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65-702: The Representation of the People Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102), known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act , is an act of the British Parliament that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first time, extending the franchise from landowners of freehold property above a certain value, to leaseholders and rental tenants as well. It took effect in stages over

130-419: A factory Act was passed in 1866 “dealing with uncleanliness, inadequate ventilation, and overcrowding in factories.” The provisions of this Act were extended to other trades in 1867, and as a result of this Act "1,500,000 women and children were admitted to the benefits of the factory laws." That same year an Act was passed regulating the hours of women workers in every workshop. The Master and Servant Act 1867

195-406: A borough franchise for all who paid rates in person (that is, not compounders), men who paid more than £10 rent per year, and extra votes for graduates, professionals and those with over £50 savings. These last "fancy franchises" were seen by Conservatives as a weapon against a mass electorate. However, Gladstone attacked the bill; a series of sparkling parliamentary debates with Disraeli resulted in

260-490: A government. Much to the consternation of some sections of his party, including Disraeli, Derby declined this offer, believing that he would be in a position to form a stronger government after a short-lived failed administration led by one of the Conservative Party's rivals such as Lord John Russell or Lord Palmerston . In 1858, Derby formed another minority government upon the resignation of Lord Palmerston following

325-682: A parliamentary defeat to an opposition motion which, in the context of a failed plot to assassinate Napoleon III of France, charged that "the ministry had admitted they sheltered assassins". Disraeli was again at the Exchequer and Leader of the Commons. Among the notable achievements of this administration was the end of the British East India Company following the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , which brought India under direct British control for

390-578: A reform bill in 1859, Lord John Russell , who had played a major role in passing the 1832 Reform Act, attempted this in 1860; but the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston , a fellow Liberal , was against any further electoral reform. The Union victory in the American Civil War in 1865 emboldened the forces in Britain that demanded more democracy and public input into the political system, to the dismay of

455-553: A strategy of trying to lure the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, away from his more radical colleagues, Lord John Russell in particular. This tactic was thwarted by Russell's declining influence and by Chancellor of the Exchequer William Ewart Gladstone 's 1861 budget which united the cabinet and increased divisions amongst the Conservatives. Palmerston continued as Prime Minister until his death in 1865, when he

520-534: A £10 lodger qualification for the boroughs, and a £50 savings qualification in the counties. Liberals claimed that "the middle classes, strengthened by the best of the artisans, would still have the preponderance of power". When it came to the vote, however, this bill split the Liberal Party: a split partly engineered by Benjamin Disraeli , who incited those threatened by the bill to rise up against it. On one side were

585-466: Is the longest-serving leader of the Conservative Party (1846–68). He is one of only four British prime ministers to have three or more separate periods in office. However, his ministries each lasted less than two years and totalled three years and 280 days. Derby introduced the state education system in Ireland, and reformed Parliament. Historian Frances Walsh has written that it was Derby: who educated

650-480: The 19th Parliament of the United Kingdom , which met from 19 November 1867 until 31 July 1868. Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby , (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869), known as Lord Stanley from 1834 to 1851 , was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served three times as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . To date, he

715-481: The Concert of Europe to resolve diplomatic problems. This contrasted sharply with the policy of military strength and prestige that Disraeli would later pursue, and Derby's very different take on foreign policy could be seen as the precursor of " splendid isolation ", as well as the diplomatic settlement of Europe pursued by later Conservatives in the late 19th century and the 1930s. In the general election of June 1852 ,

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780-697: The Conservative Party . The Adullamites were anti-reform, as were the Conservatives, but the Adullamites declined the invitation to enter into Government with the Conservatives as they thought that they could have more influence from an independent position. Despite the fact that he had blocked the Liberal Reform Bill, in February 1867, Disraeli introduced his own Reform Bill into the House of Commons. By this time

