In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

Reform Acts

The parliamentary franchise in the United Kingdom was expanded and made more uniform through a series of Reform Acts beginning with the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

in 1832. Sources refer to up to six "Reform Acts", although the earlier three in 1832, 1867/8 and 1884 are better known by this name. Some other acts related to electoral matters also became known as Reform Acts. There are many other electoral reform acts in the United Kingdom that are not known by the name "Reform Act". Such legislation typically used the

short title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. Th ...

Representation of the People Act Representation of the People Act is a stock short title used in Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Mauritius, Pakistan, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the ...

, by which name the 1918, 1928 and other acts in the 20th century are better known and a term that was adopted in other countries around the world. *

Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament, Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major chan ...

(often called the "Great Reform Act" or "First Reform Act"), which applied to England and Wales and gave representation to previously underrepresented urban areas and extended the qualifications for voting. **

Scottish Reform Act 1832 The Scottish Reform Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the election laws of Scotland. The act was passed at approximately the same time as the Reform Act 1832, which applied to England and Wales. The chief a ...

, a similar reform applying to Scotland. **

Irish Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1832, commonly called the Irish Reform Act 1832, was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the election laws of Ireland. The act was passed at approximately the same time as t ...

, a similar reform applying to Ireland. *

Reform Act 1867 The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 (known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act) was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first ...

(also called the "Second Reform Act"), which widened the franchise and adjusted representation to be more equitable. ** Scotland, 1868, a similar reform applying to Scotland. ** Ireland, 1868, a similar reform applying to Ireland. *

Ballot Act 1872 The Ballot Act 1872 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that introduced the requirement for parliamentary and local government elections in the United Kingdom to be held by secret ballot. The act abolished the traditional hustings ...

(sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1872"), which introduced the secret ballot. *

Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883 The Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883 (46 & 47 Vict c. 51) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was a continuation of policy to make voters free from the intimidation of landowners a ...

(sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1883"), which introduced campaign spending limits. * Reform Act 1884 (also called the "Third Reform Act"), which allowed people in counties to vote on the same basis as those in towns. Home ownership was the only qualification. *

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

(sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"), which split most multi-member constituencies into multiple single-member ones. * Reform Act 1918 (also called the "Fourth Reform Act"), which abolished property qualifications for men and introduced limited female suffrage, for women over the age of 30. * Reform Act 1928 (also called the "Fifth Reform Act"), which widened suffrage by giving women electoral equality with men. * Reform Act 1969 (also called the "Sixth Reform Act"), which lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18.

Modern usage

The periodic redrawing of constituency boundaries is now dealt with by a permanent

Boundary Commission A boundary commission is a legal entity that determines borders of nations, states, constituencies. Notable boundary commissions have included: * Afghan Boundary Commission, an Anglo-Russian Boundary Commission, of 1885 and 1893, delineated the no ...

in each part of the United Kingdom, rather than by a Reform Act. Some people in Britain, mostly associated with the

Liberal Democrat Several political party, political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democracy, liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties ...

political party, have called for a new "Great Reform Act" to introduce electoral changes they favour. These would include lowering the minimum voting age to 16 and introducing

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

Reform Acts

Modern usage

See also

Notes

References

Further reading