In the United Kingdom under the premiership of William Gladstone, the Representation of the People Act 1884 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 3), also known informally as the Third Reform Act,[1] and the Redistribution Act of the following year were laws which further extended the suffrage in the UK after the Derby government's Reform Act 1867.[2] Taken together, these measures extended the same voting qualifications as existed in the towns to the countryside, more than doubling the electorate in the counties, and essentially established the modern one member constituency as the normal pattern for parliamentary representation.[3]
The bill was introduced by Gladstone on 28 February 1884. It was initially rejected by the House of Lords on 17 July, but passed a second time and gained royal assent on 6 December of that year.[4]
The Act extended the 1867 concessions from the boroughs to the countryside. All men paying an annual rental of £10 and all those holding land valued at £10 now had the vote.[2] This significantly increased the electorate; in the 1880 general election, before the passing of the Act, 3,040,050 voters were registered, while in the 1885 general election, after the passing of the Act, there were 5,708,030 registered voters.[5] The bill was so objectionable to the House of Lords that Gladstone was forced to separate the legislation into two bills,[2] the second being the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, which redistributed constituencies in order to equalise representation within constituencies across the UK.[6]
The 1884 Reform Act did not establish universal suffrage: although the size of the electorate was increased considerably, all women and 40% of men were still without the vote.[7][8] Male suffrage varied throughout the kingdom, too: in England and Wales, two in three adult males had the vote; in Scotland, three in five did; but in Ireland, the figure was only one in two.[8]
Section 3: Men inhabiting a dwelling-house as an employee, whose employer did not live there, were to be treated for franchise purposes as if they were occupying as tenants.
Section 4: Prohibition of multiplicity of votes. This was not to stop people acquiring multiple votes in different constituencies (plural voting was still permitted), but to restrict sub-division of one property to qualify multiple voters (so-called faggot voters).
Section 5a: A man who was a £10 occupier in a county or borough was to be a voter in that county or borough. This assimilated the previous county occupation franchise and borough occupation franchise into a uniform occupation franchise.
Section 6: Occupation in a borough was not to confer a county franchise.
The Statutes: Second Revised Edition, Vol. XVI 1884–1886, (printed by authority 1900)
^Hayes, William A. (1982). The Background and Passage of the Third Reform Act. Garland Pub. ISBN978-0-8240-5156-3.
^ abcMcKechnie, The reform of the House of Lords p.49
^Blackburn, Robert (February 2011). "Laying the Foundations of the Modern Voting System: The Representation of the People Act 1918: Laying the Foundations of the Modern Voting System". Parliamentary History. 30 (1): 33–52. doi:10.1111/j.1750-0206.2010.00237.x.
^Craig, Fred W. S. (1989). British electoral facts, 1832–1987 (5th ed.). Aldershot, Hants., England: Parliamentary Research Services, Dartmouth. ISBN0-900178-30-2. OCLC 20057069.
^Lowell, A. Lawrence (1912). The Government of England. Vol. 1. London: Macmillan. p. 199.
Cunningham Glen, W (1885). The Representation of the People Act, 1884, with introduction notes and index. Shaw & Sons.