845-607: The Corn Laws ; the 113 members who were Free Traders and who were interested in eliminating all tariffs on consumer goods; and the 63 members of the Irish Brigade who were interested in the independence of Ireland and Tenant's Rights for Irish tenants. Immediately following the election in June 1852, none of these small groups were willing to work with the Whigs to form a government. Accordingly,

910-719: The Great Reform Act of 1832 (the First Reform Act), cabinets (in that era leading from both Houses) had resisted attempts to push through further reform, and in particular left unfulfilled the six demands of the Chartist movement. After 1848, this movement declined rapidly, but elite opinion began to pay attention. It was thus only 27 years after the initial, quite modest, Great Reform Act that leading politicians thought it prudent to introduce further electoral reform. Following an unsuccessful attempt by Benjamin Disraeli to introduce

975-510: The Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1868 and the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 . In Scotland, five existing constituencies gained members, and three new constituencies were formed. Two existing county constituencies were merged into one, giving an overall increase of seven members; this was offset by seven English boroughs (listed above) being disenfranchised, leaving

1040-526: The "Who? Who?" ministry. Traditionally Derby's ministries were thought in hindsight to have been dominated by Disraeli. However, recent research suggests that this was not always the case, especially in the government's conduct of foreign policy. There, Derby and his Foreign Secretaries , Lord Malmesbury and later his son Lord Stanley , pursued a course of action that was aimed at building up power through financial strength, seeking to avoid wars at all costs, co-operating with other powers, and working through

1105-523: The 1840s, they were powerful movements. The high point came when a demonstration in May 1867 in Hyde Park was banned by the government. Thousands of troops and policemen were prepared, but the crowds were so huge that the government did not dare to attack. The Home Secretary , Spencer Walpole , was forced to resign. Faced with the possibility of popular revolt going much further, the government rapidly included into

1170-639: The Cabinet in 1831. As Chief Secretary Stanley pursued a series of coercive measures which frequently brought him into conflict with the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , Lord Anglesey . In October 1831, Stanley wrote the Stanley Letter , to Augustus FitzGerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster , establishing the system of National Education in Ireland. This letter remains today the legal basis for the predominant form of primary education in Ireland. In 1833, Stanley moved up to

1235-571: The Colonies. He was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 1st Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps on 10 September 1862, beginning a family connection with the regiment that endured for over 100 years. Derby's tenure of 22 years as party leader still stands as the longest in Conservative Party history and indeed the history of any other political party in British history. Only Labour 's Clement Attlee came close, at 20 years. During Derby's third premiership,

1300-456: The Conservative Party. In the House of Lords, on 23 November 1847, he accused the Irish Catholic clergy of using the confessional to encourage lawlessness and crime. This was disputed in a series of letters by the coadjutor Bishop of Derry , Edward Maginn . In 1851 he succeeded his father as Earl of Derby. The party system was in a state of flux when the Conservatives left office in 1846,

1365-520: The Conservative party under Derby and Disraeli won only 330 seats in the House of Commons—42.9% of the total. Although the Whigs actually won fewer seats—292 seats—there were several small groups in Parliament that might be willing to side with the Whigs on particular issues, including the 38 Conservative members of Parliament who were Peelites , who had already joined with the Whigs in June 1846 to repeal

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1430-453: The Earl of Derby was invited to form a minority government. Derby did so and appointed Disraeli as the new Chancellor of the Exchequer. As with all minority governments, Derby's minority government had a difficult time governing. Their main preoccupation was avoiding any issue which might cause any of the government's small components to go over to Whigs and cause a "no confidence" vote. However,

1495-582: The Exchequer . They were faced with the challenge of reviving Conservatism: Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston , the powerful Liberal leader, was dead and the Liberal Party was split and defeated. Thanks to manoeuvring by Disraeli, Derby's Conservatives saw an opportunity to be a strong, viable party of government; however, there was still a Liberal majority in the House of Commons . The Adullamites , led by Robert Lowe , had already been working closely with

