Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act for the Redistribution of Seats at Parliamentary Elections, and for other Purposes.
Citation	48 & 49 Vict. C. 23
Introduced by	William Gladstone
Territorial extent	United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent	25 June 1885
Other legislation
Repealed by	Representation of the People Act 1918
Status: Repealed

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across the UK.^[1] It was associated with, but not part of, the Reform Act 1884.

Background

The first major reform of parliamentary seats took place under the Reform Act 1832. The next redistribution of parliamentary seats occurred in three parliamentary acts in 1867–68. The Reform Act 1867 applied to English and Welsh constituencies. This was followed by the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 which redistributed Scottish seats and gave Scotland extra seats at the expense of England. The third act was the Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1868.

The 1868 redistribution had proved unsatisfactory and there had been only superficial attempts to match the numbers of representatives to the population of a constituency. A few of the largest towns were given three MPs, but electors could only vote for two candidates. As a result, the political importance of these boroughs was reduced: for example, a borough formerly represented by two Liberals was now usually represented by two Liberals and one Conservative. In a Commons vote on party lines, the Conservative neutralised one of the Liberals, so that the borough only counted for one vote. Smaller boroughs with two members of the same party had twice the voting power in the house as the larger boroughs.^[1]

By the 1880s, continued industrial growth and resulting population movements had resulted in an increased imbalance between the constituencies in terms of the numbers of MPs and the population.

The Third Reform Bill

William Ewart Gladstone, leading a Liberal government, introduced a Representation of the People Bill in 1884, which sought to greatly extend the franchise but not to alter the boundaries of constituencies. The Liberals had a large majority in the House of Commons, and the measure passed through the House easily. The House of Lords, on the other hand, was dominated by the Conservative Party. The Conservative leader, Lord Salisbury, was opposed to the bill.^[2] The majority of the Conservative party's MPs were elected by the counties, with the Liberals being electorally strong in the boroughs. He realised that the bill's extension of household suffrage into the counties would enfranchise many rural voters such as coalminers and agricultural labourers who were likely to vote for the Liberals. This, he claimed, would lead to "the absolute effacement of the Conservative Party". Salisbury hoped to use the Conservative majority in the Lords to block the bill and force Gladstone to seek a dissolution of Parliament before the reforms could be enacted. The Lords duly rejected the bill and returned it to the Commons, provoking outrage among the Radical wing of the Liberals. A campaign organised around the slogan "The Peers Against the People" called for reform or abolition of the Lords if they rejected the bill a second time.^[3]

The "Arlington Street Compact"

In October 1884 Queen Victoria intervened in what was rapidly becoming a constitutional crisis, urging the party leaders to meet and break the deadlock. Negotiations duly started at Salisbury's London home in Arlington Street, Westminster, between the Conservative leader and Sir Charles Dilke, a member of Gladstone's cabinet. Salisbury agreed to allow the reform bill to pass on condition that a bill to redistribute parliamentary seats was also enacted. The two parties reached an agreement, known as the "Arlington Street Compact", whereby the majority of MPs would be elected in single-member constituencies. Salisbury calculated that this would minimise the adverse effect on the Conservatives of the extension of the vote: dividing the counties would allow Liberal voting and Conservative voting districts to be separated. The division of boroughs would allow the suburban areas of towns to be represented separately from the inner cities, allowing the growth of "Villa Toryism".^[3][4] Dilke, a member of the Radical wing of the Liberal Party, also favoured the division of boroughs in order to weaken the influence of the Whig faction in the party. In many existing two-member boroughs one Whig and one Radical were nominated by agreement, often leading to uncontested elections.^[3][4]

The Boundary Commissions

Three boundary commissions were appointed in late 1884, one for England and Wales, one for Scotland and one for Ireland.^[5] Each commission was given similar instructions.

