 Contemporary cartoon of Disraeli outpacing Gladstone. The Reform Act 1867 (also known as the Second Reform Act, and formally titled the Representation of the People Act 1867), 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102, was a piece of British legislation that greatly increased the number of men who could vote in elections in the UK. In its final form, the Reform Act 1867 enfranchised all male householders and abolished compounding (the practice of paying rates to a landlord as part of rent). Due to this act working-class men gained suffrage for the first time in Britain. However, there was little redistribution of seats; and what there was had been intended to help the Conservative Party. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 459 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (1218 × 1589 pixel, file size: 1,001 KB, MIME type: image/png) The Derby, 1867. ...
Image File history File links Size of this preview: 459 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (1218 × 1589 pixel, file size: 1,001 KB, MIME type: image/png) The Derby, 1867. ...
This is a incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (or its predecessors) for the years to 1987, and a complete list of Acts passed from 1 January 1988 to the dissolution of Parliament on 11 April 2005. ...
Rates are a type of taxation system in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, such as New Zealand, historically used to fund local government. ...
The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and is the second oldest extant political party in the world. ...
Background
Following the Great Reform Act of 1832, it was thought prudent to introduce further electoral reform. Lord John Russell attempted this in 1860, but the then Prime Minister Lord Palmerston was against any further electoral reform. When Palmerston died in 1865, however, the floodgates for reform were opened. The Representation of the People Act 1832, commonly known as the Reform Act 1832, was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of the United Kingdom. ...
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. ...
1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ...
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. ...
1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ...
Now Prime Minister, Earl Russell (as he became) introduced a Reform Bill in 1866. It was a cautious measure, which proposed to enfranchise "respectable" working men, excluding unskilled workers and what was known as the "residuum", that is, the feckless and criminal poor. This was ensured by a £7 householder qualification, which had been calculated to require an income of 26 shillings a week. There were also two "fancy franchises", originating from measures of 1854, a £10 lodger qualification for the boroughs and a £50 savings qualification in the counties. Liberals claimed that 'the middle classes, strengthen'd by the best of the artisans would still have the preponderance of power. 1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...
When it came to the vote, however, this bill split the Liberals: this was partly engineered by Benjamin Disraeli, who incited those threatened by the Bill to rise up against it. On one side were the reactionary-conservative Liberals, known as the Adullamites; on the other were pro-reform Liberals who supported the Government. The Adullamites, though, were supported by Tories and the liberal Whigs were supported by radicals and reformists. Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS (December 21, 1804 – April 19, 1881), born Benjamin DIsraeli was a British Conservative statesman and literary figure. ...
The Adullamites were a short-lived rogue faction within the Liberal Party in 1866. ...
The Bill was thus defeated and the Liberal government of Russell resigned. The Conservatives formed a ministry on June 26, 1866, led by Lord Derby as Prime Minister and Disraeli as Chancellor of the Exchequer. They were faced with the challenge of reviving Conservatism: Palmerston, the powerful Liberal leader, was dead and the Liberal Party split and defeated. Thanks to Disraeli's manoeuvring, the Conservatives had this one chance to prove that they were a viable party of government. However, there was still a Liberal majority in the Commons. June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 188 days remaining. ...
1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...
Arms of Edward Smith-Stanley Statue in Parliament Square, London Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, KG, PC (29 March 1799–23 October 1869) was a British statesman, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and is to date the longest serving leader of the Conservative...
A prime minister is the most senior minister of a cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ...
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British cabinet minister responsible for all financial matters. ...
The Adullamites, at this point led by Robert Lowe, were persuaded to ally with the Conservative party. The Adullamites were anti-reform, as were the Conservatives but the Adullamites were not easy to work with and wanted to have too many of their number in the Cabinet. In response Benjamin Disraeli ended the alliance and started his own bill for parliamentary reform. The Conservative Lord Cranborne resigned in disgust. The Adullamites were a short-lived rogue faction within the Liberal Party in 1866. ...
