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100-607: The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832 , Great Reform Act or First Reform Act ) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4 . c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electoral system of England and Wales . It reapportioned constituencies to address the unequal distribution of seats and expanded franchise by broadening and standardising

200-580: A general election was held. Electoral reform, which had been frequently discussed during the preceding parliamentary session, became a major campaign issue. Across the country, several pro-reform "political unions" were formed, made up of both middle and working class individuals. The most influential of these was the Birmingham Political Union , led by Thomas Attwood . These groups confined themselves to lawful means of supporting reform, such as petitioning and public oratory, and achieved

300-555: A run on the banks ; one day signs appeared across London reading "Stop the Duke; go for gold!" £1.8 million was withdrawn from the Bank of England in the first days of the run (out of about £7 million total gold in the bank's possession). The National Political Union and other organisations sent petitions to the House of Commons, demanding that they withhold supply (cut off funding to

400-424: A Tory and as an "independent Whig"). Like his father, he shrank from proposing the wholesale abolition of the rotten boroughs, advocating instead an increase in county representation. The House of Commons rejected Pitt's resolution by over 140 votes, despite receiving petitions for reform bearing over twenty thousand signatures. In 1783, Pitt became Prime Minister but was still unable to achieve reform. King George III

500-554: A five-year cycle, or when a snap election is called. Since the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 , Parliament is automatically dissolved once five years have elapsed from its first meeting after an election. If a vacancy arises at another time, due to death or resignation , then a constituency vacancy may be filled by a by-election. Under the Representation of the People Act 1981 any MP sentenced to over

600-531: A high level of public support. The Tories won a majority in the election, but the party remained divided, and support for the Prime Minister ( the Duke of Wellington ) was weak. When the Opposition raised the issue of reform in one of the first debates of the year, the Duke made a controversial defence of the existing system of government, recorded in the formal "third-party" language of the time: He

700-414: A lifetime right to vote, however they had qualified, provided they were resident in the boroughs in which they were electors. In those boroughs which had freemen electors, voting rights were to be enjoyed by future freemen as well, provided their freemanship was acquired through birth or apprenticeship and they too were resident. The Act also introduced a system of voter registration , to be administered by

800-469: A member of Parliament is to do what they think in their faithful and disinterested judgement is right and necessary for the honour and safety of Great Britain. The second duty is to their constituents, of whom they are the representative but not the delegate. Burke's famous declaration on this subject is well known. It is only in the third place that their duty to party organisation or programme takes rank. All these three loyalties should be observed, but there

900-471: A more significant event; it has been argued that it was the inclusion of the word "male", thus providing the first explicit statutory bar to women voting, which provided a focus of attack and a source of resentment from which, in time, the women's suffrage movement grew. Many constituencies, especially those with small electorates, were under the control of rich landowners, and were known as nomination boroughs or pocket boroughs , because they were said to be in

1000-401: A number of stages before it can become law. In theory, this allows the bill's provisions to be debated in detail, and for amendments to the original bill to also be introduced, debated, and agreed to. In bicameral parliaments, a bill that has been approved by the chamber into which it was introduced then sends the bill to the other chamber. Broadly speaking, each chamber must separately agree to

1100-499: A person must be at least 18 years old and be a citizen of the UK , a Commonwealth nation, or Ireland . A person is not required to be registered to vote, nor are there any restrictions regarding where a candidate is a resident. The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 outlaws the holders of various positions from being MPs. These include civil servants , regular police officers (but not special constables ), regular members of

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1200-581: A prison sentence of a year or more. People in respect of whom a bankruptcy restrictions order has effect are disqualified from (existing) membership of the House of Commons (details differ slightly in different countries). Members are not permitted to resign their seats. In practice, however, they always can. Should a member wish to resign from the Commons , they may request appointment to one of two ceremonial Crown offices: that of Crown Steward and Bailiff of

1300-466: A private member's bill). In Australia, the bill passes through the following stages: In Canada, the bill passes through the following stages: The committee considers each clause of the bill, and may make amendments to it. Significant amendments may be made at the committee stage. In some cases, whole groups of clauses are inserted or removed. However, if the Government holds a majority, almost all