In dividing the counties they were to use Ordnance Survey maps and other documents in order to determine the boundaries of divisions. In doing so they were to ensure that each division of a county was to have an equal population "so far as practicable". In addition they were instructed "in all those cases where there are populous localities of an urban character to include them in one and the same division, unless this cannot be done without grave inconvenience, and involving boundaries of a very irregular and objectionable character". Subject to these rules, the divisions were to be as compact as possible and should be based on "well known local areas" such as petty sessional divisions or other aggregations of parishes. If necessary, an individual parish or parishes could be added to existing areas in order to equalise population, but under no circumstances was a parish to be divided. The county divisions were to be named after an "important town or place" within it, "preference being given to any merged borough or boroughs, or when it consists mainly of a well-known area, from that area". When the commissioners had devised a scheme of divisions for a county the details were to be advertised in the local press. A date would then be announced when one of the commissioners would attend at "a principal town" in the county to hear objections or proposed alterations.^[5]

The procedure for boroughs (or burghs in Scotland) was similar. Firstly the commissioners were to determine whether the present boundaries, or the boundaries proposed in the bill, embraced "the whole of the population which ought to be included within the borough". They could decide if an area formed a "community of interest" with the town and should be included within the borough boundaries. Where suburban areas had a sufficiently large population and distinct identity they might form a county division rather than be included in the borough. If boroughs were extended, existing "well-established" boundaries were to be used if possible. Where boroughs were to be divided, the population of each division was to be approximately equal, and "special regard" was to be had to the "pursuits of the population".^[5] This was clearly understood as meaning that working class and middle class parts of towns were to be separated where possible.^[3][4]

Passage through parliament

The Bill was introduced to the House of Commons by the Prime Minister William Gladstone on 1 December 1884.^[6] The Bill was seen as a compromise measure, and did not include proportional representation. This led to unrest among the Liberals. Leonard Courteney, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, felt forced to resign his post and the party whip.^[6] Gladstone had held a meeting with Liberal MPs earlier in the day at the Foreign Office, where he defended the bill. He stated that far from being a compromise it was very much a government bill, and that the discussions with the opposition had been conducted with "no party bias".^[7] The bill received its second reading on 4 December 1884, and was then sent forward to the committee stage, which was to commence on 19 February 1885. The delay was to allow the boundary commissions to complete their work, with the boundaries and names of the new constituencies to be included as the schedules of the final Act.^[8]

In committee few changes were made to the boundaries recommended by the commissioners. However the committee felt that the proposed names for many of the divisions were unfamiliar, and preferred to use what they termed "geographical" names incorporating a compass point. A compromise was made where both were incorporated in the names of many of the constituencies: thus the seat officially called the "Northern or Biggleswade Division of Bedfordshire" was informally referred to as "Biggleswade", the "Biggleswade Division", "Northern Bedfordshire" or "North Bedfordshire".^[9]

The act received Royal Assent on 25 June, and the provisions of both the redistribution and representation acts first came into use at the 1885 general election.

Provisions

The basis of the redistribution under the Act was as follows: The number of seats in the Commons was increased from 652^a to 670.

• All parliamentary boroughs with a population of 15,000 or less ceased to have separate representation, and were merged into a division of the parliamentary county in which they lay. In all seventy-nine boroughs were disenfranchised.
• Six other boroughs were also merged into the county divisions: four that included large extents of countryside (Aylesbury, Cricklade, East Retford, Shoreham) and two that had been disenfranchised for corruption (Macclesfield and Sandwich).^[6]
• Existing boroughs with populations between 15,000 and 50,000 were to have their representation reduced from two MPs to one. In all this affected 36 boroughs.
• Existing boroughs with a population of more than 50,000 (twenty-three in all) continued to be undivided two-member constituencies. In addition the City of London and the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin continued to be double-member constituencies.^[1]
• Two English counties with very low populations lost an MP each: Rutland was reduced to a single member and Herefordshire was reduced to two MPs from three.

In total 160 seats were redistributed (or "liberated" as Gladstone described it) in England and Wales. The number of seats in Scotland was increased by 12, and the representation of Ireland in Parliament remained at 103 members, even though its population had declined relative to the rest of the United Kingdom, due to emigration which had continued since the famine. This arrangement was described by The Times as "...obviously dictated by a somewhat pusillanimous calculation that it was better to avoid a struggle with the Parnellite party."^[6]

^a The number of seats had been fixed at 658 in the 1832 and 1867/8 legislation, but three two-member boroughs had been disenfranchised for corruption.

