded a peerage served as MP for the rotten borough of TrimTrim ( Irish language: Baile Atha Troim , is the capital of County Meath in Ireland, local government is located in Navan. Elevation 60m, located on the River Boyne. The town was one of the most important English settlement in the Middle Ages. In the 15th in County MeathMeath An Mh in Irish) is a county in the Republic of Ireland, the county is often informally called The Royal County''. Area: 2342 km² (904 square miles). The de facto county town is Navan, where the county hall is located, although Trim has a historical in the Irish House of Commons.

2 Pocket Boroughs

In addition, there were boroughs where parliamentary representation was in the control of one or more 'patrons' by their power to either nominate or other machinations, such as burgage . Patronage and bribery were rife during this period. In some cases, wealthy individuals could "control" multiple boroughs -- the Duke of Newcastle is said to have had seven boroughs "in his pocket".

The pocket boroughs were seen (particularly by their owners) in the early 19th century as a valuable method of ensuring the representation of the landed interest in the House of Commons.

3 End of the Rotten Boroughs

In the 19th century measures began to be taken against rotten boroughs, notably the Reform Act of 1832 which abolished most rotten boroughs and spread parliamentary seats more closely to population centres and significant industries. Many pocket boroughs were retained.

The final abolition of pocket boroughs took until the Reform Act of 1867 where the borough franchise was significantly extended it was established that seats should be distributed based principally on population. Successive Reform Acts and Representation of the People Acts set up the Boundary Commission to ensure equitable representation on a rolling basis.

The introduction of the secret ballot in the 1880s helped prevent patrons from controlling districts, as they could no longer examine an individual's vote prior to its casting, electors as a result for the first time having the freedom to cast votes as they, not their landlord, wished. At the same time the practice of 'treating' the electorate (gifts of money or extravagant entertainment from candidates to voters) was outlawed; election expenses fell dramatically.

4 Modern Usage

Today, "rotten borough" is sometimes used to refer to a parliamentary constituency in which one particular political party has such massive support that its candidate is effectively uncontested; a more polite term is "safe seat". Sometimes this term is used for an individual or family who have represented the same area for a long period of time, particularly when changing party alleigance whilst retaining the support of their constituency.

It is also used to refer to allegedly corrupt branches of local government - Private Eye has a column entitled Rotten Boroughs which lists stories of municipal wrongdoing.

5 Quotes

"[Borough representation is] the rotten part of the constitution." -- William Pitt the Elder

See also: gerrymander

6 References

Spielvogel, Western Civilization -- Volume II: Since 1500 ( 2003) p.493

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