Parliamentary Reform
Introduction of a Liberal Whig Government
Politics in Britain after the end of the Napoleonic wars was largely the concern of the landed Aristocracy, who dominated both Houses of Parliament. The political issues were to a large extent centred around foreign policy in general, and the preservation of a balance of power in Europe in particular. The growth of industry and the increasing complexity of economic issues, made the middle class demand representation in Parliament to further their own interests.
Certain tendencies towards liberalism and reform were visible in the second half of the 1820s, however, largely due to a new generation of Tory politicians. Liberal Tories like George Canning and Robert Peel were in favour of a move towards freedom of trade, but they were not able to repeal the Corn Laws or reform Parliament. This inability to initiate reforms produced a minority Whig government in the 1830-election.24
The Reform Bill of 1832
The new Whig government almost immediately introduced a bill aiming to reform the voting system in Britain, but the bill was seen as too radical by the House of Commons and was rejected. A second, modified bill was rejected in the House of Lords, but a third version of the bill was finally approved in June 1832.
The Reform Bill was in many ways a compromise solution.25 The bill redistributed the vote by region and to some extent also by class. A number of the old electorial districts, or boroughs, were abolished and their seats given to the new industrial towns. At the same time the electorate was increased from around 500.000 to 813.000 by a change in the voting qualifications.
As a result of this Bill, the new middle class gained political influence in Britain at the expence of the Aristocracy. The landed interests were, however, still overrepresented and constituted the dominant group, but the Reform Bill was accepted by the middle classes as a platform for further reform; something which can be seen in the liberal legislation introduced after 1832.
Further Reform
Robert Peel 
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The legislation introduced after 1832 had both political and social goals. On the political level, the Municipal Corporations Act in 1835 introduced local government reform and could thus be seen as a natural extension of the 1832 Bill. On the social level a Factory Act in 1833 abolished child labour and in 1847 the Ten Hours Act regulated the working hours of women and children. The Poor Law of 1834 was intended to relieve the worst suffering among the lower classes by setting up a system of workhouses around the country. It failed to achieve its immediate goal, but the system of Poor Law Unions introduced all the administrative devices which were to be used later in the century to make local government efficient.26
The Whigs did not remain in power for long, and the Tories, headed by Robert Peel (later replaced by Palmerston), remained in power throughout the 1840s. Peel’s actions while he was in office were evidence of a growing acceptance by both Tories, as well as Whigs, of the need for free trade and an acceptance of the middle class as the new, dominant class in Britain. As a combined result of this acceptance and an economic crisis in 1846, Peel conceeded to middle-class demands and abolished the Corn Laws.
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