thumb|The Chartists' National Convention at the British Coffee House in February 1839 From 1265, a few percent of the adult male population in the Kingdom of England (of which Wales was a full and equal member from 1542) were able to vote in parliamentary elections that occurred at irregular intervals to the Parliament of England. The franchise for the Parliament of Scotland developed separately. King Henry VI of England established in 1432 that only owners of property worth at least forty shillings, a significant sum, were entitled to vote in an English county constituency. The franchise was restricted to males by custom rather than statute. Changes were made to the details of the system, but there was no major reform until the Reform Act 1832. A series of Reform Acts and Representation of the People Acts followed. In 1918, all men over 21 and some women over 30 won the right to vote, and in 1928 all women over 21 won the right to vote resulting in universal suffrage. Reform Act 1832 – extended voting rights to adult males who rented propertied land of a certain value, so allowing 1 in 7 males in the UK voting rights. Chartism – The People's Charter was drawn up in 1838 by the London Working Men's Association. The following year, the first Chartist petition was presented to House of Commons. Further Chartist petitions were presented in 1842 and 1848. Reform Act 1867 – extended the franchise to men in urban areas who met a property qualification, so increasing male suffrage. Reform Act 1884 – addressed imbalances between the boroughs and the countryside; this brought the voting population to 5,500,000, although 40% of males were still disenfranchised because of the property qualification. Between 1885 and 1918 moves were made by the women's suffrage movement to ensure votes for women. However, the duration of the First World War stopped this reform movement. Representation of the People Act 1918 – the consequences of World War I persuaded the government to expand the right to vote, not only for the many men who fought in the war who were disenfranchised, but also for the women who worked in factories, agriculture and elsewhere as part of the war effort, often substituting for enlisted men and including dangerous work such as in munitions factories. All men aged 21 and over were given the right to vote. Property restrictions for voting were lifted for men. The local government franchise was extended to include all women over 21, on the same terms as men. Parliamentary Votes were given to 40% of women, with property restrictions and limited to those over 30 years old. This increased the electorate from 7.7 million to 21.4 million with women making up 8.5 million of the electorate. Seven percent of the electorate had more than one vote, either because they owned business property or because they were university graduates. The first election with this system was the 1918 general election. Representation of the People Act 1928 – equal suffrage for women and men, with voting possible at 21 with no property restrictions. Representation of the People Act 1948 – removed plural voting in parliamentary elections for university graduates and business owners. Representation of the People Act 1969 – extension of suffrage to those 18 and older, the first major democratic country to do so, and abolition of plural voting in local government elections.
thumb|The Chartists' National Convention at the British Coffee House in February 1839 From 1265, a few percent of the adult male population in the Kingdom of England (of which Wales was a full and equal member from 1542) were able to vote in parliamentary elections that occurred at irregular intervals to the Parliament of England. The franchise for the Parliament of Scotland developed separately. King Henry VI of England established in 1432 that only owners of property worth at least forty shillings, a significant sum, were entitled to vote in an English county constituency. The franchise was restricted to males by custom rather than statute. Changes were made to the details of the system, but there was no major reform until the Reform Act 1832 A series of Reform Acts and Representation of the People Acts followed. In 1918, all men over 21 and some women over 30 won the right to vote, and in 1928 all women over 21 won the right .to vote resulting in universal suffrage. Reform Act 1832 – extended voting rights to adult males who rented propertied land of a certain value, so allowing 1 in 7 males in the UK voting rights. Chartism – The People's Charter was drawn up in 1838 by the London Working Men's Association. The following year, the first Chartist petition was presented to House of Commons. Further Chartist petitions were presented in 1842 and 1848. Reform Act 1867 – extended the franchise to men in urban areas who met a property qualification, so increasing male suffrage. Reform Act 1884 – addressed imbalances between the boroughs and the countryside; this brought the voting population to 5,500,000, although 40% of males were still disenfranchised because of the property qualification. Between 1885 and 1918 moves were made by the women's suffrage movement to ensure votes for women. However, the duration of the First World War stopped this reform movement. Representation of the People Act 1918 – the consequences of World War I persuaded the government to expand the right to vote, not only for the many men who fought in the war who were disenfranchised, but also for the women who worked in factories, agriculture and elsewhere as part of the war effort, often substituting for enlisted men and including dangerous work such as in munitions factories. All men aged 21 and over were given the right to vote. Property restrictions for voting were lifted for men. The local government franchise was extended to include all women over 21, on the same terms as men. Parliamentary Votes were given to 40% of women, with property restrictions and limited to those over 30 years old. This increased the electorate from 7.7 million to 21.4 million with women making up 8.5 million of the electorate. Seven percent of the electorate had more than one vote, either because they owned business property or because they were university graduates. The first election with this system was the 1918 general election. Representation of the People Act 1928 – equal suffrage for women and men, with voting possible at 21 with no property restrictions. Representation of the People Act 1948 – removed plural voting in parliamentary elections for university graduates and business owners. Representation of the People Act 1969 – extension of suffrage to those 18 and older, the first major democratic country to do so, and abolition of plural voting in local government elections.