1560-495: The House with the same number of members. The representation of Ireland remained unchanged. The slur of local bribery and corruption dogged early debates in 1867–68. The whips' and leaders' decision to steer away discussion of electoral malpractice or irregularity to 1868's Election Petitions Act facilitated the progress of the main Reform Act. The unprecedented extension of the franchise to all householders effectively gave

1625-588: The Parliament of Ireland . For acts of the devolved parliaments and assemblies in the United Kingdom, see the list of acts of the Scottish Parliament , the list of acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly , and the list of acts and measures of Senedd Cymru ; see also the list of acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland . The number shown after each act's title is its chapter number. Acts passed before 1963 are cited using this number, preceded by

1690-637: The People (Scotland) Act 1868 the next year, their last number of MPs shown as blocks: The following boroughs were reduced from electing two MPs to one: Three further boroughs (Honiton, Thetford, Wells) were also due to have their representation halved under the 1867 Act, but before this reduction took effect they were disenfranchised altogether by the 1868 Scottish Reform Act as noted above. The Act created nine new single-member borough seats: The following two boroughs were enfranchised with two MPs: The following two were enlarged: The reforms for Scotland and Ireland were carried out by two subsequent acts,

1755-539: The Political Press, for which he has no partiality, which feeling is reciprocated by its members. In these days this is a fatal error in men who wish to obtain public power and distinction. Lord Derby is too proud a man to flatter anybody, even his greatest friends and equals, much less those of whom he knows nothing. Derby formed a minority government in February 1852 following the collapse of Lord John Russell 's Whig Government. In this new ministry, Benjamin Disraeli

1820-464: The Second Reform Act and democracy generally to plunging over Niagara Falls . His essay provoked a response from Mark Twain , "A Day at Niagara" (1869). Trollope's Phineas Finn is concerned almost exclusively with the parliamentary progress of the Second Reform Act, and Finn sits for one of the seven fictional boroughs that are due to be disenfranchised. 30 %26 31 Vict. Note that

1885-429: The act did not address the issues of compounding and of not being a ratepayer in a household. Compounding (counting of one's under-tenants payments and using that count as a qualification) as to all rates and rents was made illegal, abolished in the enactment of a bill tabled by Liberal Grosvenor Hodgkinson . This meant that all male tenants would have to pay the parish/local rates directly and thus thereafter qualified for

1950-622: The area Stanley in Hong Kong. Stanley was Prime Minister when Queen Victoria opened Wellington College , in Berkshire, a tribute to the Duke of Wellington , where the boarding house Stanley is named after him. The County of Stanley, Queensland , Australia, is named after the Earl. Notably, it contains the important Australian city of Brisbane . A library book about Smith-Stanley titled The Earl of Derby , written by George Saintsbury and published in 1892,

2015-744: The attitude of many in the country had ceased to be apathetic regarding reform of the House of Commons. Huge meetings, especially the ‘Hyde Park riots' , and the feeling that many of the skilled working class were respectable, had persuaded many that there should be a Reform Bill. However, wealthy Conservative MP Lord Cranborne resigned his government ministry in disgust at the bill's introduction. The Reform League , agitating for universal suffrage , became much more active, and organized demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of people in Manchester , Glasgow , and other towns. Though these movements did not normally use revolutionary language as some Chartists had in

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2080-534: The bill amendments which enfranchised far more people. Consequently, the bill was more far-reaching than any Members of Parliament had thought possible or really wanted; Disraeli appeared to accept most reform proposals, so long as they did not come from William Ewart Gladstone . An amendment tabled by the opposition (but not by Gladstone himself) trebled the new number entitled to vote under the bill; yet Disraeli simply accepted it. The bill enfranchised most men who lived in urban areas. The final proposals were as follows:

2145-435: The bill becoming much more radical. Having been given his chance by the belief that Gladstone's bill had gone too far in 1866, Disraeli had now gone further. Disraeli was able to persuade his party to vote for the bill on the basis that the newly enfranchised electorate would be grateful and would vote Conservative at the next election. Despite this prediction, in 1868 the Conservatives lost the first general election in which

