Editing Joseph Chamberlain (section)

====Electoral reform====
Early in the Gladstone ministry, Chamberlain unsuccessfully suggested the extension of the franchise; the Prime Minister deferred until 1884, when the Liberals proposed a [[Representation of the People Act 1884|Third Reform Bill]] which gave the vote to hundreds of thousands of rural labourers. Chamberlain and the Radicals campaigned to capture the new voters with public meetings, speeches and articles written in the ''Fortnightly Review''. The Third Reform Act of 1884 was followed by the [[Redistribution of Seats Act 1885]], negotiated by Gladstone and Conservative leader [[Lord Salisbury]].

[[File:The Cabinet Council Vanity Fair 27 November 1883.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The Gladstone cabinet as depicted in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', 27 November 1883]]
During debate on the 1884 County Franchise Bill, Chamberlain famously declared that Salisbury was "himself the spokesman of a class — a class to which he himself belongs — [[Matthew 6:28|who toil not neither do they spin]]." In response, Salisbury branded Chamberlain a "Sicilian bandit" and [[Stafford Northcote]] called him "[[Jack Cade]]". When Chamberlain suggested that he would march on London with thousands of Birmingham constituents to protest against the [[House of Lords]]' powers, Salisbury remarked that "Mr. Chamberlain will return from his adventure with a broken head if nothing worse."