How and Why did Disraeli Pass the Second Reform Act?

University Degree Historical and Philosophical studies

Hannah Seldon

The Second Reform Act was passed in 1867, and was initiated by Benjamin Disraeli, a Whig. In this essay I am going to try and discover how and why the Second Reform Act was passed.

The aim of the Second Reform Act was to redistribute parliamentary seats more equally. It also enfranchised adult males householders living in boroughs and male lodgers paying £10 for unfurnished rooms. This gave approximately 1 500 000 men the right to vote.

Before the second Reform Act was passed Gladstone had tried to pass a Bill in March 1866. His aim was to give ‘the industrious working classes the right to vote’, (1) whilst still retaining an aristocratic rule. His proposal was to give £7 householders in towns and £14 tenants in counties the right to vote, as well as some additional franchises for example an additional vote for those who saved £50 at Gladstone’s Post Office Saving Scheme. This Bill would have only added 400 000 voters to the register.

Gladstone’s Bill was unsuccessful because it was not radical enough and immediately faced problems as dissident Whigs did not agree with its terms, for example Robert Lowe believed that because the working classes were uneducated they might not vote wisely. This could be partly because he feared they would vote against him, as he was an MP for Calne.

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There was a strong feeling of competitism between Gladstone and Disraeli for a number of years both before and after the Second Reform Act. Disraeli’s decision to try and pass a Bill, shortly after Gladstone was an attempt to prevent Gladstone from obtaining parliamentary reform if the Liberals came to power. In Disraeli’s words he wanted to “extinguish Gladstone and company” (2). Disraeli’s proposal was more radical than Gladstone’s which is why it was more successful. As Scott-Baumann stated “Disraeli’s policies were more radical than the Radicals” (2). Disraeli wanted to protect and give more rights to the bourgeoisie who were treated unequally. Another motive for Disraeli was to gain power for his party, and thus make the Liberals less powerful.

Disraeli managed to pass the Second Reform Act because as he faced liberal opposition, he was forced to ally with the conservative upper class to get enough votes to pass it. Disraeli also earned the support of the Liberal Radicals, and in doing so managed to win more support than he had lost with the Ultra Tories. By allying with the conservatives, Disraeli was forced to alter some points however it did also help him get it through the House of the Commons and the House of the Lords.

The Second Reform Act was a success to an extent. The upper classes in Britain benefited significantly more than they had expected whereas the lower classes barely benefited. The upper classes managed to retain much of their political power, and extended the franchise to only a small proportion of the bourgeoisie. Although the working classes were satisfied to a point with what they had gained, the progressive movement they were seeing was only a front.

The Second Reform Act of 1867, made a limited short-term impact. Disraeli’s Bill was too vague so there was dispute over who was eligible to vote. This problem alone took fifteen years to correct, and even then much of the population still did not have the right to vote. It also did not have the desired effect on the Conservative Party. Although they did come to power and Disraeli became Prime Minister, they did not stay in power for long, in fact they lasted for less than one year.

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