1400-613: A right to an interest or share in the disposing of the affairs of the kingdom ... that hath not a permanent fixed interest in this kingdom." The views of the conservative "Grandees" eventually won out. Oliver Cromwell , who became the leader of England after the abolition of the monarchy in 1649, refused to adopt universal suffrage; individuals were required to own property (real or personal) worth at least £200 in order to vote. He did nonetheless agree to some electoral reform; he disfranchised several small boroughs, granted representation to large towns such as Manchester and Leeds , and increased

1500-421: A single member. Statutes passed in 1430 and 1432, during the reign of Henry VI , standardised property qualifications for county voters. Under these Acts, all owners of freehold property or land with an annual value of at least forty shillings in a particular county were entitled to vote in that county. This requirement, known as the forty shilling freehold , was never adjusted for inflation of land value; thus

1600-475: A specific chamber. For example, bills imposing a tax , or involving public expenditure , are introduced into the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, Canada's House of Commons , Lok Sabha of India and Ireland's Dáil as a matter of law. Conversely, bills proposed by the Law Commission and consolidation bills traditionally start in the House of Lords . Once introduced, a bill must go through

1700-622: A torrent of corruption as no private hereditary fortune could resist". During the 1640s, England endured a civil war that pitted King Charles I and the Royalists against the Parliamentarians . In 1647, different factions of the victorious parliamentary army held a series of discussions, the Putney Debates , on reforming the structure of English government. The most radical elements proposed universal manhood suffrage and

1800-502: A year in jail automatically vacates their seat. For certain types of lesser acts of wrongdoing, the Recall of MPs Act 2015 mandates that a recall petition be opened; if signed by more than 10% of registered voters within the constituency, the seat is vacated. In the past, only male adult property owners could stand for Parliament. In 1918, women acquired the right to stand for Parliament , and to vote. To be eligible to stand as an MP,

1900-414: Is no doubt of the order in which they stand under any healthy manifestation of democracy. Theoretically, contemporary MPs are considered to have two duties, or three if they belong to a political party. Their primary responsibility is to act in the national interest. They must also act in the interests of their constituents, where this does not override their primary responsibility. Finally, if they belong to

2000-557: Is presented to the Governor General , who gives it royal assent . Although the Governor General can refuse to assent a bill, this power has never been exercised. Bills being reviewed by Parliament are assigned numbers: 2 to 200 for government bills, 201 to 1000 for private member's bills , and 1001 up for private bills . They are preceded by C- if they originate in the House of Commons, or S- if they originate in

2100-620: The Glorious Revolution . It was revived in the 1760s by the Whig Prime Minister William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham ("Pitt the Elder"), who called borough representation "the rotten part of our Constitution " (hence the term "rotten borough"). Nevertheless, he did not advocate an immediate disfranchisement of rotten boroughs. He instead proposed that a third member be added to each county, to countervail

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2200-736: The Irish Reform Act 1832 brought similar changes to Ireland. The separate Scottish Reform Act 1832 was revolutionary, enlarging the electorate by a factor of 13 from 5,000 to 65,000. After the Acts of Union 1800 became law on 1 January 1801, the unreformed House of Commons comprised 658 members, of whom 513 represented England and Wales. There were two types of constituency: counties and boroughs. County members were supposed to represent landholders, while borough members were supposed to represent mercantile and trading interests. Counties were historical national subdivisions established between

2300-642: The National Political Union . Perceiving this group as a threat, the government issued a proclamation pursuant to the Corresponding Societies Act 1799 declaring such an association "unconstitutional and illegal", and commanding all loyal subjects to shun it. The leaders of the National Political Union ignored this proclamation, but leaders of the influential Birmingham branch decided to co-operate with

2400-612: The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 . This legislation repealed various laws that imposed political disabilities on Roman Catholics, in particular laws that prevented them from becoming members of Parliament. In response, disenchanted ultra-Tories who perceived a danger to the established religion came to favour parliamentary reform, in particular the enfranchisement of Manchester, Leeds, and other heavily Nonconformist cities in northern England. The death of King George IV on 26 June 1830 dissolved Parliament by law, and

2500-599: The Scottish Reform Act and the Irish Reform Act . Scotland received eight additional seats, and Ireland received five; thus keeping the total number of seats in the House of Commons the same as it had been before the Act. While no constituencies were disfranchised in either of those countries, voter qualifications were standardised and the size of the electorate was increased in both. Between 1835 and 1841, local Conservative Associations began to educate citizens about