A sketch portrait of Robert Lowe Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke (December 4, 1811 - July 27, 1892), British statesman, was born at Bingham, Nottinghamshire, where his father was the rector. ...
The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and is the second oldest extant political party in the world. ...
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (December 21, 1804 - April 24, British Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and author. ...
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (February 3, 1830–August 22, 1903). ...
Disraeli who had a great rivalry with Gladstone proceeded to accept any amendment to the reform bill as long as it wasn't Gladstone that proposed it. Consequently the bill was more far-reaching than anyone had thought possible or really wanted. An amendment tabled by the opposition trebled the new number eligible to vote under the bill, yet Disraeli simply accepted it because it was not proposed by Gladstone. The purpose of the bill had been to separate the responsible sober skilled working class from the drunken idle and stupid, considered to form the residuum. Instead it franchised most men who lived in urban areas.
Disraeli was able to persuade his party to vote for the bill, on the basis that the newly enfranchised electorate would be grateful and vote Conservative at the next election. Despite this prediction, in 1868 the Conservatives lost the first general election in which the newly franchised voted. 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...
The 1868 UK general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised all male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom. ...
To succeed at this hurdle of reform at which Gladstone had just fallen would be a tremendous political victory, ensuring that Disraeli would succeed Derby as leader of the Conservative Party. There was yet another significant motive: to destroy the popular campaign for reform, led by the Reform League, Reform Union and the radical Bright. Their actions had culminated in a demonstration in Hyde Park on 23 July 1866 which was led by Robert Appleagarth, the general secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners(ASCJ) and other union members of the Reform League. This demonstration was mainly peaceful, though the people broke down fences and hedges when the police denied them entry to the park. John Bright John Bright (November 16, 1811–March 27, 1889), was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League. ...
The Serpentine, viewed from the eastern end Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London and one of the Royal Parks of London. ...
July 23 is the 204th day (205th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 161 days remaining. ...
1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...
The climate of the late 1860s, too, was conducive to reform. The increasing "respectability" of large portions of the working class had assuaged middle-class fears, and political views had moved closer to democracy. More people accepted that, eventually, most men should be enfranchised, not as a right but as a well-earned privilege. The question was, therefore, whether the time was right to enfranchise this or that group. // The First Transcontinental Railroad in the USA is built in the six year period between 1863 and 1869. ...
By making the Reform Bill that they introduced more moderate than the Liberals', the Tories had ensured that Adullamites and reactionaries would accept it. The proposals were as follows: a borough franchise for all who paid rates in person (that is, not compounders); and extra votes for graduates, professionals and those with over £50 savings. These last "fancy franchises" were seen by Conservatives as a weapon against a mass electorate. However, Gladstone attacked the Bill and, in a series of sparkling parliamentary debates with Disraeli, made the Bill much more radical. Ironically, having been given his chance by the belief that Gladstone's Bill had gone too far in 1866, Disraeli had now gone further. He lost his alliance with the Adullamites, but managed to get the Bill passed by allying with radicals, this was a tactical move, Disraeli used the radical support for the bill to undermine Gladstone's opposition.
Historians differ over the extent to which Disraeli was displaying a genius for flexibility and opportunism. Certainly, his commitment was not to the Bill itself, still less to the policies it embodied, but to scoring off Gladstone by succeeding where he had failed. It is this attitude which his critics have lambasted as unscrupulousness while his partisans have praised as political genius. In reality, of course, the one embraces the other. Alexander MacDonald would later say "the Conservatives had done more for the working classes in six years than the Liberals had done in fifty." Whether this is entirely cynical becomes a mere matter of judgement. Some historians have also noted that the act gerrymandered constituencies in favour of the Conservatives helping to the return the Conservative party to the 'natural party of government' after (almost) continuous 30 years in opposition.
