The reform of 1867 almost doubled the electorate, adding 938,000 new names to the register and extending the franchise to many workingmen in the towns and cities. The countyfranchisewas not substantially changed, but 45 new seats were created by taking one seat from existing borough constituenci...
The interests of different sections of thecommunitydiverged between 1870 and 1900 as they had before the mid-Victorian period. In particular, grain- and meat-producing farmers bore the full weight of foreign competition in cereals, and many, though not all, industrialists felt the growing pressure...