Consequences

The division of former two-member constituencies had a direct, clear consequence: it hastened the decline of the domination of Parliament by the aristocracy (formed of those who had won Royal favour and their heirs, many of whom were accurately referred to as the 'landed gentry'). After 1885, for the first time, MPs connected to industry and commerce outnumbered those related to the gentry.^[10]

The reduction in the number of two-member constituencies ended cross-party cooperation: before the Act, in many counties and boroughs the two main parties had agreed to nominate one candidate each, and no election was held. Many more contested elections followed the Act: only 13 constituencies were uncontested at the 1885 general election.^[10]

The aristocracy continued to dominate the Cabinet until the Asquith ministry; and the landed classes dominated the powerful Lords, who retained until 1911 power to veto legislation. Would-be Prime Ministers from that date would by convention need to be from the House of Commons, otherwise they would likely see votes of no confidence as the government's political leader for failure to steer winning manifesto legislation through the remaining vetoing House of Parliament. Reflecting a growing educated, urban population, the last Prime Minister in the Lords left office in 1902 in favour of an elected representative.

There was a growing radicalisation of political parties, which also became more professionally organised. Immediate expansion of the working class electorate caused the number of 'Lib/Lab' MPs to rise from 2 in 1874 to 13 in 1885. The Act's new seats saw a 1% single-party swing to the Conservatives and so a gain of only 10 seats and a similar gain of 11 seats by Independent Liberals, the latter often slightly more radical (redistributive) than both mainstream parties who may have been assisted by the broader electorates.

The sudden balance of power of seats held by the Irish Parliamentary Party was also connected with the Act. The IPP were often labelled particularly by the media and Conservatives as 'Parnellites'.^[6] This saw Gladstone make Home Rule his touchstone but, in so doing, distance his party from the legislative control of the Conservative peers who wielded equal or greater power, a change spurned on by the legitimacy of the Commons and a rise in the left caused by the Act. Opposition among Liberals was also growing to Home Rule. Conservatives could only form an overall majority from this date in the House of Lords until the Parliament Act 1911 which finally ended the constitutional equal power of the House of Lords.^[1][4]

132 small boroughs were merged with their surrounding county constituency, which had previously returned two members. These new single-member constituencies, particularly the most enlarged boroughs, assisted the Conservative party, which took a position of national strength and unity in opposing Chamberlain's radicalism (but also patriotism) in favour of education reform and opposing Gladstone's Home Rule "crusade" in favour of budgetary concessions and support for unionist Irish businesses.^[3][4] The Liberal Party won the 1885 General Election.

Under the single-member, single-choice system cooperation between two opposing members in the same constituency was no longer possible, so it was easier to win votes by countering "weakness" and "division", to be a bane of the Liberal Party until the formation of the final splinter group of 1931, caused by the ongoing legacy of Gladstone's resolute position on Home Rule which failed to recognise the strength of opposition and led to the failure of the first and second Irish Home Rule bills in 1886 and 1893. These proposals led promptly to electoral landslide victories for the Conservative party in 1886 and 1895.