2600-523: The Seditious Meetings Act prohibited groups of more than 50 people from assembling to discuss any political subject without prior permission from the sheriff or magistrate. Since the House of Commons regularly rejected direct challenges to the system of representation by large majorities, supporters of reform had to content themselves with more modest measures. The Whig Lord John Russell brought forward one such measure in 1820, proposing

2700-657: The Senedd (Welsh Parliament) or the Northern Ireland Assembly are also ineligible for the Commons according to the Wales and Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Acts respectively, passed in 2014 (but members of the Scottish Parliament are eligible). People who are bankrupt cannot stand to be MPs. The Representation of the People Act 1981 excludes persons who are currently serving

2800-659: The Society of the Friends of the People , included 28 MPs. In 1793, Grey presented to the House of Commons a petition from the Friends of the People, outlining abuses of the system and demanding change. He did not propose any specific scheme of reform, but merely a motion that the House inquire into possible improvements. Parliament's reaction to the French Revolution was so negative, that even this request for an inquiry

2900-663: The United Kingdom , a member of Parliament ( MP ) is an individual elected to serve in the House of Commons , the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . All 650 members of the UK House of Commons are elected using the first-past-the-post voting system in single member constituencies across the whole of the United Kingdom, where each constituency has its own single representative. All MP positions become simultaneously vacant for elections held on

3000-535: The armed forces (but not reservists), and some judges . Members of the House of Lords were not permitted to hold Commons seats until the passing of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 , which allows retired or resigned members of the House of Lords to stand or re-stand as MPs. Members of legislatures outside of the Commonwealth are excluded, with the exemption of the Irish legislature . Additionally, members of

3100-524: The overseers of the poor in every parish and township. It instituted a system of special courts to review disputes relating to voter qualifications. It also authorised the use of multiple polling places within the same constituency, and limited the duration of polling to two days. (Formerly, polls could remain open for up to fifteen days.) The Reform Act itself did not affect constituencies in Scotland or Ireland. However, there were also reforms there, under

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3200-541: The "Radical" reforms supported by these organisations (for example, universal suffrage) found even less support in Parliament. For example, when Sir Francis Burdett , chairman of the London Hampden Club, proposed a resolution in favour of universal suffrage, equally sized electoral districts, and voting by secret ballot to the House of Commons, his motion found only one other supporter ( Lord Cochrane ) in

3300-448: The "celebrated article on Government", James Mill had stated: ... all those individuals whose interests are indisputably included in those of other individuals may be struck off without any inconvenience ... In this light also women may be regarded, the interests of almost all of whom are involved in that of their fathers or in that of their husbands. The passing of the Act seven years later enfranchising "male persons" was, however,

3400-460: The 8th and 16th centuries. They were not merely parliamentary constituencies: many components of government (as well as courts and the militia ) were organised along county lines. The members of Parliament chosen by the counties were known as knights of the shire . In Wales, each county elected one member, while in England, each county elected two members until 1826 when Yorkshire's representation

3500-457: The Act abolished 143 borough seats in England (one of the boroughs to be completely abolished, Higham Ferrers , returned only a single MP). In their place the Act created 130 new seats in England and Wales: Thus 65 new county seats and 65 new borough seats were created in England and Wales. The total number of English members fell by 17 and the number in Wales increased by four. The boundaries of

3600-400: The Act. The new constituencies saw party conflicts within the middle class, and between the middle class and working class. A study of elections in the medium-sized borough of Halifax, 1832–1852, concluded that the party organisations, and the voters themselves, depended heavily on local social relationships and local institutions. Having the vote encouraged many men to become much more active in

3700-585: The Chiltern Hundreds , or that of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead . These offices are sinecures (that is, they involve no actual duties); they exist solely to permit the "resignation" of members of the House of Commons. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible for making the appointment, and, by convention, never refuses to do so when asked by a member who desires to leave

3800-433: The Duke of Rutland, Lord Lonsdale, the Duke of Newcastle, and about twenty other holders of boroughs. They are our masters!" T. H. B. Oldfield claimed in his Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland that, out of the 514 members representing England and Wales, about 370 were selected by nearly 180 patrons. A member who represented a pocket borough was expected to vote as his patron ordered, or else lose his seat at

3900-530: The House of Commons. Members of Parliament are entitled to use the post-nominal initials MP. MPs are referred to as "honourable" as a courtesy only during debates in the House of Commons (e.g., "the honourable member for ..."), or if they are the children of peers below the rank of marquess ("the honourable [first name] [surname]"). Those who are members of the Privy Council use the form The Right Honourable ( The Rt Hon. ) Name MP. The first duty of

