Fourth Reform Act
E643091
The Fourth Reform Act, formally the Representation of the People Act 1918, was a landmark British law that massively expanded the electorate and granted the first significant voting rights to women in the United Kingdom.
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom
ⓘ
reform act ⓘ suffrage law ⓘ |
| abolished | most plural voting for men ⓘ |
| aimedTo | recognize wartime contributions of men and women through political rights ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | Fourth Reform Act NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| appliedToElections | parliamentary elections ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
Great Britain
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Ireland (then part of the United Kingdom) NERFINISHED ⓘ United Kingdom NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| cameIntoForceBefore | 1918 United Kingdom general election NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| changed | electoral franchise in the United Kingdom ⓘ |
| context | post-World War I political and social change ⓘ |
| country | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| effect | massive expansion of the British electorate ⓘ |
| enactedBy | Parliament of the United Kingdom NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| excluded |
many poorer women from the vote through property qualifications
ⓘ
women under 30 from the parliamentary franchise ⓘ |
| expandedElectorateBy | millions of new voters ⓘ |
| followed | Third Reform Act NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| grantedVotingRightsTo |
all men over 21 meeting residence requirements
ⓘ
men over 19 who had served in the armed forces during World War I ⓘ women over 30 meeting property or educational qualifications ⓘ |
| hasFormalName | Representation of the People Act 1918 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance |
first time women could vote in UK parliamentary elections on a large scale
ⓘ
major milestone in the democratization of the United Kingdom ⓘ |
| impact |
paved the way for near-universal adult suffrage in 1928
ⓘ
strengthened the political influence of the working class ⓘ |
| increasedElectorateFrom | about 7.7 million voters ⓘ |
| increasedElectorateTo | about 21.4 million voters ⓘ |
| introduced | first significant voting rights for women in the United Kingdom ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | Parliament of the United Kingdom NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| legalStatus |
amended
ⓘ
partly repealed by later legislation ⓘ |
| modified |
distribution of seats in the House of Commons
ⓘ
parliamentary constituencies ⓘ |
| partOf | series of British Reform Acts ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Representation of the People Act 1884 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| retained |
some business premises votes
ⓘ
some university constituencies ⓘ |
| royalAssentDate | 1918-02-06 ⓘ |
| shortTitle | Representation of the People Act 1918 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| subject |
electoral reform
ⓘ
franchise expansion ⓘ universal suffrage (partial) ⓘ women's suffrage ⓘ |
| tripled | size of the British electorate ⓘ |
| yearOfEnactment | 1918 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.