Editing Reform Act 1832 (section)

==Passage of the Reform Act==

===First Reform Bill===
The death of [[George IV of the United Kingdom|King George IV]] on 26 June 1830 dissolved Parliament by law, and a [[1830 United Kingdom general election|general election]] was held. Electoral reform, which had been frequently discussed during the preceding parliament, became a major campaign issue. Across the country, several pro-reform "political unions" were formed, made up of both middle and working class individuals. The most influential of these was the [[Birmingham Political Union]], led by [[Thomas Attwood (economist)|Thomas Attwood]]. These groups confined themselves to lawful means of supporting reform, such as petitioning and public oratory, and achieved a high level of public support.<ref>May (1896), vol. II, p. 384.</ref>

[[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey]] became prime minister in 1830, and his first announcement as prime minister was a pledge to carry out parliamentary reform. On 1 March 1831, Lord John Russell brought forward the Reform Bill in the House of Commons on the government's behalf. The bill disfranchised 60 of the smallest boroughs, and reduced the representation of 47 others. Some seats were completely abolished, while others were redistributed to the London suburbs, to large cities, to the counties, and to Scotland and Ireland. Furthermore, the bill standardised and expanded the borough franchise, increasing the size of the electorate (according to one estimate) by half a million voters.<ref>May (1896), vol. I, pp. 421–422.</ref>

On 22 March, the vote on the [[reading (legislature)|second reading]] attracted a record 608 members, including the non-voting Speaker (the previous record was 530 members). Despite the high attendance, the second reading was approved by only one vote, and further progress on the Reform Bill was difficult. During the committee stage, [[Isaac Gascoyne]] put forward a motion objecting to provisions of the bill that reduced the total number of seats in the House of Commons. This motion was carried, against the government's wishes, by 8 votes. The ministry lost a vote on a procedural motion by 22 votes. As these divisions indicated that Parliament was against the Reform Bill, the ministry decided to request a dissolution and take its appeal to the people.<ref>May (1896), vol. I, pp. 422–423.</ref>

===Second Reform Bill===
The political and popular pressure for reform had grown so great that pro-reform Whigs won an overwhelming House of Commons majority in the [[1831 United Kingdom general election|general election of 1831]]. The Whig party won almost all constituencies with genuine electorates, leaving the Tories with little more than the rotten boroughs. The Reform Bill was again brought before the House of Commons, which agreed to the second reading by a large majority in July. During the committee stage, opponents of the bill slowed its progress through tedious discussions of its details, but it was finally passed in September 1831, by a margin of more than 100 votes.<ref>May (1896), vol. I, pp. 423–424.</ref>

The Bill was then sent up to the House of Lords, a majority in which was known to be hostile to it. After the Whigs' decisive victory in the 1831 election, some speculated that opponents would abstain, rather than openly defy the public will. Indeed, when the Lords voted on the second reading of the bill after a memorable series of debates, many Tory peers did refrain from voting. However, the [[Lords Spiritual]] mustered in unusually large numbers, and of 22 present, 21 voted against the Bill. It failed by 41 votes.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}

When the Lords rejected the Reform Bill, public violence ensued. That very evening, [[1831 reform riots|riots broke out]] in [[Derby]], where a mob attacked the city jail and freed several prisoners. In [[Nottingham]], rioters set fire to [[Nottingham Castle]] (the home of the Duke of Newcastle) and attacked [[Wollaton Hall]] (the estate of Lord Middleton). The most significant disturbances occurred at [[Bristol]], where [[1831 Bristol riots|rioters controlled the city for three days]]. The mob broke into prisons and destroyed several buildings, including the palace of the [[Bishop of Bristol]], the mansion of the [[Lord Mayor of Bristol]], and several private homes. Other places that saw violence included [[Dorset]], Leicestershire, and [[Somerset]].<ref>{{harvp|Rudé|1967|pp=97–98}}</ref>

