---
title: "Representation of the People Act"
year: 1884
country: "United Kingdom"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1884/representation-people-act"
slug: "representation-people-act"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1884-01-01"
---

# Representation of the People Act

> Britain's Third Reform Act extended the franchise to working-class males and rural voters, doubling the electorate and accelerating the transition toward democratic representation.

## Summary

In the United Kingdom under the premiership of William Gladstone, the Representation of the People Act 1884, also known informally as the Third Reform Act, and the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 of the following year were laws which further extended the suffrage in the UK after the Derby government's Reform Act 1867. 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.

## Sources

- [Representation of the People Act 1884](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representation_of_the_People_Act_1884) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1884/representation-people-act