 Support for reform came from an unexpected source — a faction of the Tory Party — in 1829 . The Tory government under Arthur Wellesley , 1st Duke of Wellington , responding to the danger of civil strife in largely Roman Catholic Ireland , drew up the Catholic Relief Act 1829 . This legislation repealed various laws that imposed political disabilities on Roman Catholics , in particular laws that prevented them from becoming members of Parliament . In response , disenchanted Tories who perceived a danger to the established religion came to favour parliamentary reform , in particular the enfranchisement of Manchester , Leeds , and other heavily Noncomformist cities in northern England . 