Redistributed seats: England

Bedfordshire Representation decreased from 4 to 3 MPs
Boroughs[11]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Bedford (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP[12]	Bedford (one MP)
County Divisions[11]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Bedfordshire (undivided) (two MPs)	Split into two divisions[13]	Northern or Biggleswade Division (one MP)
		Southern or Luton Division (one MP)
Berkshire Representation decreased from 8 to 5 MPs ‡ The Borough of Abingdon was partly in Oxfordshire
Boroughs[14]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Abingdon‡ (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[9]
Reading (two MPs)	Boundaries widened,[16] representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Reading (one MP)
Wallingford (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Windsor (one MP)	No change	Windsor (one MP)
County Divisions[14]
Before 1885	change	After 1885
Berkshire (undivided) (three MPs)	Split into three divisions.[13] The abolished boroughs of Abingdon and Wallingford were included in the Abingdon Division.	Northern or Abingdon Division (one MP)
		Southern or Newbury Division (one MP)
		Eastern or Wokingham Division (one MP)
Buckinghamshire Representation decreased from 8 to 3 MPs ‡ The Borough of Great Marlow was partly in Berkshire
Boroughs[17]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Aylesbury (two MPs)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.
Buckingham (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.
Chipping Wycombe (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name ("Wycombe") to a county division.
Great Marlow‡ (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[17]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Buckinghamshire (undivided) (three MPs)	Split into three divisions.[13] The Aylesbury Division absorbed the abolished boroughs of Aylesbury and Great Marlow. The Buckingham Division absorbed Buckingham and the Wycombe Division absorbed Chipping Wycombe.	Mid or Aylesbury Division (one MP)
		Northern or Buckingham Division (one MP)
		Southern or Wycombe Division (one MP)
Cambridgeshire Representation decreased from 5 to 4 MPs
Boroughs[18]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Cambridge (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP[12]	Cambridge (one MP)
County Divisions[18]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Cambridgeshire (undivided) (three MPs)	Split into three divisions.[13]	Western or Chesterton Division (one MP)
		Eastern or Newmarket Division (one MP)
		Northern or Wisbech Division (one MP)
Cheshire Representation increased from 12 to 13 MPs ‡ The Boroughs of Stalybridge and Stockport were partly in Lancashire
Boroughs[19]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Birkenhead (one MP)	No change	Birkenhead (one MP)
Chester (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP[12]	Chester (one MP)
Macclesfield (one MP)	Disenfranchised for corruption[15] Gave name to county division.[13]
Stalybridge‡ (one MP)	Boundaries extended[16]	Stalybridge (one MP)
Stockport‡ (two MPs)	No change	Stockport (two MPs)
County Divisions[19]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
East Division (Two MPs)	Divided into 8 divisions: The East Division formed the basis of the new Macclesfield Division The Mid Division was divided into the new Altrincham, Hyde and Knutsford Divisions (with parts going to the Crewe, Macclesfield and Northwich Divisions) The South Division was divided into the new Eddisbury and Wirral Divisions (with parts going to the Crewe Division and the Northwich Division).[19]	Altrincham Division (one MP)
		Crewe Division (one MP)
Mid Division (Two MPs)		Eddisbury Division (one MP)
		Hyde Division (one MP)
		Knutsford Division (one MP)
West Division (Two MPs)		Macclesfield Division (one MP)
		Northwich Division (one MP)
		Wirral Division (one MP)
Cornwall Representation decreased from 12 to 7 MPs
Boroughs[20]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Bodmin (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.
Helston (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Launceston (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.
Liskeard (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Penryn and Falmouth (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP[12]	Penryn and Falmouth (one MP)
St Ives (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.
Truro (two MPs)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.
County Divisions[20]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Eastern Division (two MPs)	Divided into 6 Divisions. The Eastern Division was divided into the new North-Eastern and South-Eastern Divisions (with part going to the Mid Division) The Western Division was divided into the new North-Western, Truro and Western Divisions (with part going to the Mid Division)	Mid or St Austell Division (one MP)
		North-Eastern or Launceston Division (one MP)
		North-Western or Camborne Division (one MP)
Western Division (two MPs)		South-Eastern or Bodmin Division (one MP)
		Truro Division (one MP)
		Western or St Ives Division (one MP)
Cumberland Representation decreased from 8 to 6 MPs
