Editing Reform Act 1832 (section)

===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>