‘The Elimination of Corrupt Practices in British Elections’? Reassessing the Impact of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act

• Published in: The English historical review Vol. CXXIII; no. 500; pp. 65 - 97
• Main Author: Rix, Kathryn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 01-02-2008; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Annual reports; Bribery; British history; Conservatism; Constituents; Corruption; Corruption in government; Elections; Electoral reform; European history; Government corruption; Government regulation; Laws, regulations and rules; Legislation; Legislative Bodies; Liberalism; Local elections; Nineteenth Century; Parliamentary elections-UK; Political candidates; Political corruption; Political history; Political parties; Reform; United Kingdom; England
• ISSN: 0013-8266; 1477-4534
• DOI: 10.1093/ehr/cen005

This article provides the first major study of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act since Cornelius O'Leary's 1962 work on The elimination of corrupt practices in British elections 1868-1911. O'Leary's positive assessment of the Act's success in tackling electoral corruption continues to be widely accepted. This article re-evaluates the Act's impact, considering not only its effects on electoral corruption and election spending, but also the ways in which it enhanced the significance of party organisation both at and between elections, and transformed electoral culture. This article challenges the view that the 1883 Act resulted in the ‘elimination’ of electoral corruption. The falling number of election petitions after 1883 is not a reliable indicator of electoral morality, given the numerous deterrents to petition. Drawing on a wide range of sources, it is demonstrated that corruption was more prevalent after 1883 than the number of successful petitions suggests. Nonetheless the Corrupt Practices Act marked a significant step forward in reducing traditional forms of corruption. Contemporary concerns about the Act's failings, which produced calls for further corrupt practices reform in the 1890s and 1900s, revealed a shift in attitudes towards the electoral influence of wealth, in which the Act itself had played a part. While presenting a more qualified picture of the Act's effects in eradicating corruption, this article contends that the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act should still be regarded as a landmark piece of legislation, due to its profound impact on party organisation and the conduct of elections.