Boroughs[21]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Carlisle (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Carlisle (one MP)
Cockermouth (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Whitehaven (one MP)	No change	Whitehaven (one MP)
County Divisions[21]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Eastern Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into four divisions, absorbed abolished Borough of Cockermouth.[13]	Cockermouth Division (one MP)
		Egremont (or Western) Division (one MP)
Western Division (two MPs)		Eskdale (or Northern) Division (one MP)
		Penrith (or Mid) Division (one MP)
Derbyshire Representation increased from 8 to 9 MPs
Boroughs[22]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Derby (two MPs)	Boundaries extended.[16]	Derby (two MPs)
County Divisions[22]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
East Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into seven divisions.[13]	Chesterfield Division (one MP)
		Mid Division (one MP)
North Division (two MPs)		North-Eastern Division (one MP)
		Southern Division (one MP)
South Division (two MPs)		Western Division (one MP)
		High Peak Division (one MP)
		Ilkeston Division (one MP)
Devon Representation decreased from 17 to 13 MPs
Boroughs[23]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Barnstaple (two MPs)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Devonport (two MPs)	No change	Devonport (two MPs)
Exeter (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Exeter (one MP)
Plymouth (two MPs)	No change	Plymouth (two MPs)
Tavistock (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Tiverton (two MPs)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
County Divisions[23]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
East Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into eight divisions, absorbed abolished boroughs of Barnstaple, Tavistock and Tiverton.[13]	Eastern or Honiton Division (one MP)
		Mid or Ashburton Division (one MP)
		Northern or South Molton Division (one MP)
North Division (two MPs)		North-Eastern or Tiverton Division (one MP)
		North-Western or Barnstaple Division (one MP)
South Division (two MPs)		Torquay Division (one MP)
		Southern or Totnes Division (one MP)
Western or Tavistock Division (one MP)
Dorset Representation decreased from 10 to 4 MPs ‡ The Borough of Shaftesbury was partly in Wiltshire
Boroughs[24]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Bridport (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Dorchester (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Poole (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Shaftesbury‡ (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Wareham (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (two MPs)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[24]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Dorset (undivided) (three MPs)	Split into four divisions, absorbing the six abolished boroughs.[13]	Eastern Division (one MP)
		Northern Division (one MP)
		Southern Division (one MP)
		Western Division (one MP)
Durham Representation increased from 13 to 16 MPs
Boroughs[25]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Darlington (one MP)	Boundaries widened.[16]	Darlington (one MP)
Durham City (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Durham City (one MP)
Gateshead (one MP)	No change	Gateshead (one MP)
Hartlepool (one MP)	No change	Hartlepool (one MP)
South Shields (one MP)	No change	South Shields (one MP)
Stockton (one MP)	No change	Stockton (one MP)
Sunderland (two MPs)	No change	Sunderland (two MPs)
County Divisions[25]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Northern Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into eight divisions[25]	Barnard Castle Division (one MP)
		Bishop Auckland Division (one MP)
		Chester Le Street Division (one MP)
		Houghton Le Spring Division (one MP)
Southern Division (two MPs)		Jarrow Division (one MP)
		Mid Division (one MP)
		North-Western Division (one MP)
		South-Eastern Division (one MP)
Essex Representation increased from 9 to 11 MPs
Boroughs[26]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Colchester (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Colchester (one MP)
Harwich (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Maldon (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Formed part of South Division of county	New parliamentary borough of West Ham, divided into two single-member divisions[27]	West Ham, North Division[28] (one MP)
		West Ham, South Division[28] (one MP)
County Divisions[26]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
East Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into eight divisions. Part of former South Division constituted as parliamentary borough of West Ham.[26]	Eastern or Maldon Division (one MP)
		Mid or Chelmsford Division (one MP)
South Division (two MPs)		Northern or Saffron Walden Division (one MP)
		North-Eastern or Harwich Division (one MP)
		Southern or Romford Division (one MP)
West Division (two MPs)		South-Eastern Division (one MP)
		South-Western or Walthamstow Division (one MP)
		Western or Epping Division (one MP)
Gloucestershire Representation decreased from 13 to 11 MPs ‡ The Borough of Bristol was partly in Somerset
