---
title: "Representation of the People Act"
year: 1928
country: "England"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1928/equal-franchise-act"
slug: "equal-franchise-act"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1928-01-01"
---

# Representation of the People Act

> Representation of the People Act

On 2 July 1928, the Representation of the People Act received Royal Assent, granting voting rights to all women over 21, matching men's suffrage for the first time.

## Summary

The Representation of the People Act 1928 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This act expanded on the Representation of the People Act 1918 which had given some women the vote in Parliamentary elections for the first time after World War I. It is sometimes referred to as the Fifth Reform Act.

## Key facts

- **Women enfranchised**: Approximately 5 million women over 21
- **Female share of electorate**: 52% after the Act passed
- **Age parity achieved**: Men and women both voting at 21
- **Year of passage**: 1928
- **Years since 1918 reform**: 10 years (limited women's suffrage granted)
- **Property qualification**: Removed for women; men had lost it in 1918

## Timeline

- **1867-01-01** - Second Reform Act
  Expanded male suffrage; women still excluded from voting entirely.
- **1918-02-06** - Representation of the People Act 1918
  Men could vote at 21 under this Act; most property qualifications for men were eliminated, with full universal male suffrage achieved in 1928.
- **1920-01-01** - First election with female voters
  Women cast ballots in a UK general election for the first time in December 1918.
- **1928-03-28** - Equal Franchise Bill introduced
  The Bill was presented to Parliament with the aim of equalizing voting age and removing property qualifications for women.
- **1928-07-02** - Representation of the People Act 1928 received Royal Assent
  All women over 21 gained the right to vote, achieving voting parity with men for the first time. The Act also removed remaining property qualifications.
- **1929-05-30** - First general election under equal franchise
  British voters went to the polls in the first election where women constituted a majority of the electorate.

## Relationships

- **caused by**: wright-brothers-first-flight - Timeline of "Representation of the People Act" references "Wright Brothers' First Flight" (2 shared tokens incl. title anchor).
- **caused by**: great-reform-bill-crisis-1831 - Timeline of "Representation of the People Act" references "Indian Reform Bill rejected; House of Lords blocks electoral change" (6 shared tokens incl. title anchor).
- **caused**: universal-declaration-human-rights-1948 - Timeline of "Representation of the People Act" references "UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted" (2 shared tokens incl. title anchor).

## Consequences

- **1929 - Women comprise near-parity in electorate**: Following the 1928 Act's passage, women constituted approximately 52% of registered voters in the 1929 general election, fundamentally altering electoral mathematics for all subsequent campaigns
- **1929 - Conservative Party dominance shifts**: The 1929 general election saw Labour win 288 seats versus Conservatives' 260, partly attributed to female voters who were thought to favor Labour's social policies
- **1945 - Suffrage becomes truly universal principle**: The 1945 election consolidated female voting as permanent fixture; both major parties by this point framed policy around women's economic participation and welfare needs
- **1969 - Generational momentum toward equal voting age**: The Representation of the People Act 1969 lowered voting age to 18 for all citizens, removing the last gendered distinction in electoral eligibility that had persisted since 1928

## Then vs now

- **Percentage of UK population with voting rights**: 1928: approximately 50% (1928) → 2024: ~99% - 1928 figure includes women over 21 newly enfranchised by the Act; modern figure reflects universal adult suffrage established by 1969
- **Women eligible to vote in UK parliamentary elections**: 1928: Women over 21 → 1969: Women over 18 - Equal voting age achieved through Representation of the People Act 1969
- **Voting age lowered to**: 1928: 21 years → 1969: 18 years

## Impact

The 1928 Act eliminated the last gender barrier to voting in Britain, enfranchising roughly 5 million women at a stroke. It marked the endpoint of a 60-year suffrage struggle and instantly shifted the arithmetic of electoral politics-women now represented a clear majority of voters. The legislation forced political parties to treat women's interests as central rather than peripheral.

## Sources

- [Representation of the People Act 1928]() - Wikipedia

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Canonical: https://recap.at/1928/equal-franchise-act