 Evans ( 1996 ) emphasises that the Reform Act " opened a door on a new political world " . Although Grey 's intentions were conservative , Evans says , and the 1832 Act gave the aristocracy an additional half @-@ century 's control of Parliament , the Act nevertheless did open constitutional questions for further development . Evans argues it was the 1832 Act , not the later reforms of 1867 , 1884 , or 1918 , that were decisive in bringing representative democracy to Britain . Evans concludes the Reform Act marked the true beginning of the development of a recognisably modern political system . 