The act enfranchised 1,500,000 people by giving the vote to all adult male urban householders and male lodgers paying £10 a year for unfurnished rooms. The Conservatives had virtually doubled the British electorate. Several towns that were previously unrepresented were given MPs, whilst places with a population of less than 10,000 lost an MP. 52 seats were thus redistributed from small towns to the new towns, the growing industrial towns, the northern counties and 1 to the University of London. The University of London is a university based primarily in London. ...
The bill ultimately aided the rise of the radical wing of the Liberal party and helped Disraeli to victory. The Act was tidied up with many further Acts to alter the electoral boundaries.
Reduced representation
Disenfranchised and rotten boroughs Two electoral Boroughs were completely disenfranchised by the Act: Map sources for Totnes at grid reference SX805605 Arms of Totnes Town Council Totnes (TOTness — emphasis on the first syllable) is a market town in South Devon, England. ...
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals simply as Yarmouth, is an English coastal town in the county of Norfolk. ...
Other disenfranchisements Although not part of the Act, these are listed for continuity.
The following were disenfranchised individually for corruption:
Seven Boroughs were disenfranchised by the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 the subsequent year: A view of Lancaster showing the Lune, the Millennium Bridge and the Ashton Memorial Lancaster (2001 census population 45,952: source ONS) is a city in Lancashire, in the north-west of England. ...
Reigate is an historic market town in Surrey, England at the foot of the North Downs. ...
The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. ...
This article is about the town in England. ...
Ashburton is a small market town on the fringes of Dartmoor in Devon, lying adjacent to the A38 Devon Expressway. ...
Map sources for Dartmouth, Devon at grid reference SX877514 The town seen from the River Dart Dartmouth is a town in Devon in the south-west of England. ...
Location within the British Isles Honiton is a town in Devon, England. ...
Lyme Regis (IPA: ) is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 miles west of Dorchester and 25 miles east of Exeter. ...
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland area of Norfolk, England. ...
Wells is a small cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, nestling in the Mendip Hills. ...
Halved representation The following Boroughs were reduced from electing two MPs to one: - Andover, Hampshire
- Bodmin, Cornwall
- Bridgnorth, Shropshire
- Bridport, Dorset
- Buckingham, Buckinghamshire
- Chichester, Sussex
- Chippenham, Wiltshire
- Cirencester, Gloucestershire
- Cockermouth, Cumberland
- Devizes, Wiltshire
- Dorchester, Dorset
- Evesham, Worcestershire
- Guildford, Surrey
- Harwich, Essex
- Hertford, Hertfordshire
- Huntingdon, Huntingdonshire
- Knaresborough, West Riding of Yorkshire
- Leominster, Herefordshire
- Lewes, Sussex
- Lichfield, Staffordshire
- Ludlow, Shropshire
- Lymington, Hampshire
- Maldon, Essex
- Marlow, Buckinghamshire
- Malton, North Riding of Yorkshire
- Marlborough, Wiltshire
- Newport, Isle of Wight
- Poole, Dorset
- Richmond, North Riding of Yorkshire
- Ripon, West Riding of Yorkshire
- Stamford, Lincolnshire
- Tavistock, Devon
- Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
- Windsor, Berkshire
- Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
Statistics Population: 52,000 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SU3645 Administration District: Test Valley Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Hampshire Historic county: Hampshire Services Police force: Hampshire Constabulary Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: South Central Post office and telephone Post town...
Bodmin (Cornish: Bosvenegh) is a town in Cornwall, England, UK, with a population of 12,778 (2001 census). ...
High Town from the River Severn Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England, at grid reference SO717929, along the Severn Valley. ...
Bridport is a town in Dorset, England. ...
Statistics Population: 11,572 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SP695335 Administration District: Aylesbury Vale Shire county: Buckinghamshire Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Buckinghamshire Historic county: Buckinghamshire Services Police force: Thames Valley Police Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: South Central Post office...