4000-475: The House of Lords with pro-reform votes. But the prerogative of creating peerages rested with the king, who recoiled from so drastic a step and rejected the unanimous advice of his cabinet. Lord Grey then resigned, and the king invited the Duke of Wellington to form a new government. The ensuing period became known as the " Days of May ", with so great a level of political agitation that some feared revolution. Some protesters advocated non-payment of taxes, and urged

4100-670: The Irish Parliament, the Oireachtas , bills pass through the following stages. Bills may be initiated in either the Dáil or the Seanad, and must pass both houses. In New Zealand, the bill passes through the following stages: A draft piece of legislation is called a bill ; when this is passed by Parliament it becomes an act and part of statute law. There are two types of bill and act, public and private . Public acts apply to

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4200-572: The Lords rejected the Reform Bill, public violence ensued. That very evening, riots broke out in Derby , where a mob attacked the city jail and freed several prisoners. In Nottingham , rioters set fire to Nottingham Castle (the home of the Duke of Newcastle) and attacked Wollaton Hall (the estate of Lord Middleton). The most significant disturbances occurred at Bristol , where rioters controlled

4300-899: The Magistrate's Court Act 1980 (c. 43). Until the 1980s, acts of the Australian state of Victoria were numbered in a continuous sequence from 1857; thus the Age of Majority Act 1977 was No. 9075 of 1977. Member of Parliament (United Kingdom) King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee In

4400-567: The Reform Act. After Newark was enfranchised in 1661, no additional boroughs were enfranchised, and, with the sole exception of Grampound's 1821 disenfranchisement, the system remained unchanged until the Reform Act of 1832. Most English boroughs elected two MPs; but five boroughs elected only one MP: Abingdon , Banbury , Bewdley , Higham Ferrers and Monmouth . The City of London and the joint borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis each elected four members. The Welsh boroughs each returned

4500-413: The Reform Bill was difficult. During the committee stage, Isaac Gascoyne put forward a motion objecting to provisions of the bill that reduced the total number of seats in the House of Commons. This motion was carried, against the government's wishes, by 8 votes. Thereafter, the ministry lost a vote on a procedural motion by 22 votes. As these divisions indicated that Parliament was against the Reform Bill,

4600-589: The Senate. For example, Bill C-250 was a private member's bill introduced in the House. Bills C-1 and S-1 are pro forma bills, and are introduced at the beginning of each session in order to assert the right of each Chamber to manage its own affairs. They are introduced and read a first time, and then are dropped from the Order Paper . In the Parliament of India , every bill passes through following stages before it becomes an Act of Parliament of India : In

4700-588: The Whigs' decisive victory in the 1831 election, some speculated that opponents would abstain, rather than openly defy the public will. Indeed, when the Lords voted on the second reading of the bill after a memorable series of debates, many Tory peers did refrain from voting. However, the Lords Spiritual mustered in unusually large numbers, and of 22 present, 21 voted against the Bill. It failed by 41 votes. When

4800-412: The amendments which are agreed to in committee will have been tabled by the Government to correct deficiencies in the bill or to enact changes to policy made since the bill was introduced (or, in some cases, to import material which was not ready when the bill was presented). The debate on each stage is actually debate on a specific motion. For the first reading, there is no debate. For the second reading,

4900-524: The amount of land one had to own in order to vote gradually diminished over time. The franchise was restricted to men by custom rather than statute; on rare occasions women had been able to vote in parliamentary elections as a result of property ownership. Nevertheless, the vast majority of people were not entitled to vote; the size of the English county electorate in 1831 has been estimated at only 200,000 and 400,000 enfranchised Englishmen overall. Furthermore,

5000-404: The bill standardised and expanded the borough franchise, increasing the size of the electorate (according to one estimate) by half a million voters. On 22 March, the vote on the second reading attracted a record 608 members, including the non-voting Speaker (the previous record was 530 members). Despite the high attendance, the second reading was approved by only one vote, and further progress on

5100-487: The borough influence. The Whigs failed to unite behind the expansion of county representation; some objected to the idea because they felt that it would give too much power to the aristocracy and gentry in rural areas. Ultimately, despite Chatham's exertions, Parliament took no action on his proposals. The cause of parliamentary reform was next taken up by Lord Chatham's son, William Pitt the Younger (variously described as

