 After the Reform Bill was rejected in the Lords , the House of Commons immediately passed a motion of confidence affirming their support for Lord Grey 's administration . Because parliamentary rules prohibited the introduction of the same bill twice during the same session , the ministry advised the new king , William IV , to prorogue Parliament . As soon as the new session began in December 1831 , the Third Reform Bill was brought forward . The bill was in a few respects different from its predecessors ; it no longer proposed a reduction in the total membership of the House of Commons , and it reflected data collected during the census that had just been completed . The new version passed in the House of Commons by even larger majorities in March 1832 ; it was once again sent up to the House of Lords . 
