 The political and popular pressure for reform had grown so great that pro @-@ reform Whigs won an overwhelming House of Commons majority in the general election of 1831 . The Whig party won almost all constituencies with genuine electorates , leaving the Tories with little more than the rotten boroughs . The Reform Bill was again brought before the House of Commons , which agreed to the second reading by a large majority in July . During the committee stage , opponents of the bill slowed its progress through tedious discussions of its details , but it was finally passed in September , by a margin of more than 100 votes . 
