What impact did the Reform Act of 1832 have on the number of voters?

The Reform Act of 1832 was a pivotal moment in British political history, marking a significant shift towards a more representative democracy. Before 1832, the voting system was incredibly outdated and unfair. Many large industrial cities like Manchester had no representation in Parliament, while smaller, often sparsely populated areas, known as "rotten boroughs," had disproportionately large representation. Land ownership was the primary qualification for voting, effectively excluding a large portion of the male population, especially those in the growing urban centers. The Act aimed to address these imbalances. While it didn't introduce universal suffrage – women and a significant portion of working-class men were still excluded – it did significantly broaden the electorate by lowering property qualifications and redistributing seats in Parliament to better reflect the population distribution. So, the key impact of the Reform Act of 1832 was that it increased the number of people eligible to vote, laying the groundwork for further reforms later in the 19th and 20th centuries. It's easy to think reform might mean leveling or decreasing, but in this case, it was about expanding access to the political process.