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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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franchise
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The first important step in the long campaign to extend the franchise (the right to vote) was the *Reform Act of 1832; previously the electoral system had been both chaotic and corrupt, as seen in the extreme case of the rotten *boroughs. The act of 1832 gave the vote to any male householder occupying a property above a stated freehold, leasehold or rental value. The levels chosen had the effect of enfranchising the middle classes. Legislation in 1867 reduced the qualifying levels and thus gave the vote to the urban working man, while further amendments in 1884 did the same for rural workers. Meanwhile the Ballot Act of 1872 had introduced the essential democratic element of a secret ballot.
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The Representation of the People Act of 1918 removed all financial constraints, substituting residence as the sole qualification; it also, for the first time, gave the vote to women, but only to those over 30 (as opposed to 21 for men). Universal suffrage was finally achieved in the UK in 1928, when the age limit for women was reduced to 21. The voting age was further reduced to 18 in 1969; and since 1989 Britons living abroad have been entitled to vote in British elections for up to 20 years from their last time of UK residence. The few important categories of people without a vote are members of the house of lords, certified lunatics and those in prison.
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In the Isle of Man the *Tynwald was in the forefront of electoral reform when it gave the vote to certain women as early as 1881.
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