The British Reform Act of 1832 introduced the first changes to electoral franchise legislation in almost one hundred and fifty years. It met strong opposition from the Tories, who had defeated earlier bills, and it required pressure on William IV and the resignation of Earl Grey's Whig government to pass.
The Act extended the franchise into the middle classes. Propertied male adults paying an annual rent of £10 or more (£2 in the rural counties) could vote. The vote was also extended to those with copyhold tenure of £10 or more and leaseholders or tenants-at-will paying £50 in rent. These changes increased the electorate from 435,000 to 652,000 (1 in 7 males) and gave greater political influence to urban centres in the north while leaving the rural areas under aristocratic control. The Act also abolished 56 rotten boroughs and removed one MP from boroughs with less than 4,000 inhabitants.
About 300,000 more men were able to vote.
However, parliament was still under the thrall of the gentry and there was still great disparity between the size of constituencies. Despite the hopes of Lord John Russell that further reform would never be necessary, popular pressure led to greater changes.
The following English Boroughs were disfranchised by this Act.
- Aldborough, North Riding of Yorkshire
- Aldeburgh, Suffolk
- Amersham, Buckinghamshire
- Appleby, Westmorland
- Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
- Barnstaple, Devon
- Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire
- Bedwyn, Wiltshire
- Bere Alston, Devon
- Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire
- Bishops Castle, Shropshire
- Bletchingley, Surrey
- Boroughbridge, North Riding of Yorkshire
- Bossiney, Cornwall
- Brackley, Northamptonshire
- Bramber, Sussex
- Callington, Cornwall
- Camelford, Cornwall
- Castle Rising, Norfolk
- Corfe Castle, Dorset
- Downton, Wiltshire
- Dunwich, Suffolk
- East Grinstead, Sussex
- East Looe, Cornwall
- Eye, Suffolk
- Gatton, Surrey
- Haslemere, Surrey
- Hedon, East Riding of Yorkshire
- Heytesbury, Wiltshire
- Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire
- Hindon, Wiltshire
- Lostwithiel, Cornwall
- Ludgershall, Wiltshire
- Marlow, Buckinghamshire
- Milborneport, Somerset
- Minehead, Somerset
- Newport, Cornwall
- Newton, Lancashire
- Okehampton, Devon
- Old Sarum, Wiltshire
- Orford, Suffolk
- Petersfield, Hampshire
- Plympton, Devon
- Queenborough, Kent
- Romney, Kent
- Saltash, Cornwall
- Seaford, Sussex
- St Germans, Cornwall
- St Mawes, Cornwall
- St Michaels, Cornwall
- Steyning, Sussex
- Stockbridge, Hampshire
- Tregony, Cornwall
- West Looe, Cornwall
- Wendover, Buckinghamshire
- Weobley, Herefordshire
- Whitchurch, Hampshire
- Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire
The following Boroughs were reduced from 2 MPs to 1:-
- Andover, Hampshire
- Ashburton, Devon
- Berwick, Northumberland
- Bridgwater, Somerset
- Christchurch, Hampshire
- Dartmouth, Devon
- Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire
- Grimsby, Lincolnshire
- Helston, Cornwall
- Honiton, Devon
- Hythe, Kent
- Lancaster, Lancashire
- Launceston, Cornwall
- Liskeard, Caradon
- Lyme Regis, Dorset
- Malmesbury, Wiltshire
- Midhurst, Sussex
- Monmouth, Monmouthshire
- Morpeth, Northumberland
- Northallerton, North Riding of Yorkshire
- Peterborough, Northamptonshire
- Rye, Sussex
- Shaftesbury, Dorset
- St Ives
- Thirsk, North Riding of Yorkshire
- Wallingford, Oxfordshire
- Wareham, Dorset
- Westbury, Wiltshire
- Wilton, Wiltshire
- Woodstock, Oxfordshire
The following Boroughs were enfranchised
1 MP:-
- Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire
- Birkenhead, Cheshire
- Bury, Lancashire
- Chatham, Kent
- Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
- Dudley, Worcestershire
- Frome, Somerset
- Gateshead, County Durham
- Huddersfield, West Riding
- Kendal, Westmorland
- Kidderminster, Worcestershire
- Rochdale, Lancashire
- South Shields, County Durham
- Salford, Lancashire
- Tynemouth, Northumberland
- Wakefield, West Riding
- Walsall, Staffordshire
- Warrington, Lancashire
- Whitby, North Riding
2 MPs
- Birmingham, Warwickshire
- Blackburn, Lancashire
- Bolton, Lancashire
- Bradford, West Riding
- Devonport, Devon
- Greenwich, Kent
- Halifax, West Riding
- Lambeth, Surrey
- Leeds, West Riding
- Macclesfield, Cheshire
- Manchester, Lancashire
- Marylebone, Middlesex
- Retford, Nottinghamshire
- Sheffield, West Riding
- Stoke, Staffordshire
- Stroud, Gloucestershire
- Sunderland, County Durham
- Tower Hamlets, Middlesex
- Wolverhampton, Staffordshire
Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in Dorset were reduced from 4 MPs to 2.
The Isle of Wight was allocated its own MP for the first time.
Yorkshire, which had 4 MPs, was given 2 MPs for each of the 3 Ridings, East, North and West Riding.
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Herefordshire and Hertfordshire were now to have 3 MPs instead of 2.
The Following counties were divided into two districts, each with 2 MPs.
- Cornwall
- Cheshire
- Cumberland
- Derbyshire
- Devon
- Durham
- Essex
- Gloucestershire
- Hampshire
- Kent
- Lancashire
- Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire
- Norfolk
- Northamptonshire
- Northumberland
- Nottinghamshire
- Shropshire
- Somerset
- Staffordshire
- Suffolk
- Surrey
- Sussex
- Warwickshire
- Wiltshire
- Worcestershire
In Scotland, the counties each continued to elect 1 member each. Edinburgh and Glasgow now had 2 MPs, Aberdeen, Dundee, Greenock, Paisley and Perth 1 each. The remaining Burghs combined in districts to elect 18 MPs.
Ireland's representation remained unchanged.
See also