Although the first Reform Act, of 1832, extended the
franchise, the electoral system continued to be dominated 
by the landed classes. However, by the 1860's the social 
changes of the industrial revolution had created further 
agitation for reform from within the working classes, 
especially in the shape of the Reform League. The 
eventual result of this pressure was a series of reforms, 
beginning with the Second Reform Act, introduced by the 
Conservatives in 1867.

The act gave the vote to all householders and  10 rent payers in the towns, thus enfranchising many of the working class for the first time. It also nearly doubled the electorate to 2.4 million.