I'm sure, like Right to Buy, it was done so more people would vote Tory:
The Reform Act 1867 passed that August,[149] extending the franchise by 938,427—an increase of 88%—by giving the vote to male householders and male lodgers paying at least £10 for rooms. It eliminated rotten boroughs with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, and granted constituencies to 15 unrepresented towns, with extra representation to large municipalities such as Liverpool and Manchester.[150] This act was unpopular with the right wing of the Conservative Party, most notably Lord Cranborne (as Robert Cecil was by then known), who resigned from the government and spoke against the bill, accusing Disraeli of "a political betrayal which has no parallel in our Parliamentary annals".[151] Cranborne, however, was unable to lead an effective rebellion against Derby and Disraeli.[152] Disraeli gained wide acclaim and became a hero to his party for the "marvellous parliamentary skill" with which he secured the passage of Reform in the Commons.[153]
― Return of the Flustered Bootle Native (Tom D.), Tuesday, 7 March 2017 11:20 (seven years ago) link
it was one of a few reform acts, more a matter of seeing which way the wind was blowing and taking credit for it. obv not a lot of ppl in manchester and liverpool voted tory
― ogmor, Tuesday, 7 March 2017 11:26 (seven years ago) link
Easy-to-claim unemployment and housing benefits in the 80s nurturing indie/club/fanzine culture
― mahb, Tuesday, 7 March 2017 12:19 (seven years ago) link
maybe we need a second thread for inadvertant conservative achievements
― frankie r. failson (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 7 March 2017 13:50 (seven years ago) link
It's another tick in the Against column for me.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 7 March 2017 14:32 (seven years ago) link