1. Reform in the 1880s Ballot Act 1872 Second Reform Act 1832 Reform Act
Corrupt and illegal Practices Act, 1883

2. Wider electoral reforms
Having dealt with corruption, Gladstone turned his attention to wider electoral reform
Liberal Party was now split about reform
Chamberlain introduced a franchise bill in 1884 to grant males in the counties equal voting rights to males in the boroughs
The lords blocked this, demanding that seats were redistributed at the same time
Protest marches in Birmingham and Glasgow took place demanding reform

3. This led to two separate acts Representation of the People Act 1884
Extended the vote
Increased electorate from 2.5 to 5 million
2 out of 3 men in England and Wales now had the vote
Male householders and lodgers of 12 months got the vote
Voting qualifications in boroughs and counties now the same (£10)

4. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
Aimed to construct constituencies of approximately equal size
79 towns with a population of under 15,000 lost both of their seats
36 towns with a population between 15,000 and 50,000 lost one seat, and between 50,000 and 165,000 kept two seats
Universities kept two seats
Remainder of the country was divided into single member constituencies
Total number of MPs increased from 652 to 670

5. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 Scotland
72 MPs now at Westminister
7 additional seats went to the counties
Lanark county increased MPs from 2 to 6
Fife, Perth and Renfrew increased representation to 2, Glasgow from 3 to 7, Edinburgh 2 to 4, Aberdeen 1 to 2

6. Third Reform Act-positives/negatives
Moved Britain closer to a democracy
Put in place an electoral system which is similar to the present system
However far from being a democratic society, women still excluded as were male domestic servants, sons who lived at home, paupers on poor relief, soldiers living in barracks and those who had failed to pay their rates

7. Other anomalies
Plural voting still existed. This meant that a man could have many votes if he owned property in different constituencies
University still elected MPs
University MPs were elected by PR
‘by modern standards, Victorian democracy was undemocratic’

8. Between 1885 and 1918 there were few attempts to widen the franchise
1918 Representation of the People Act finally removed the discrepancy of the male franchise and gave the vote to women aged 30 and over
Women eventually equal voting rights in 1928
Further 20th century reforms in 1948 and 1969 abolished university representation in Parliament and reduced the voting age from 21 to 18