1868 United Kingdom general election
The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom. It was the first election held in the United Kingdom in which more than a million votes were cast; nearly triple the number of votes were cast compared to the previous election in 1865.
Image: William Ewart Gladstone CDV 1861 for infobox
Image: Benjamin Disraeli, 1878 (cropped)
The Representation of the People Act 1867, known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act, is an act of the British Parliament that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first time. It took effect in stages over the next two years, culminating in full commencement on 1 January 1869.
"Dishing the Whigs", Fun cartoon. Lord Derby and Benjamin Disraeli "dish" their Whig opponents by introducing more liberal reforms than they had contemplated; their heads are presented on a platter to Queen Victoria.