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5200-716: The borough to the highest bidder. Especially notorious for their corruption were the " nabobs ", or individuals who had amassed fortunes in the British colonies in Asia and the West Indies . The nabobs, in some cases, even managed to wrest control of boroughs from the nobility and the gentry. Lord Chatham , Prime Minister of Great Britain during the 1760s, casting an eye on the fortunes made in India commented that "the importers of foreign gold have forced their way into Parliament, by such

5300-423: The calendar year, with the first act passed being chapter 1, and so on. In the United Kingdom, legislation has referenced by year and chapter number since 1963 ( Acts of Parliament Numbering and Citation Act 1962 ). Each act is numbered consecutively based on the date it received royal assent, for example the 43rd act passed in 1980 would be 1980 chapter 43. The full reference includes the (short) title and would be

5400-518: The city for three days . The mob broke into prisons and destroyed several buildings, including the palace of the Bishop of Bristol , the mansion of the Lord Mayor of Bristol , and several private homes. Other places that saw violence included Dorset , Leicestershire, and Somerset . Meanwhile, the political unions, which had hitherto been separate groups united only by a common goal, decided to form

5500-496: The country; opposition was especially pronounced in the House of Lords . Nevertheless, the bill was eventually passed, mainly as a result of public pressure. The Act granted seats in the House of Commons to large cities that had sprung up during the Industrial Revolution , and removed seats from the " rotten boroughs ": those with very small electorates and usually dominated by a wealthy patron. The Act also increased

5600-408: The county in which Leeds is situated. In this form, the bill passed both houses and became law. In 1828, Lord John Russell suggested that Parliament repeat the idea by abolishing the corrupt boroughs of Penryn and East Retford , and by transferring their seats to Manchester and Birmingham. This time, however, the House of Lords rejected his proposals. In 1830, Russell proposed another, similar scheme:

5700-477: The disfranchisement of the notoriously corrupt borough of Grampound in Cornwall. He suggested that the borough's two seats be transferred to the city of Leeds. Tories in the House of Lords agreed to the disfranchisement of the borough, but refused to accept the precedent of directly transferring its seats to an industrial city. Instead, they modified the proposal so that two further seats were given to Yorkshire ,

5800-454: The electorate from about 400,000 to 650,000, making about one in five adult males eligible to vote. By defining a voter as a male person, it also introduced the first explicit statutory bar to women voting . The full title is An Act to amend the representation of the people in England and Wales . Its formal short title and citation is Representation of the People Act 1832 ( 2 & 3 Will. 4 . c. 45). The Act applied only in England and Wales;

5900-482: The enfranchisement of Leeds, Manchester, and Birmingham, and the disfranchisement of the next three boroughs found guilty of corruption; again, the proposal was rejected. Support for reform came from an unexpected source—a reactionary faction of the Tory Party—in 1829. The Tory government under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , responding to the danger of civil strife in largely Roman Catholic Ireland, drew up

6000-599: The entire House. Despite such setbacks, popular pressure for reform remained strong. In 1819, a large pro-reform rally was held in Birmingham. Although the city was not entitled to any seats in the Commons, those gathered decided to elect Sir Charles Wolseley as Birmingham's "legislatorial representative". Following their example, reformers in Manchester held a similar meeting to elect a "legislatorial attorney". Between 20,000 and 60,000 (by different estimates) attended

6100-620: The event, many of them bearing signs such as "Equal Representation or Death". The protesters were ordered to disband; when they did not, the Manchester Yeomanry suppressed the meeting by force. Eighteen people were killed and several hundred injured in what later became known as the Peterloo Massacre . In response, the government passed the Six Acts , measures designed to quell further political agitation. In particular,

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6200-475: The following stages: There are special procedures for emergency bills, member's bills (similar to private member's bills in the UK Parliament), committee bills, and private bills. In Singapore, the bill passes through these certain stages before becoming into an Act of Parliament. Acts passed by the Parliament of England did not originally have titles, and could only be formally cited by reference to

6300-541: The franchise to 7 per cent of the population. Tradesmen, such as shoemakers, believed that the Reform Act had given them the vote. One example is the shoemakers of Duns, Scottish Borders , Berwickshire . They created a banner celebrating the Reform Act which declared, "The battle's won. Britannia's sons are free." This banner is on display at People's History Museum in Manchester . Many major commercial and industrial cities became separate parliamentary boroughs under

