Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928
Encyclopedia
The Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) 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 widened suffrage by giving women electoral equality with men. It gave the vote to all women who paid rates to the local government on the same terms as men. This meant they had to be over 21 years old, regardless of property ownership. Prior to this act only women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications could vote.
This statute is sometimes known informally as the Fifth Reform Act or the Equal Suffrage Act.
without much opposition from other parties. This was unsurprising given that the Liberal Party
had been behind most reform in the nineteenth century. The Tories wanted to gain more voters in order to secure their position in government.
The bill became law on 2 July 1928, having been introduced in March. The leader of the NUWSS who had campaigned for the vote, Millicent Fawcett
, was still alive and attended parliament to see the vote take place. She wrote in her diary the same night "It is almost exactly 61 years ago since I heard John Stuart Mill
introduce his suffrage amendment to the Reform Bill on 20 May 1867. So I have had extraordinary good luck in having seen the struggle from the beginning."
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. This act expanded on the Representation of the People Act 1918
Representation of the People Act 1918
The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act...
which had given some women the vote in Parliamentary elections for the first time after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. It widened suffrage by giving women electoral equality with men. It gave the vote to all women who paid rates to the local government on the same terms as men. This meant they had to be over 21 years old, regardless of property ownership. Prior to this act only women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications could vote.
This statute is sometimes known informally as the Fifth Reform Act or the Equal Suffrage Act.
Passing of the act
The act was passed by the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
without much opposition from other parties. This was unsurprising given that the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
had been behind most reform in the nineteenth century. The Tories wanted to gain more voters in order to secure their position in government.
The bill became law on 2 July 1928, having been introduced in March. The leader of the NUWSS who had campaigned for the vote, Millicent Fawcett
Millicent Fawcett
Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett, GBE was an English suffragist and an early feminist....
, was still alive and attended parliament to see the vote take place. She wrote in her diary the same night "It is almost exactly 61 years ago since I heard John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
introduce his suffrage amendment to the Reform Bill on 20 May 1867. So I have had extraordinary good luck in having seen the struggle from the beginning."