1885 Reform Act

William Gladstone and his Liberal government introduced new proposals for parliamentary reform in 1885. The Redistribution Act made the following changes: (i) seventy-nine towns with populations smaller than 15,000 lost their right to elect an MP; (ii) thirty-six with populations between 15,000 and 50,000 lost one of their MPs and became single member constituencies; (iii) towns with populations between 50,000 and 165,000 were given two seats; (iv) larger towns and the country constituencies were divided into single member constituencies.