6400-539: The franchise varied greatly among boroughs, from the requirement to own land, to merely living in a house with a hearth sufficient to boil a pot. There had been calls for reform long before 1832, but without success. The Act that finally succeeded was proposed by the Whigs , led by Prime Minister Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey . It met with significant opposition from the Pittite factions in Parliament, who had long governed

6500-424: The government by discouraging activities on a national level. After the Reform Bill was rejected in the Lords, the House of Commons immediately passed a motion of confidence affirming their support for Lord Grey's administration. Because parliamentary rules prohibited the introduction of the same bill twice during the same session, the ministry advised the new king, William IV , to prorogue Parliament. As soon as

6600-403: The government) until the House of Lords should acquiesce. Some demonstrations called for the abolition of the nobility, and some even of the monarchy. In these circumstances, the Duke of Wellington had great difficulty in building support for his premiership, despite promising moderate reform. He was unable to form a government, leaving King William with no choice but to recall Lord Grey. Eventually

6700-458: The king consented to fill the House of Lords with Whigs; however, without the knowledge of his cabinet, Wellington circulated a letter among Tory peers, encouraging them to desist from further opposition, and warning them of the consequences of continuing. At this, enough opposing peers relented. By abstaining from further votes, they allowed the legislation to pass in the House of Lords, and the Crown

6800-452: The ministry decided to request a dissolution and take its appeal to the people. The political and popular pressure for reform had grown so great that pro-reform Whigs won an overwhelming House of Commons majority in the general election of 1831 . The Whig party won almost all constituencies with genuine electorates, leaving the Tories with little more than the rotten boroughs. The Reform Bill

6900-559: The motion is "That this bill be now read a second time and be referred to [name of committee]" and for third reading "That this bill be now read a third time and pass." In the Committee stage, each clause is called and motions for amendments to these clauses, or that the clause stand part of the bill are made. In the Report stage, the debate is on the motions for specific amendments. Once a bill has passed both Houses in an identical form, it

7000-550: The new divisions and parliamentary boroughs were defined in a separate Act, the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 . In county constituencies, franchise rights were extended to copyholders and long-term (at least sixty years) leaseholders of land with at least £10 annual value, medium-term (between twenty and sixty years) leaseholders of land with at least £10 annual value, and to tenants-at-will paying an annual rent of at least £50. Annual value refers to

7100-576: The new session began in December 1831, the Third Reform Bill was brought forward. The bill was in a few respects different from its predecessors; it no longer proposed a reduction in the total membership of the House of Commons, and it reflected data collected during the census that had just been completed. The new version passed in the House of Commons by even larger majorities in March 1832; it

7200-486: The next election. Voters in some constituencies resisted outright domination by powerful landlords, but were often open to corruption. Electors were bribed individually in some boroughs, and collectively in others. In 1771, for example, it was revealed that 81 voters in New Shoreham (who constituted a majority of the electorate) formed a corrupt organisation that called itself the "Christian Club", and regularly sold

7300-488: The number of members elected by populous counties. These reforms were all reversed, however, after Cromwell's death and the last parliament to be elected in the Commonwealth period in 1659 reverted to the electoral system as it had existed under Charles I. Following Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 the issue of parliamentary reform lay dormant; James II 's attempt to remodel municipal corporations to gain control of their borough seats created an antipathy to any change after

7400-426: The parliamentary session in which they were passed, with each individual act being identified by year and chapter number. Descriptive titles began to be added to the enrolled acts by the official clerks, as a reference aid; over time, titles came to be included within the text of each bill. Since the mid-nineteenth century, it has also become common practice for acts to have a short title , as a convenient alternative to

7500-414: The party's platform and encouraged them to register to vote annually, as required by the Act. Coverage of national politics in the local press was joined by in-depth reports on provincial politics in the national press. Grassroots Conservatives therefore saw themselves as part of a national political movement during the 1830s. The size of the pre-Reform electorate is difficult to estimate. Voter registration

7600-583: The pockets of their patrons. Most patrons were noblemen or landed gentry who could use their local influence, prestige, and wealth to sway the voters. This was particularly true in rural counties, and in small boroughs situated near a large landed estate. Some noblemen even controlled multiple constituencies: for example, the Duke of Norfolk controlled eleven, while the Earl of Lonsdale controlled nine. Writing in 1821, Sydney Smith proclaimed that "The country belongs to