Meanwhile, the political unions, which had hitherto been separate groups united only by a common goal, decided to form the [[National Political Union (England)|National Political Union]]. Perceiving this group as a threat, the government issued a proclamation pursuant to the [[Unlawful Societies Act 1799|Corresponding Societies Act 1799]] declaring such an association "unconstitutional and illegal", and commanding all loyal subjects to shun it. The leaders of the National Political Union ignored this proclamation, but leaders of the influential Birmingham branch decided to co-operate with the government by discouraging activities on a national level.<ref>May (1896), vol. II, pp. 389–390.</ref>

===Third Reform Bill===
After the Reform Bill was rejected in the Lords, the House of Commons immediately passed a [[motion of confidence]] affirming their support for Lord Grey's administration. Because parliamentary rules prohibited the introduction of the same bill twice during the same [[parliamentary session]], the ministry advised the new king, [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]], to [[Prorogation in the United Kingdom|prorogue]] Parliament. As soon as the new session began in December 1831, the Third Reform Bill was brought forward. The bill was in a few respects different from its predecessors; it no longer proposed a reduction in the total membership of the House of Commons, and it reflected data collected during the census that had just been completed. The new version passed in the House of Commons by even larger majorities in March 1832; it was once again sent up to the House of Lords.<ref>May (1896), vol. I, p. 452.</ref>

Realizing that another rejection would not be politically feasible, opponents of reform decided to use amendments to change the bill's essential character; for example, they voted to delay consideration of clauses in the bill that disfranchised the rotten boroughs. The ministers believed that they were left with only one alternative: to create a large number of new peerages, swamping the House of Lords with pro-reform votes. But the prerogative of creating peerages rested with the king, who recoiled from so drastic a step and rejected the unanimous advice of his cabinet. Lord Grey then resigned, and the king invited the Duke of Wellington to form a new government.<ref>May (1896), vol. I, p. 312.</ref>

The ensuing period became known as the "[[Days of May]]", with so great a level of political agitation that some feared revolution. Some protesters advocated non-payment of taxes, and urged a [[Bank run|run on the banks]]; one day signs appeared across London reading "Stop the Duke; go for gold!" £1.8&nbsp;million{{efn|£1.8&nbsp;million was equivalent to £{{inflation|UK|1.8|1832|fmt=c|r=-2}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|UK}} terms in 1832.{{Inflation/fn|UK}}}} was withdrawn from the Bank of England in the first days of the run (out of about £7&nbsp;million{{efn|£7&nbsp;million was equivalent to £{{inflation|UK|7|1832|fmt=c|r=-2}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|UK}} terms in 1832.{{Inflation/fn|UK}}}} total gold in the bank's possession).<ref>{{cite book |last=Gross|first=David M.|year=2014|title=99 Tactics of Successful Tax Resistance Campaigns|publisher=Picket Line Press|isbn=978-1490572741|page=176}}</ref> The National Political Union and other organisations sent petitions to the House of Commons, demanding that they [[Loss of supply|withhold supply]] (cut off funding to the government) until the House of Lords should acquiesce. Some demonstrations called for the abolition of the nobility, and some even of the monarchy.<ref>May (1896), vol. II, pp. 390–391.</ref> In these circumstances, the Duke of Wellington had great difficulty in building support for his premiership, despite promising moderate reform. He was unable to form a government, leaving King William with no choice but to recall Lord Grey. Eventually the king consented to fill the House of Lords with Whigs; however, without the knowledge of his cabinet, Wellington circulated a letter among Tory peers, encouraging them to desist from further opposition, and warning them of the consequences of continuing. At this, enough opposing peers relented.<ref>May (1896), vol. I, pp. 312–313.</ref> By abstaining from further votes, they allowed the legislation to pass in the House of Lords, and the Crown was thus not forced to create new peers. The bill finally received [[royal assent]] on 7 June 1832, thereby becoming law.<ref>{{cite book|last=Evans|first=Eric J.|year=1994|title=The Great Reform Act of 1832|edition=2nd|orig-year=first published 1983|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781134816033|page=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9cXnG6yW7YC&pg=PA1}}</ref>