2210-737: The end of the century denominational schools had become the norm. The former site of Fort Langley, British Columbia was renamed Derby by the Royal Engineers in 1858, apparently in honour of the Earl, who was British Prime Minister at the time. Stanley (sometimes referred to as "Port Stanley") on East Falkland , capital of the Falkland Islands , is named after Edward Smith-Stanley as are Port Stanley in Ontario, Canada (he did not visit his namesake but he had visited nearby Port Talbot, Ontario during his Canadian/American trip in 1824 ), as well as

2275-419: The first parliament of the United Kingdom was held in 1801; parliaments between 1707 and 1800 were either parliaments of Great Britain or of Ireland ). For acts passed up until 1707, see the list of acts of the Parliament of England and the list of acts of the Parliament of Scotland . For acts passed from 1707 to 1800, see the list of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain . See also the list of acts of

2340-628: The first time. Once again the government was short-lived, resigning after only one year, having narrowly lost a vote of no-confidence brought by Lord Hartington on behalf of various Whig and Radical factions which had coalesced at the Willis's Rooms meetings in St James's Street to mark the birth of the Liberal Party . In July 1859, Derby was appointed a Knight of the Garter . Back in opposition, Derby pursued

2405-458: The framework of the Whig constitution, though it was Disraeli who laid claim to it. The National School system in Ireland , the predominant form of primary school education, was unable to sustain the multi-denominational system set up by Stanley in the Stanley Letter . The letter had tried to deal with the seemingly intractable issue of different Christian religions living together in Ireland, but by

2470-501: The franchise. Liberal William Gladstone emphasized the "moral" improvement of workingmen and felt that they should therefore have the opportunity of "demonstrating their allegiance to their betters". However the opposition warned against the low-class democracy of the United States and Australia. Palmerston's death in 1865 opened the floodgates for reform. In 1866 Russell (Earl Russell as he had been since 1861, and now Prime Minister for

2535-566: The head of Henry Tudor . In 1822 Edward Stanley, as he was then, was elected to Parliament in the rotten borough of Stockbridge as a Whig , the traditional party of his family. In 1824, however, he alienated some of his Whig colleagues by voting against Joseph Hume 's motion for an investigation into the established Protestant Church of Ireland . He lost his seat in 1826. When the Whigs returned to power in 1830, Stanley became Chief Secretary for Ireland in Lord Grey's Government, and entered

2600-519: The increasingly radical Whiggery of Lord John Russell and the conservatism of the Tories. Tory leader Sir Robert Peel 's turn to the centre with the 1834 Tamworth Manifesto , published three days before Stanley's "Knowsley Creed" speech, robbed the Stanleyites of much of the uniqueness of their programme. The term "Derby Dilly" was coined by Irish Nationalist leader Daniel O'Connell . Besides Stanley,

2665-547: The last session of the Parliament of Great Britain and the first session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom are both cited as "41 Geo. 3". Some of these acts have a short title . Some of these acts have never had a short title. Some of these acts have a short title given to them by later acts, such as by the Short Titles Act 1896 . The second session of the 19th Parliament of the United Kingdom , which met from 5 February 1867 until 21 August 1867. The third session of

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2730-401: The longest-serving party leader in British history he has not received the recognition one would expect. As a landed aristocrat with Whig antecedents, literary tastes, and a passionate interest in shooting and the turf he seemed to represent an obsolete, amateur tradition in politics, while the mythologizing of Disraeli as the architect of conservative survival and success tended to cast him into

2795-403: The money paid ("compounding"). The act introduced a near-negligible redistribution of seats, far short of the urbanisation and population growth since 1832. The overall intent was to help the Conservative Party , Benjamin Disraeli expecting a reward for his sudden and sweeping backing of the reforms discussed, yet it resulted in their loss of the 1868 general election . For the decades after

