Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928

Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928
Dates
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to assimilate the franchises for men and women in respect of parliamentary and local government elections; and for purposes consequential thereon.
Citation	18 & 19 Geo. 5 c. 12
Territorial extent	United Kingdom
Royal assent	2 July 1928
Other legislation
Repealed by	Representation of the People Act 1948
Status: Repealed

The Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928^[1] 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. The 1928 Act widened suffrage by giving women electoral equality with men. It gave the vote to all women over 21 years old, regardless of property ownership. Prior to this act only women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications could vote. Similar provision was made for the Parliament of Northern Ireland by the Representation of the People Act (Northern Ireland) 1928 (18 & 19 Geo V, Ch 24 (NI)).

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 Party without much opposition from other parties. This was unsurprising given that the Liberal Party had been behind most reform in the nineteenth century.

The bill became law on 2 July 1928, having been introduced in March. The leader of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies who had campaigned for the vote, Millicent Fawcett, was still alive and attended the parliament session 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."

On 5 August 1928 Millicent Fawcett obtained a letter from the prime minister Stanley Baldwin. He points out, that even though there were obstacles in passing the bill, he always believed it will be ratified in "in the simple and complete form it ultimately assumed".^[2] He finishes the letter by expressing a hope that equal vote would be beneficial for the country and it would serve for the greater good in England.

Results

The Act added five million more women to the electoral roll and had the effect of making women a majority, 52.7%, of the electorate in the 1929 general election.^[3]

References

↑ Hansard, House of Commons, fifth edition, vol 219, col 1035
↑ Baldwin, Stanley. Letter to Fawcett, Millicent. 5 Aug. 1928. MS
↑ Heater, Derek (2006). Citizenship in Britain: A History. Edinburgh University Press. p. 145. ISBN 9780748626724.

External links

Electoral reform in the United Kingdom

Reform Acts

Parliamentary	England and Wales, 1832 Scotland, 1832 Ireland, 1832 England and Wales, 1867 Scotland, 1868 Ireland, 1868

Municipal	Scotland, 1833 England and Wales, 1835 Ireland, 1840

Representation of
the People Acts

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Suffrage

Basic topics	Women's suffrage Universal suffrage Voting age Youth suffrage Right of foreigners to vote Demeny voting Suffragette Compulsory voting Disfranchisement

By country	Australia 1902 Commonwealth Franchise Act aboriginal women Japan Kuwait New Zealand Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom women Wales Reform Act 1832 Representation of the People Act 1918 1928 Equal Franchise Act United States women timeline foreigners District of Columbia Puerto Rico 15th Amendment 19th Amendment 26th Amendment 1965 Voting Rights Act

Events	Seneca Falls Convention Declaration of Sentiments 1907 Mud March Suffrage Hikes 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession Silent Sentinels Night of Terror "Give Us the Ballot" Selma to Montgomery marches Conferences of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th)

Related	List of suffragists and suffragettes Timeline of women's suffrage Timeline of women's suffrage in majority-Muslim countries Women's suffrage organizations and publications Age of candidacy Youth vote Women's rights activists 1920 U.S. presidential election Leser v. Garnett Shoulder to Shoulder (1974 series) Not for Ourselves Alone (1999 documentary) Iron Jawed Angels (2004 film) Selma (2014 film) Suffragette (2015 film) National Voting Rights Museum

United Kingdom legislation

Pre-Parliamentary legislation	List of English statutes Charter of Liberties Magna Carta

Acts of Parliament by states preceding the Kingdom of Great Britain	Acts of the Parliament of England to 1483 1485–1601 1603–1641 Interregnum (1642–1660) 1660–1699 1700–1706 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland Acts of the Parliament of Ireland to 1700 1701–1800

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Church of England measures	List Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919

Legislation of devolved institutions	Acts of the Scottish Parliament Acts and Measures of the National Assembly for Wales Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland Orders in Council for Northern Ireland

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Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928

Passing of the act

Results

See also

References

External links