7700-418: The political, economic and social sphere. Act of Parliament A draft act of parliament is known as a bill . In other words, a bill is a proposed law that needs to be discussed in the parliament before it can become a law. In territories with a Westminster system , most bills that have any possibility of becoming law are introduced into parliament by the government. This will usually happen following

7800-593: The present moment he had imposed upon him the duty of forming a legislature for any country [...] he did not mean to assert that he could form such a legislature as they possessed now, for the nature of man was incapable of reaching such excellence at once. [...] [A]s long as he held any station in the government of the country, he should always feel it his duty to resist [reform] measures, when proposed by others. The Prime Minister's absolutist views proved extremely unpopular, even within his own party. Less than two weeks after Wellington made these remarks, on 15 November 1830 he

7900-430: The property qualifications to vote. Before the reform, most members of Parliament nominally represented boroughs . The number of electors in a borough varied widely however, from a dozen or so up to 12,000. Frequently the selection of Members of Parliament (MPs) was effectively controlled by one powerful patron: for example Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk , controlled eleven boroughs. Criteria for qualification for

8000-483: The publication of a " white paper ", setting out the issues and the way in which the proposed new law is intended to deal with them. A bill may also be introduced into parliament without formal government backing; this is known as a private member's bill . In territories with a multicameral parliament, most bills may be first introduced in any chamber. However, certain types of legislation are required, either by constitutional convention or by law, to be introduced into

8100-471: The rent at which the land might reasonably be expected to be let from year to year. (The franchise rights of 40 shilling freeholders were retained.) The property qualifications of borough franchise were standardised to male occupants of property who paid a yearly rental of £10 or more. The property could be a house, warehouse, counting-house, shop, or other building as long as it was occupied, and occupied for at least 12 months. Existing borough electors retained

8200-420: The reorganisation of parliamentary constituencies. Their leader Thomas Rainsborough declared, "I think it's clear, that every man that is to live under a government ought first by his own consent to put himself under that government." More conservative members disagreed, arguing instead that only individuals who owned land in the country should be allowed to vote. For example, Henry Ireton stated, "no man hath

8300-477: The same version of the bill. Finally, the approved bill receives assent; in most territories this is merely a formality and is often a function exercised by the head of state . In some countries, such as in France, Belgium, Luxembourg , Spain and Portugal, the term for a bill differs depending on whether it is initiated by the government (when it is known as a "draft"), or by the parliament (a "proposition", i.e.,

8400-437: The sizes of the individual county constituencies varied significantly. The smallest counties, Rutland and Anglesey , had fewer than 1,000 voters each, while the largest county, Yorkshire , had more than 20,000. Those who owned property in multiple constituencies could vote multiple times . Not only was this typically legal (since there was usually no need for a property owner to live in a constituency in order to vote there) it

8500-477: The sometimes lengthy main titles. The Short Titles Act 1892 , and its replacement the Short Titles Act 1896 , gave short titles to many acts which previously lacked them. The numerical citation of acts has also changed over time. The original method was based on the regnal year (or years) in which the relevant parliamentary session met. This has been replaced in most territories by simple reference to

8600-504: The time of their original enfranchisement, but later went into decline, and by the early 19th century some only had a few electors, but still elected two MPs ; they were often known as rotten boroughs . Of the 70 English boroughs that Tudor monarchs enfranchised, 31 were later disenfranchised . Finally, the parliamentarians of the 17th century compounded the inconsistencies by re-enfranchising 15 boroughs whose representation had lapsed for centuries, seven of which were later disenfranchised by

8700-573: The whole of the UK or a number of its constituent countries – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Private acts are local and personal in their effect, giving special powers to bodies such as local authorities or making exceptions to the law in particular geographic areas. In the United Kingdom Parliament, each bill passes through the following stages: In the Scottish Parliament, bills pass through

8800-809: The women's vote appears to have been first made by Jeremy Bentham in 1817 when he published his Plan of Parliamentary Reform in the form of a Catechism , and was taken up by William Thompson in 1825, when he published, with Anna Wheeler , An Appeal of One Half the Human Race, Women, Against the Pretensions of the Other Half, Men, to Retain Them in Political, and Thence in Civil and Domestic Slavery: In Reply to Mr. Mill's Celebrated Article on Government . In

