Municipal Corporations Act 1835
Encyclopedia : M : MU : MUN : Municipal Corporations Act 1835
| Acts of Parliament of predecessor states to the United Kingdom |
| Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of England to 1600 Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of England to 1706 Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Scotland Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Ireland |
| Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| 1707–1719 | 1720–1739 | 1740–1759 | 1760–1779 1780–1799 | 1800–1819 | 1820–1839 | 1840–1859 1860–1879 | 1880–1899 | 1900–1919 | 1920–1939 1940–1959 | 1960–1979 | 1980–1999 | 2000–Present |
| Acts of the Scottish Parliament |
| Acts of the Northern Ireland Parliament |
| Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly |
| Orders in Council for Northern Ireland |
| United Kingdom Statutory Instruments |
| Church of England Measures |
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Wm. IV., c.76) - sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act - required members of town councils (municipal corporations) in England and Wales to be elected by ratepayers and councils to publish their financial accounts. The Act had been preceded by the Reform Act 1832, which had abolished most of the rotten boroughs.
Prior to the passing of the act, the municipal boroughs varied depending upon their charters. In some boroughs, corporations had become self-perpetuating oligarchies, with membership of the corporation being for life, and vacancies filled by co-option.
The Act reformed 178 boroughs. The Burgh Reform Act 1833 had already covered Scotland. Similar legislation would not be introduced in Ireland until the Municipal Reform Act 1840. There remained more than 100 unreformed boroughs, which generally either fell into desuetude or were replaced later under the terms of the Act. The last of these was not reformed or abolished until 1886. The City of London remains unreformed to the present day.
The Act allowed unincorporated towns to petition for incorporation. The industrial towns of the Midlands and North quickly took advantage of this, with Birmingham and Manchester becoming boroughs as soon as 1838. Altogether, 62 additional boroughs were incorporated under the act
The new corporations had annual elections, with a third of the councillors up for election each year. The council also elected aldermen to serve on the council, with a six year term. Towns were divided into wards. [link]
The act was repealed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1882
The 178 reformed Boroughs
† In 1842 The County of the City of Coventry was joined to Warwickshire
External links
- [Historyhome.co.uk] - a web article providing background information on the Act.
| Electoral reform in the United Kingdom
|
| Reform Acts |
| 1832 | 1867 | 1886 |
| Municipal Reform |
| Scotland (1833) | England and Wales (1835) | Ireland (1840) |
| Representation of the People Acts |
| 1884 | 1918 | 1928 | 1948 |
| 1969 | 1983 | 1985 | 2000 |
| Other acts |
| Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 | Ballot Act 1872 |
| Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883 |
| Related |
| The Reform Club | Rotten borough | Carlton Club | Parliament Acts
|
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.