Boroughs[29]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Bristol‡ (two MPs)	Boundaries of parliamentary borough extended to include St George, Horfield, and Stapleton, and part of Bedminster.[16] Divided into four single-member divisions.[28]	Bristol, East Division (one MP)
		Bristol, North Division (one MP)
		Bristol, South Division (one MP)
		Bristol, West Division (one MP)
Cheltenham (one MP)	Boundaries extended to include Charlton Kings[16]	Cheltenham (one MP)
Cirencester (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Gloucester (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Gloucester (one MP)
Stroud (two MPs)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Tewkesbury (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
County Divisions[29]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Eastern Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into five divisions, absorbing boroughs of Stroud and Tewkesbury. Part of former Western Division included in parliamentary borough of Bristol.[29]	Eastern or Cirencester Division (one MP)
		Forest of Dean Division (one MP)
		Mid or Stroud Division (one MP)
Western Division (two MPs)		Northern or Tewkesbury Division (one MP)
		Southern or Thornbury Division (one MP)
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Representation decreased from 16 to 12 MPs
Boroughs[30]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Andover (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Christchurch (one MP)	No change	Christchurch (one MP)
Lymington (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Newport (Isle of Wight) (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Area included in Isle of Wight division.[13]
Petersfield (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Portsmouth (two MPs)	No change	Portsmouth (two MPs)
Southampton (two MPs)	Boundaries widened to include Millbrook, Bitterne and St. Mary Extra areas[16]	Southampton (two MPs)
Winchester (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Winchester (one MP)
County Divisions[30]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Northern Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into five single-member divisions, absorbing parliamentary boroughs of Andover, Lymington and Petersfield.[13]	Eastern or Petersfield Division (one MP)
		New Forest Division (one MP)
		Northern or Basingstoke Division (one MP)
Southern Division (two MPs)		Southern or Fareham Division (one MP)
		Western or Andover Division (one MP)
Isle of Wight Division (one MP)	Absorbed the parliamentary borough of Newport.[15]	Isle of Wight Division (one MP)
Herefordshire Representation decreased from 6 to 3 MPs
Boroughs[31]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Hereford (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Hereford (one MP)
Leominster (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
County Divisions[31]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Herefordshire (undivided) (three MPs)	Split into two divisions, absorbed parliamentary borough of Leominster.[13]	Leominster or Northern Division (one MP)
		Ross or Southern Division (one MP)
Hertfordshire Representation remained at 4 MPs
Boroughs[32]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Hertford (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
County Divisions[32]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Hertfordshire (undivided) (three MPs)	Split into four divisions, absorbed parliamentary borough of Hertford.[13]	Eastern or Hertford Division
		Mid or St Albans Division
		Northern or Hitchin Division
		Western or Watford Division
Huntingdonshire Representation decreased from 3 to 2 MPs
Boroughs[33]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Huntingdon (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
County Divisions[33]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Huntingdonshire (undivided) (two MPs)	Split into two divisions, absorbed parliamentary borough of Huntingdon.[13]	Northern or Ramsey Division
		Southern or Huntingdon Division
Kent Representation decreased from 21 to 19 MPs † Formed part of "The Metropolis" of London
Boroughs[34]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Canterbury (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Canterbury (one MP)
Chatham (one MP)	No change	Chatham (one MP)
Dover (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Dover (one MP)
Gravesend (one MP)	No change	Gravesend (one MP)
Greenwich (two MPs)†	Boundaries altered, with areas transferred to create new boroughs of Deptford and Woolwich, each represented by one MP.[27]	Greenwich (one MP)†
		Deptford (one MP)†
		Woolwich (one MP)†
Hythe (one MP)	No change	Hythe (one MP)
Formed part of West Division of county	New parliamentary borough[27]	Lewisham (one MP)†
Maidstone (two MPs)	Boundaries altered.[16] Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Maidstone (one MP)
Rochester (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Rochester (one MP)
Sandwich (two MPs)	Disenfranchised for corruption[15]
County Divisions[34]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Eastern Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into eight single-member divisions, absorbing parliamentary borough of Sandwich[13]	Southern or Ashford Division (one MP)