Digital reproduction of the Original Act on the Parliamentary Archives catalogue
April 06, 2024
representation, people, 1884, united, kingdom, under, premiership, william, gladstone, vict, also, known, informally, third, reform, redistribution, following, year, were, laws, which, further, extended, suffrage, after, derby, government, reform, 1867, taken,. In the United Kingdom under the premiership of William Gladstone the Representation of the People Act 1884 48 amp 49 Vict c 3 also known informally as the Third Reform Act 1 and the Redistribution Act of the following year were laws which further extended the suffrage in the UK after the Derby government s Reform Act 1867 2 Taken together these measures extended the same voting qualifications as existed in the towns to the countryside more than doubling the electorate in the counties and essentially established the modern one member constituency as the normal pattern for parliamentary representation 3 Representation ofthe People Act 1884Act of ParliamentParliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to amend the Law relating to the Representation of the People of the United Kingdom Citation48 amp 49 Vict c 3Introduced byWilliam GladstoneTerritorial extent United KingdomDatesRoyal assent6 December 1884Other legislationRepealed byRepresentation of the People Act 1918Relates toRedistribution of Seats Act 1885Status RepealedWilliam Ewart Gladstone in 1884 The bill was introduced by Gladstone on 28 February 1884 It was initially rejected by the House of Lords on 17 July but passed a second time and gained royal assent on 6 December of that year 4 The Act extended the 1867 concessions from the boroughs to the countryside All men paying an annual rental of 10 and all those holding land valued at 10 now had the vote 2 This significantly increased the electorate in the 1880 general election before the passing of the Act 3 040 050 voters were registered while in the 1885 general election after the passing of the Act there were 5 708 030 registered voters 5 The bill was so objectionable to the House of Lords that Gladstone was forced to separate the legislation into two bills 2 the second being the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 which redistributed constituencies in order to equalise representation within constituencies across the UK 6 The 1884 Reform Act did not establish universal suffrage although the size of the electorate was increased considerably all women and 40 of men were still without the vote 7 8 Male suffrage varied throughout the kingdom too in England and Wales two in three adult males had the vote in Scotland three in five did but in Ireland the figure was only one in two 8 Contents 1 Key sections of the Act 2 Effects 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksKey sections of the Act editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed November 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Section 2 This extended a uniform household freeholder and leaseholder franchise to all parliamentary boroughs and counties in the United Kingdom Section 3 Men inhabiting a dwelling house as an employee whose employer did not live there were to be treated for franchise purposes as if they were occupying as tenants Section 4 Prohibition of multiplicity of votes This was not to stop people acquiring multiple votes in different constituencies plural voting was still permitted but to restrict sub division of one property to qualify multiple voters so called faggot voters Section 5a A man who was a 10 occupier in a county or borough was to be a voter in that county or borough This assimilated the previous county occupation franchise and borough occupation franchise into a uniform occupation franchise Section 6 Occupation in a borough was not to confer a county franchise Effects editAs many crofters in the Scottish Highlands qualified as 10 occupiers the Act empowered Scottish Gaels to take action against evictions and rent increases at the end of the Highland Clearances Their votes led to the formation of the Crofters Party and Highland Land League 9 and eventually the passage of the Crofters Holdings Scotland Act 1886 which addressed many of their grievances and put an end to the Highland Clearances 10 See also edit nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article Representation of the People Act 1884 Democracy in Europe Reform Acts Representation of the People Act Parliamentary franchise in the United Kingdom 1885 1918 Medical Relief Disqualification Removal Act 1885References editThe Statutes Second Revised Edition Vol XVI 1884 1886 printed by authority 1900 Hayes William A 1982 The Background and Passage of the Third Reform Act Garland Pub ISBN 978 0 8240 5156 3 a b c McKechnie The reform of the House of Lords p 49 Blackburn Robert February 2011 Laying the Foundations of the Modern Voting System The Representation of the People Act 1918 Laying the Foundations of the Modern Voting System Parliamentary History 30 1 33 52 doi 10 1111 j 1750 0206 2010 00237 x Jones Andrew 2008 The politics of reform 1884 Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 08281 5 OCLC 233543817 Craig Fred W S 1989 British electoral facts 1832 1987 5th ed Aldershot Hants England Parliamentary Research Services Dartmouth ISBN 0 900178 30 2 OCLC 20057069 Lowell A Lawrence 1912 The Government of England Vol 1 London Macmillan p 199 Pilkington Colin 1999 The Politics today companion to the British Constitution Manchester University Press p 134 ISBN 978 0 7190 5303 0 a b Cook Chris 2005 The Routledge Companion to Britain in the Nineteenth Century 1815 1914 Routledge p 68 ISBN 978 0 415 35970 2 Crowley D W The Crofters Party 1885 to 1892 The first British independent common people s political party PDF Retrieved 24 April 2017 Thomson Derick S 1983 The Companion to Gaelic Scotland Basil Blackwater Publisher Lim Ath nan Damh p 88 ISBN 0 631 12502 7 External links editCunningham Glen W 1885 The Representation of the People Act 1884 with introduction notes and index Shaw amp Sons Digital reproduction of the Original Act on the Parliamentary Archives catalogue Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Representation of the People Act 1884 amp oldid 1210182185, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
