How UK democracy developed

UK democracy did not appear overnight. Over 800 years, power moved from the monarch to Parliament, and the vote spread to more and more people.

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Limiting the monarch

1215: Magna Carta. Barons forced King John to agree that the king must follow the law too. Ideas from it, such as no imprisonment without lawful judgement, still matter today.
1265: Simon de Montfort's Parliament included representatives from towns as well as nobles.
1689: the Bill of Rights. After the Glorious Revolution, it said the monarch could not raise taxes or keep an army in peacetime without Parliament's agreement, and that elections should be free.

Who could vote?

For centuries only a small number of men, mostly property owners, could vote.
YearChange
1832Great Reform Act: more men get the vote; seats moved to growing towns
1872Ballot Act: voting becomes secret
1918All men over 21, and women over 30 who met property conditions, can vote
1928Women get the vote on equal terms with men, at 21
1969Voting age lowered to 18 (first used in 1970)

Campaigns for the vote

Ordinary people campaigned for the vote. The Chartists in the 1830s and 1840s asked for votes for all men and a secret ballot.
Women campaigned for decades. Suffragists used peaceful, legal methods; suffragettes, led by Emmeline Pankhurst's Women's Social and Political Union, also used direct action.
These campaigns show how citizens can change the law, though change was often slow.
Worked example

How many years passed between some women getting the vote and women getting the vote on equal terms with men?

  1. Some women (over 30, meeting property conditions) got the vote in 1918.
  2. Women got the vote on the same terms as men in 1928.
  3. 1928 minus 1918 = 10.

Answer: 10 years.

Key idea

Magna Carta (1215) put the king under the law. The Bill of Rights (1689) gave Parliament power over taxes. The vote spread through Acts in 1832, 1918 and 1928, and the voting age became 18 in 1969.

Key words
Democracy
Rule by the people, usually by electing representatives in free and fair elections.
1215
Magna Carta: King John agrees that the king must follow the law too.
Bill
A proposal for a new law that is being considered by Parliament.
1689
The Bill of Rights: the monarch cannot raise taxes without Parliament's agreement.
1918
All men over 21, and women over 30 who met property conditions, get the vote.
1928
Women get the vote on equal terms with men, at 21.

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  1. In which year was Magna Carta agreed?

    1. 1066
    2. 1215
    3. 1832
    4. 1918
    Show the answer

    Answer: 1215

    Magna Carta, agreed by King John in 1215, put the king under the law.

  2. Women in the UK gained the right to vote on the same terms as men (from age 21) in which year?

    Show the answer

    Answer: 1928

    Equal voting rights came in 1928.

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Sources and references

Checked by the GCSE-ready editorial team, 16 October 2026. Last updated 2 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.

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