Parliamentary Reform and Victorian Liberalism

The controversy that preceded the passage of the 1832 Reform Act was the culmination of a long movement for the reform of the representative system. The Parliamentary debates themselves were extensive and repetitious, taking up no less than sixty-two days in the Committee of the Commons alone. ¹ The prolonged controversy gave ample opportunity for all attitudes to the constitution to be expressed, and each of the theories and attitudes mentioned in the preceding pages was reflected in the discussions.