Chichester is a local government district in West Sussex, England. ...
Statistics Population: 30,000 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: ST919733 Administration District: North Wiltshire Shire county: Wiltshire Region: South West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Wiltshire Services Police force: Wiltshire Constabulary Fire and rescue: Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service Ambulance: Great Western Post office...
Cirencester is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles (150 km) west northwest of London. ...
Cockermouth is a town in Cumbria, England, where the River Cocker flows into the River Derwent. ...
Arms of Devizes Devizes is a town and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. ...
OS Grid Reference: SY690906 Lat/Lon: Population: 16,171 (2001 Census) Dwellings: 7,386 (2001 Census) Formal status: County town Administration County: Dorset Region: South West Nation: England Post Office and Telephone Post town: Dorchester Postcode: DT1 Dialling Code: 01305 Dorchester Dorchester is a market town in southern central Dorset...
Location within the British Isles The Market Place in Evesham, circa 1904 Evesham (or the Sham as it is known to its inhabitants) is a middle-sized, rural market town in Worcestershire, England. ...
Not to be confused with Guilford. ...
Arms of Harwich Town Council Harwich (IPA, /hÉ‘Ëˈɹɪtʃ/) is a town in Essex, England, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. ...
Hertford (standard pronunciations /hÉ‘tÖ½fÉ™d/ and /hÉ‘Ö½fÉ™d/; local pronunciation /[h]É‘ËʔֽfÉ™d/) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is in the East Hertfordshire district of that county. ...
Huntingdon is a town in the county of Cambridgeshire in East Anglia, England. ...
Overlooking the River Nidd in Knaresborough Knaresborough is an historic market town and spa town in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located four miles east of Harrogate town. ...
Statistics Population: 11,000 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SO496591 Administration District: Herefordshire Region: West Midlands Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Herefordshire Historic county: Herefordshire Services Police force: West Mercia Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: {{{Ambulance}}} Post office and telephone Post town: LEOMINSTER Postal district...
Statistics Population: 16,000 Location OS grid reference: TQ414101 Administration District: Lewes Shire county: East Sussex Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: East Sussex Historic county: Sussex Services Police force: Sussex Police Fire and rescue: East Sussex Ambulance: South East Coast Post...
The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral, June 2005 Lichfield (Welsh: Caerlwytgoed) is a small city and civil parish in Staffordshire, 110 miles northwest of London and 14 miles north of Birmingham. ...
Feathers Hotel, Ludlow A view of Ludlow market, which is situated in Castle Square, taken from the tower of St Laurences Church. ...
Cobbled streets in Lymington town centre. ...
Bold textItalic textLink title:See also Malden. ...
Overlooking river Thames and Marlow Marlow (previously Great Marlow or Chipping Marlow) is a town on the very southern tip of Buckinghamshire, England. ...
Malton is a market town in North Yorkshire, England, lying on the River Derwent. ...
Marlborough on a Wednesday Market morning The town-centre of Marlborough Marlborough (pronounced Maulbruh - /ˈmÉ”Ëlbɹə/ in IPA) is a market town in the English county of Wiltshire on the Old Bath Road, the old main road from London to Bath. ...
Statistics Population: 23,957 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SZ502893 Administration District: Isle of Wight Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Isle of Wight Historic county: Hampshire Services Police force: Hampshire Constabulary Ambulance service: South Central Post office and telephone Post town...
Poole is a coastal town, port and tourist destination, situated on the shores of the English Channel, in the ceremonial county of Dorset in southern England. ...
The town of Richmond as seen from the top of the keep of Richmond Castle Richmond is a market town on the River Swale in North Yorkshire, UK and is the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. ...
Statistics Population: 15,922 (parish); 16,468 (urban area) (2001 census figures) Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SE3112271296 Administration Borough: Harrogate Shire county: North Yorkshire Region: Yorkshire and the Humber Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: North Yorkshire Historic county: Yorkshire (West Riding) Services Police force...