2860-520: The more important position of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies , overseeing the passage of the Abolition of Slavery Bill . Stanley, a religiously devout Anglican, broke with the ministry over the reform of the Anglican Church of Ireland in 1834 and resigned from the government. He then formed a group called the " Derby Dilly " and attempted to chart a middle course between what they saw as

2925-460: The newly enfranchised electors voted. The bill ultimately aided the rise of the radical wing of the Liberal Party and helped Gladstone to victory. The Act was tidied up with many further Acts to alter electoral boundaries. Four electoral boroughs were disenfranchised by the Act, for corruption, their last number of MPs shown as blocks: Seven English boroughs were disenfranchised by the Representation of

2990-472: The next two years, culminating in full commencement on 1 January 1869. Before the act, one million of the seven million adult men in England and Wales could vote; the act immediately doubled that number. Further, by the end of 1868 all male heads of household could vote, having abolished the widespread mechanism of the deemed rentpayer or ratepayer being a superior lessor or landlord who would act as middleman for

3055-517: The other principal members of the Dilly were Sir James Graham , who had resigned as First Lord of the Admiralty ; Lord Ripon , who had resigned as Lord Privy Seal ; and the Duke of Richmond , who had resigned as Postmaster General . These four ministers had come from notably different political backgrounds—Stanley and Graham were old Whigs, Ripon was a former Canningite Tory prime minister, while Richmond

3120-474: The outstanding issues being the question of Ireland and the unresolved franchise. The protectionists had a core of leaders, of whom Derby was a leading light. He is the only modern-era prime minister who never enjoyed a parliamentary majority. In his private diary, the Earl of Malmesbury in 1857 commented on Derby's failure to exploit the press: Lord Derby has never been able to realise the sudden growth and power of

3185-457: The party and acted as its strategist to pass the last great Whig measure, the 1867 Reform Act . It was his greatest achievement to create the modern Conservative Party in the framework of the Whig constitution, though it was Disraeli who laid claim to it. Scholars long ignored his role but in the 21st century rank him highly among all British prime ministers. Edward Smith-Stanley was born on 19 March 1799 at Knowsley Hall , Lancashire . He

3250-599: The reactionary conservative Liberals, known as the Adullamites ; on the other were pro-reform Liberals who supported the Government. The Adullamites were supported by Tories and the liberal Whigs were supported by radicals and reformists. The bill was thus defeated and the Liberal government of Russell resigned. The Conservatives formed a ministry on 26 June 1866, led by Lord Derby as Prime Minister and Disraeli as Chancellor of

3315-684: The real issues facing Parliament could not be postponed for long, and when Disraeli submitted his first budget to Parliament in December 1852, it proved so unpopular with the Peelites, the Free Traders, and the Irish Brigade that it was voted down in a "no confidence" vote. As a result, Derby's minority government fell, making way for a Peelite–Whig coalition under Lord Aberdeen . When Aberdeen's administration fell in 1855, Queen Victoria asked Derby to form

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3380-515: The resignation of three cabinet ministers including the Secretary for India and future three-time Prime Minister, Lord Cranborne (later Lord Salisbury). In early 1868, Derby retired from political life on medical advice, leaving Disraeli to succeed him. In 1869, he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in recognition of his former role as Secretary of State for War and

3445-476: The second time), introduced a Reform Bill. It was a cautious bill, which proposed to enfranchise "respectable" working men, excluding unskilled workers and what was known as the "residuum", those that the MPs of the time described as feckless and criminal poor. This was ensured by a £7 annual rent qualification to vote—or 2 shillings and 9 pence (2s 9d) a week. This entailed two "fancy franchises", emulating measures of 1854,

3510-462: The shadows. This neglect was compounded by the absence of an official biography and problems of access to the Derby archives for a century after his death. Recent Studies have done something to redress the balance… It was Derby who educated the party and acted as its strategist to pass the last great Whig measure, the 1867 Reform Act . It was his greatest achievement to create the modern Conservative Party in

