# Canonical recap data for Representation of the People Act (1928)
# Source: https://recap.at/1928/equal-franchise-act
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: equal-franchise-act
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1928/equal-franchise-act"
title: Representation of the People Act
aliases:
- Fifth Reform Act
- Equal Franchise Act 1928
- Women's Suffrage Act 1928
- Representation of the People Act 1928
subtitle: Representation of the People Act
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1928-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1928
decade: 1920
country:
name: England
slug: england
summaryShort: 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.
summaryLong: 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.
lede: 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.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%281901%E2%80%931952%29.svg/1280px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%281901%E2%80%931952%29.svg.png"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928"
importance: 50
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Women enfranchised
  value: Approximately 5 million women over 21
- label: Female share of electorate
  value: 52% after the Act passed
- label: Age parity achieved
  value: Men and women both voting at 21
- label: Year of passage
  value: "1928"
- label: Years since 1918 reform
  value: 10 years (limited women's suffrage granted)
- label: Property qualification
  value: Removed for women; men had lost it in 1918
timeline:
- date: 1867-01-01
  title: Second Reform Act
  description: Expanded male suffrage; women still excluded from voting entirely.
- date: 1918-02-06
  title: Representation of the People Act 1918
  description: Men could vote at 21 under this Act; most property qualifications for men were eliminated, with full universal male suffrage achieved in 1928.
- date: 1920-01-01
  title: First election with female voters
  description: Women cast ballots in a UK general election for the first time in December 1918.
- date: 1928-03-28
  title: Equal Franchise Bill introduced
  description: The Bill was presented to Parliament with the aim of equalizing voting age and removing property qualifications for women.
- date: 1928-07-02
  title: Representation of the People Act 1928 received Royal Assent
  description: 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.
- date: 1929-05-30
  title: First general election under equal franchise
  description: British voters went to the polls in the first election where women constituted a majority of the electorate.
sources:
- url: ""
  title: Representation of the People Act 1928
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: 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.
categories:
- election
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- constitutional_reform
canonicalClasses:
- governance
- transformation
impactRadius: national
velocity: gradual
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: single_domain
lifecycleClass: transition
metaDescription: How Britain granted all women the vote in 1928, completing the suffrage movement's long battle for democratic equality.
wikidataQid: Q7314203
comparisonThenNow:
- metric: Percentage of UK population with voting rights
  thenValue: approximately 50% (1928)
  thenYear: 1928
  nowValue: ~99%
  nowYear: 2024
  note: 1928 figure includes women over 21 newly enfranchised by the Act; modern figure reflects universal adult suffrage established by 1969
- metric: Women eligible to vote in UK parliamentary elections
  thenValue: Women over 21
  thenYear: 1928
  nowValue: Women over 18
  nowYear: 1969
  note: Equal voting age achieved through Representation of the People Act 1969
- metric: Voting age lowered to
  thenValue: 21 years
  thenYear: 1928
  nowValue: 18 years
  nowYear: 1969
consequences:
- title: Women comprise near-parity in electorate
  year: 1929
  description: 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
- title: Conservative Party dominance shifts
  year: 1929
  description: 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
- title: Suffrage becomes truly universal principle
  year: 1945
  description: 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
- title: Generational momentum toward equal voting age
  year: 1969
  description: 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
culturalContext:
topMusic:
- title: Ain't Misbehavin'
  artist: Fats Waller
  year: 1929
  note: Released shortly after the Act; epitomized the jazz age energy concurrent with political reform
  referenceCard:
  status: ok
  checkedAt: "2026-05-27T09:25:47.309Z"
- title: Singin' in the Rain
  artist: Gene Kelly (later 1952 film version)
  year: 1929
  note: Original 1929 composition by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed captured the optimism of post-suffrage era
  referenceCard:
  status: not_found
  checkedAt: "2026-05-27T09:25:47.309Z"
topFilms:
- title: Blackmail
  year: 1929
  note: Hitchcock's first sound film; British cinema entering new era as political landscape shifted
  referenceCard:
  status: ok
  checkedAt: "2026-05-27T09:25:47.309Z"
- title: The Broadway Melody
  year: 1929
  note: First Best Picture Oscar winner; American cinema ascendant during period of expanded UK female electorate
  referenceCard:
  status: ok
  checkedAt: "2026-05-27T09:25:47.309Z"
topTVShows: []
zeitgeistNote: "1928 marked a pivot point in British politics where expanding female suffrage coincided with broader modernization: the BBC had begun regular television broadcasts in 1927, automobiles were becoming accessible, and cultural debates centered on women's place in public life. The Act represented institutional recognition of changes already underway in society."
relatedQueries:
- Representation of the People Act 1918 women's suffrage
- UK voting age history timeline
- Equal voting rights women Britain 1928
- 1929 British general election female voters
- Representation of the People Act 1969
- Women's suffrage reform acts UK
- Flapper vote 1928
- British electoral reform history
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%281901%E2%80%931952%29.svg/1280px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%281901%E2%80%931952%29.svg.png"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%281901%E2%80%931952%29.svg/800px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%281901%E2%80%931952%29.svg.png"
  caption: Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928
  credit: Wikipedia · "Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928"
  width: 330
  height: 327
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Stoneware_Reform_Bill_spirit_flats_%28Derbyshire%2C_1832%29.jpg/1280px-Stoneware_Reform_Bill_spirit_flats_%28Derbyshire%2C_1832%29.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Stoneware_Reform_Bill_spirit_flats_%28Derbyshire%2C_1832%29.jpg/800px-Stoneware_Reform_Bill_spirit_flats_%28Derbyshire%2C_1832%29.jpg"
  caption: Stoneware Reform Bill spirit flats (Derbyshire, 1832)
  credit: Brigade Piron
  width: 9000
  height: 12000
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Local_Government_Act_1929_%28UKPGA_Geo5-19-20-17%29.pdf/page1-960px-Local_Government_Act_1929_%28UKPGA_Geo5-19-20-17%29.pdf.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Local_Government_Act_1929_%28UKPGA_Geo5-19-20-17%29.pdf/page1-960px-Local_Government_Act_1929_%28UKPGA_Geo5-19-20-17%29.pdf.jpg"
  caption: Local Government Act 1929 (UKPGA Geo5-19-20-17)
  credit: Wikimedia Commons
  width: 1239
  height: 1752
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Representation_of_the_People_Act_1918.jpg/1280px-Representation_of_the_People_Act_1918.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Representation_of_the_People_Act_1918.jpg/800px-Representation_of_the_People_Act_1918.jpg"
  caption: Representation of the People Act 1918
  credit: Uncredited.
  width: 460
  height: 442
relationships:
- targetSlug: wright-brothers-first-flight
  type: caused_by
  confidence: 75
  evidence: Timeline of "Representation of the People Act" references "Wright Brothers' First Flight" (2 shared tokens incl. title anchor).
  source: ai
- targetSlug: great-reform-bill-crisis-1831
  type: caused_by
  confidence: 75
  evidence: Timeline of "Representation of the People Act" references "Indian Reform Bill rejected; House of Lords blocks electoral change" (6 shared tokens incl. title anchor).
  source: ai
- targetSlug: universal-declaration-human-rights-1948
  type: caused
  confidence: 75
  evidence: Timeline of "Representation of the People Act" references "UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted" (2 shared tokens incl. title anchor).
  source: ai
