How Far Could the 3rd Reform Act Be Justifiably Called a Turning Point?

After the 1867 Reform Act the undemocratic features still continued. The limited redistribution of seats in the 1867 still left the midlands, London and the north underrepresented in Parliament. The uneven distribution of seats favoured the landowning classes who still tended to influence the representation of the smaller borough seats. The House of Commons was still dominated by landowners. Because of this the franchise in the counties was still based on property ownership and was still restrictive. The one-year residence requirement discriminated against the significant proportion if working-class males who moved frequently from one rented accommodation to another. Although the 1867 Act did take the electoral system into previously uncharted territory. Disreali intended to make the step a very tentative one, with only 'respectable' artisans being given the vote and the position of property owners within the existing system being protected.…