3575-505: The upper class landed gentry who identified with the US Southern States planters and feared the loss of influence and a popular radical movement. Influential commentators included Walter Bagehot , Thomas Carlyle , Anthony Trollope , Karl Marx and John Stuart Mill . Proponents used two arguments: the balance of the constitution and "moral right". They emphasized that deserving, skilled, sober, thrifty, and deferential artisans deserve

3640-416: The vote to many working-class men, quite a considerable change. Jonathan Parry described this as a "borough franchise revolution"; Overwhelming election of the landed class or otherwise very wealthy to the Commons would no longer be assured by money, bribery and favours, those elected would reflect the most common sentiment of local units of the public. The brand-new franchise provisions were briefly flawed;

3705-578: The vote. A 2022 study found that the Act reduced political violence in the UK. The Liberal Party was worried about the prospect of a socialist party taking the bulk of the working-class vote, so they moved to the left, while their rivals the Conservatives initiated occasional intrigues to encourage socialist candidates to stand against the Liberals. Thomas Carlyle 's essay "Shooting Niagara: And After?" compares

3770-493: The year(s) of the reign during which the relevant parliamentary session was held; thus the Union with Ireland Act 1800 is cited as "39 & 40 Geo. 3 c. 67", meaning the 67th act passed during the session that started in the 39th year of the reign of George III and which finished in the 40th year of that reign. Note that the modern convention is to use Arabic numerals in citations (thus "41 Geo. 3" rather than "41 Geo. III"). Acts of

3835-414: Was also introduced during his final term. Stanley married The Hon. Emma Bootle-Wilbraham , the second daughter of Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Baron Skelmersdale , on 31 May 1825. They had three children: Lord Derby died at Knowsley Hall on 23 October 1869 at the age of 70. The Countess of Derby died on 26 April 1876. Historian David Cannadine argues: Although almost entirely forgotten today, Derby

3900-601: Was an arch-conservative Tory who had incongruously found himself in the Grey cabinet. Although they did not participate in Peel's short-lived 1835 ministry , over the next several years they gradually merged into Peel's Conservative Party, with several members of the "Derby Dilly" taking prominent positions in Peel's second ministry . Joining the Conservatives, Stanley again served as Colonial Secretary in Peel's second government in 1841. In 1844 he

3965-477: Was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer . With many senior Conservative ministers having followed Peel, Derby was forced to appoint many new men to the office of the Cabinet, only three were pre-existing Privy Counsellors . When the aged Duke of Wellington , by then very deaf, heard the list of inexperienced cabinet ministers being read aloud in the House of Lords, he gave the government its nickname by shouting "Who? Who?". From then this government would be known as

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4030-513: Was one of the great figures of 19th century British public, social and cultural life: he was a fine debater, a classical scholar of note and a significant patron of the turf; he was also an authentic grandee, with very rich, coal-bearing estates in Lancashire, and leader of the Conservative Party for an unrivaled span of 22 years. Historian Frances Walsh has written: Although he was the first politician to become prime minister three times and remains

4095-404: Was succeeded by the ineffective Russell. Derby returned to power for the third and last time in 1866, following the collapse of Lord Russell's second government after its failed attempt at further electoral reform. Once again, Disraeli was a leading figure. This administration was particularly notable for the passage of the Reform Act 1867 , which greatly expanded the suffrage but which provoked

4160-406: Was summoned to the House of Lords as Lord Stanley of Bickerstaffe in his father's Barony of Stanley by a Writ of acceleration . He broke with the Prime Minister again in 1845, this time over the repeal of the Corn Laws , and managed to bring the majority of the Conservative Party with him (including, among others, the young Benjamin Disraeli ). He thereafter led the protectionist faction of

4225-449: Was the eldest son of Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby , and his wife (and first cousin) Charlotte Margaret Hornby. He was educated at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford . Stanley's ancestors were Kings of Man from 1405 and later Lords of Man . Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby , switched sides at the Battle of Bosworth and placed the crown of the fallen King Richard III upon

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