8900-485: Was a pledge to carry out parliamentary reform. On 1 March 1831, Lord John Russell brought forward the Reform Bill in the House of Commons on the government's behalf. The bill disfranchised 60 of the smallest boroughs, and reduced the representation of 47 others. Some seats were completely abolished, while others were redistributed to the London suburbs, to large cities, to the counties, and to Scotland and Ireland. Furthermore,

9000-521: Was again brought before the House of Commons, which agreed to the second reading by a large majority in July. During the committee stage, opponents of the bill slowed its progress through tedious discussions of its details, but it was finally passed in September 1831, by a margin of more than 100 votes. The Bill was then sent up to the House of Lords, a majority in which was known to be hostile to it. After

9100-402: Was also feasible, even with the technology of the time, since polling was usually held over several days. In boroughs the franchise was far more varied. There were broadly six types of parliamentary boroughs, as defined by their franchise: Some boroughs had a combination of these varying types of franchise, and most had special rules and exceptions, so many boroughs had a form of franchise that

9200-743: Was averse to the idea, as were many members of Pitt's own cabinet. In 1786, the Prime Minister proposed a reform bill, but the House of Commons rejected it on a 174–248 vote. Pitt did not raise the issue again for the remainder of his term. Support for parliamentary reform plummeted after the French Revolution in 1789. Many English politicians became steadfastly opposed to any major political change. Despite this reaction, several Radical Movement groups were established to agitate for reform. A group of Whigs led by James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale , and Charles Grey founded an organisation advocating parliamentary reform in 1792. This group, known as

9300-518: Was forced to resign after he was defeated in a motion of no confidence . Sydney Smith wrote, "Never was any administration so completely and so suddenly destroyed; and, I believe, entirely by the Duke's declaration, made, I suspect, in perfect ignorance of the state of public feeling and opinion." Wellington was replaced by the Whig reformer Charles Grey , who had by this time inherited the title of Earl Grey. Lord Grey's first announcement as Prime Minister

9400-420: Was fully convinced that the country possessed, at the present moment, a legislature which answered all the good purposes of legislation,—and this to a greater degree than any legislature ever had answered, in any country whatever. He would go further, and say that the legislature and system of representation possessed the full and entire confidence of the country. [...] He would go still further, and say, that if at

9500-559: Was increased to four, following the disenfranchisement of the Cornish borough of Grampound . Parliamentary boroughs in England ranged in size from small hamlets to large cities, partly because they had evolved haphazardly. The earliest boroughs were chosen in the Middle Ages by county sheriffs, and even a village might be deemed a borough. Many of these early boroughs (such as Winchelsea and Dunwich ) were substantial settlements at

9600-404: Was lacking, and many boroughs were rarely contested in elections. It is estimated that immediately before the 1832 Reform Act, 400,000 English subjects (people who lived in the country) were entitled to vote, and that after passage, the number rose to 650,000, an increase of more than 60%. Rodney Mace estimates that before, 1 per cent of the population could vote and that the Reform Act only extended

9700-434: Was once again sent up to the House of Lords. Realizing that another rejection would not be politically feasible, opponents of reform decided to use amendments to change the bill's essential character; for example, they voted to delay consideration of clauses in the bill that disfranchised the rotten boroughs. The ministers believed that they were left with only one alternative: to create a large number of new peerages, swamping

9800-623: Was rejected by a margin of almost 200 votes. Grey tried to raise the subject again in 1797, but the House again rebuffed him by a majority of over 150. Other notable pro-reform organisations included the Hampden Clubs (named after John Hampden , an English politician who opposed the Crown during the English Civil War) and the London Corresponding Society (which consisted of workers and artisans). But

9900-524: Was thus not forced to create new peers. The bill finally received royal assent on 7 June 1832, thereby becoming law. The Reform Act's chief objective was the reduction of the number of nomination boroughs. There were 203 boroughs in England before the Act. The 56 smallest of these, as measured by their housing stock and tax assessments, were completely abolished. The next 30 smallest boroughs each lost one of their two MPs. In addition Weymouth and Melcombe Regis 's four members were reduced to two. Thus in total

10000-459: Was unique to themselves. The largest borough, Westminster , had about 12,000 voters, while many of the smallest, usually known as "rotten boroughs", had fewer than 100 each. The most famous rotten borough was Old Sarum , which had 13 burgage plots that could be used to "manufacture" electors if necessary—usually around half a dozen was thought sufficient. Other examples were Dunwich (32 voters), Camelford (25), and Gatton (7). The claim for

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