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The Reform Act of 1867 was a controversial piece of British legislation that greatly increased the number of men who could vote in elections in the UK.
Following the Great Reform Act of 1832, it was decided prudent to introduce further electoral reform. Lord John Russell attempted this in 1860, however the then Prime Minister Lord Palmerston was against any further electoral reform. When Palmerston died in 1865 however, the floodgates for reform were opened.
Earl Russell (as he had become) became Prime Minister and attempted some reforming bills. These were unpopular and were rejected. Russell resigned and William Gladstone became leader of the Liberal party in 1866. A disaffected branch of the Liberal party called the Adullamites 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.
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. The purpose of the bill had been to separate the responsible sober skilled working class from the drunken idle and stupid, otherwise known as the residium. 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. Obviously the Conservatives lost the election of 1867, but the new voters voted in a general election for the first time in 1874, which Disraeli's Conservative party won.
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. Several towns that were previously unrepresented were given MP's including Sunderland. Towns with a population of less than 10,000 lost an MP, this freed up 45 seats for redistribution amongst new towns, growing industrial towns, northern counties and 1 to the University of 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.
The following Boroughs were disfranchised
(Bridgwater, Beverley and Cashel (Ireland) were subsequently disfranchised for corruption in 1869, and Sligo (Ireland) in 1870).
The following Boroughs were reduced from 2 MPs to 1
Salford was given 2 MPs instead of 1. Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester now had 3 MPs instead of 2.
The following Boroughs were enfranchised
1MP:-
2MPs
The West Riding of Yorkshire was divided into 3 districts each returning 2 MPs.
Cheshire, Kent, Norfolk, Somerset, Staffordshire and Surrey were now divided into 3 districts instead of 2, each returning 2 MPs.
Lancashire was now divided into 4 2-MP districts instead of 2.
In Scotland, the 4 Universities now had 2 MPs each, and Glasgow now had 3 MPs instead of 2, and Aberdeen and Dundee 2 each instead of 1. Lanarkshire was divided into 2 districts with 1 MP each.
The representation of Ireland remained unchanged.
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