1885 Redistribution Act
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This Act aimed to construct constituencies of approximately equal size.

The Act allowed Britain to advance a step further in gaining equal representation before this Act seats were unfairly distributed leading to harsh and unfair representation. This Act improved the balance of seats.

Each of these Acts allowed Britain to bridge the gap on reaching democracy, the Secret ballot Act minimised bribery and corruption which infiltrated the voting system they however did not wipe the system totally clean until the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act made it presence felt and eradicated both bribery and corruption for the system. The Third reform Act expanded the franchise by 50% but it was simply not a great enough extension to brand Britain democratic. The redistribution of seats Act improved equality in representation but the improvement was not immense. As a whole these Acts before 1900s edged Britain further to democracy but they did not deliver enormous changes, they of course were a vast improvement to the system to the way it stood before 1832, they were to be the last changes to the electoral system for some 30 years.

Other Notes in this Category

1. 1885 Redistribution Act
2. Compare the attitude of the Liberal and Tory Parties to parliamentary reform before 1867
3. Explain how the Reform Union differed from the Reform League
4. How Democratic was Britain by 1914?
5. Overview of Growth of Democracy
6. Reform between 1832 and 1886
7. The Ballot Act 1872, The corrupt and Illegal Practices Act 1883, Representation of the People Act 1884
8. To what extent was the Electoral system democratic in 1850?
9. Why did the demand for parliamentary reform grow between 1850 and 1867?

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