Stamford is a town on the River Welland in Lincolnshire, England. ...
Location within the British Isles This article is about the town in Devon. ...
Location within the British Isles The Tewkesbury War Memorial, locally known as the Cross Tewkesbury is a historic town in Gloucestershire, England. ...
Windsor (IPA: usually , but also ) is a suburban town and tourist destination in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. ...
Wycombe is an local government district in Buckinghamshire in south central England. ...
Enfranchisements The following Boroughs were enfranchised:
One MP Burnley is a large market town in the north-east of Lancashire in north-west England with a population of 89,542[1] (2001 census). ...
View of Darlington including the town clock. ...
Dewsbury is a town in the county of West Yorkshire, England, to the west of Wakefield, in the borough of Kirklees. ...
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. ...
Hartlepool is a town and North Sea port in North East England. ...
Middlesbrough is a large town in the North East of England, and is the principal location in the borough of Middlesbrough. ...
Statistics Population: 22,568 (2001 Census) Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SJ963985 Administration District: Tameside Metropolitan county: Greater Manchester Region: North West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Greater Manchester Historic county: Cheshire / Lancashire Services Police force: Greater Manchester Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: North...
Stockton-on-Tees is an industrial town and port on the River Tees in north-eastern England. ...
For the legal principle of similar name, see Wednesbury unreasonableness. ...
Two MPs Salford was given 2 MPs instead of 1. Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester now had 3 MPs instead of 2. Statue of Thomas More on Cheyne Walk. ...
Hackney Town Hall was built in the 1930s for the old Metropolitan Borough. ...
Salford is a city in Greater Manchester in the north-west of England. ...
The city from above Centenary Square. ...
Leeds is a major city in West Yorkshire, England. ...
Liverpool skyline. ...
This article is about the City of Manchester in England. ...
Other changes The West Riding as an administrative county prior to its abolition in 1974. ...
The Cheshire Plain - photo taken adjacent to Beeston Castle The Cheshire Plain - photo taken towards Merseyside The Cheshire Plain panorama - photo taken from Mid-Cheshire Ridge Cattle farming in the county Black-and-white timbered buildings on Nantwich High Street Cheshire (or, archaically, the County of Chester)[1] is a...
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. ...
This page is about the English county, for alternative meanings see Devon (disambiguation). ...
Essex is a county in the East of England. ...
coat of Arms of Kent For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ...
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the east of England. ...
Norfolk (IPA: //) is a low-lying county in East Anglia in the east of southern England. ...
Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. ...
Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. ...
Not to be confused with Surry. ...
Lancashire is a county in North West England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ...
The University of London is a university based primarily in London. ...
Merthyr Tydfil (Welsh: ) is a town and county borough in Wales, with a population of about 55,000. ...
In relation to the British monarchy, the Demise of the Crown is the legal term for the end of a reign by a king or queen. ...
Scotland and Ireland The reforms for Scotland and Ireland were carried out by two subsequent acts, the Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1868 and the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868. The Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. ...
The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. ...
In Scotland, five existing constituencies gained members, and three new constituencies were formed. Two existing county consitutencies were merged into one, giving an overall increase of seven members; this was offset by seven English boroughs (listed above) being disenfranchised, leaving the House with the same number of members.
The representation of Ireland remained unchanged
See also The official names of United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies (some of which originate from the names used for constituencies in predecessor Parliaments) are those given in the legal instrument creating the constituency or re-defining it at a re-distribution of seats. ...
The Parliamentary Archives of the United Kingdom preserves and makes available to public the records of the House of Lords and House of Commons back to 1497, as well as some 200 other collections of Parliamentary interest. ...
References - Scott-Baumann, British History 1815-1914
- Smith, The Making of the Second Reform Bill
- McCord, British history 1815-1906
- Blake, The Conservative Party from Peel to Major.
- Cook, British Historical Facts 1830-1900
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