Historedia
Episode 3 of 3

Abolition of Middleman Mechanism

When
1868
Where
England and Wales
Part of
Disraeli's Second Reform Act enlarges the British electorate

By the end of 1868, all male heads of household could vote, as the deemed rentpayer or ratepayer middleman mechanism was abolished.

The Act took effect in stages, culminating in full commencement on 1 January 1869. The abolition of the middleman mechanism allowed all male heads of household to vote, significantly expanding the electorate in England and Wales.

Sources

  1. Reform Act 1867 Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-07

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.