Key dates
1535
Legislation provides for Welsh representatives in the House of Commons
1707
Acts of Union passed in the Parliaments of England and Scotland unite the two countries. Scotland allocated 45 seats in the House of Commons
1729
Bribery Act passed to address corruption in elections
1801
Act of Union joins Ireland and Great Britain. Ireland allocated 100 seats in the House of Commons
1832
Representation of the People Act (the first Reform Act) extends vote to men meeting property qualification, reduces rotten boroughs and redistributes Parliamentary seats to better represent urban areas
1838
The People's Charter drawn up for the London Working Men's Association 1839 - First Chartist petition presented to House of Commons
1842
Second Chartist petition presented to House of Commons
1848
Third Chartist petition presented to House of Commons
1867
Representation of the People Act (the second Reform Act) extends vote to urban working men meeting property qualification
1872
Ballot Act introduces the secret ballot at elections
1883
Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act 1883 effectively ends serious corruption in British elections
1884
Representation of the People Act (the third Reform Act) addresses imbalance between men's votes in boroughs and counties
1885
Redistribution Act boundaries redrawn to produce equal electoral districts. Single member seats become the norm
1918
Representation of the People Act extends vote to all men over 21 and most women over 30
1920
Government of Ireland Act 1920 and the Irish Free State Agreement Act 1922 creates the Irish Free State and reduces the number of seats for Irish constituencies at Westminster from 105 to 13 constituencies in Northern Ireland.
1928
Representation of the People Act extends vote to all women over 21
1944
House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act established four permanent boundary commissions for the UK and a regular system for reviewing constituency boundaries.
1969
Representation of the People Act extends vote to men and women over 18
2008
Voting Age (Reduction) Bill - a Private Members' Bill - to reduce voting age to 16 and over. Bill does not become law.