		North-Western or Dartford Division (one MP)
		North-Eastern or Faversham Division (one MP)
Mid Kent (two MPs)		Isle of Thanet Division (one MP)
		Mid or Medway Division (one MP)
		Eastern or St Augustine's Division (one MP)
Kent West (two MPs)		Western or Sevenoaks Division (one MP)
		South Western or Tunbridge Division (one MP)
Lancashire Representation increased from 30 to 57 MPs ‡ The Borough of Warrington was partly in Cheshire
Boroughs[35]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Ashton-under-Lyne (one MP)	Boundaries extended to include the local government district of Hurst.[16]	Ashton-under-Lyne (one MP)
Formed from part of North Division of county	New parliamentary borough[27]	Barrow-in-Furness (one MP)
Blackburn (two MPs)	Boundaries extended to include entire municipal borough.[16]	Blackburn (two MPs)
Bolton (two MPs)	Boundaries extended to include entire municipal borough.[16]	Bolton (two MPs)
Burnley (one MP)	No change	Burnley (one MP)
Bury (one MP)	Boundaries extended to include entire municipal borough.[16]	Bury (one MP)
Clitheroe (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Liverpool (three MPs)	Boundaries of parliamentary borough extended to include entirety of Toxteth Park and parts of Walton-on-the-Hill, Wavertree, and West Derby.[16] Divided into nine single-member divisions.[28]	Abercromby Division (one MP)
		East Toxteth Division (one MP)
		Everton Division (one MP)
		Exchange Division (one MP)
		Kirkdale Division (one MP)
		Scotland Division (one MP)
		Walton Division (one MP)
		West Derby Division (one MP)
		West Toxteth Division (one MP)
Manchester (three MPs)	Boundaries of parliamentary borough extended to include the local government districts of Moss Side and Rusholme and a detached part of the parish of Gorton.[16] Divided into six single-member divisions.[28]	East Division (one MP)
		North Division (one MP)
		North East Division (one MP)
		North West Division (one MP)
		South Division (one MP)
		South West (one MP)
Oldham (two MPs)	Boundaries extended to include entire municipal borough.[16]	Oldham (two MPs)
Preston (two MPs)	Boundaries changed to comprise entire municipal borough of Preston, (with extended boundaries due to come into effect on 1 June 1889), and the local government district of Fulwood.[16]	Preston (two MPs)
Rochdale (one MP)	No change	Rochdale (one MP)
Formed from part of South West Division of county	New parliamentary borough[27]	St Helens (one MP)
Salford (two MPs)	Divided into three single-member divisions.[28]	North Division (one MP)
		South Division (one MP)
		West Division (one MP)
Warrington‡ (one MP)	No change	Warrington‡ (one MP)
Wigan (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Wigan (one MP)
County Divisions[35]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
North Division (two MPs)	Divided into four single-member divisions, part constituted as new parliamentary borough of Barrow-in-Furness.[13]	Blackpool Division (one MP)
		Chorley Division (one MP)
		Lancaster Division (one MP)
		North Lonsdale Division (one MP)
North-East Division (two MPs)	Absorbed former parliamentary borough of Clitheroe, divided into four single-member divisions.[13][15]	Accrington Division (one MP)
		Clitheroe Division (one MP)
		Darwen Division (one MP)
		Rossendale Division (one MP)
South-East Division (two MPs)	Divided into eight single-member divisions.[13]	Eccles Division (one MP)
		Gorton Division (one MP)
		Heywood Division (one MP)
		Middleton Division (one MP)
		Prestwich Division (one MP)
		Radcliffe cum Farnworth Division (one MP)
		Stretford Division (one MP)
		Westhoughton Division (one MP)
South-West Division (two MPs)	Divided into seven single-member divisions, part constituted as new parliamentary borough of St Helens.[13]	Bootle Division (one MP)
		Ince Division (one MP)
		Leigh Division (one MP)
		Newton Division (one MP)
		Ormskirk Division (one MP)
		Southport Division (one MP)
		Widnes Division (one MP)
Leicestershire Representation remained at 6 MPs
Boroughs[36]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Leicester (two MPs)	No change	Leicester (two MPs)
County Divisions[36]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Northern Division (two MPs)	Divided into four single-member divisions.[13]	Eastern (or Melton) Division (one MP)
		Mid (or Loughborough) Division (one MP)
Southern Division (two MPs)		Southern (or Harborough) Division (one MP)
		Western (or Bosworth) Division (one MP)
Lincolnshire Representation decreased from 13 to 11 MPs ‡ The Borough of Stamford was partly in Northamptonshire
Boroughs[37]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Boston (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12] Boundaries simplified.[16]	Boston (one MP)
Grantham (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Grantham (one MP)
Great Grimsby (one MP)	No change	Great Grimsby (one MP)
Lincoln (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12] Boundaries extended to include Bracebridge.[16]	Lincoln (one MP)
Stamford‡ (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
County Divisions[37]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Lincolnshire Mid (two MPs)	Divided into seven single-member divisions.[13]	North Lindsey (or Brigg) Division (one MP)
		West Lindsey (or Gainsborough) Division (one MP)
Lincolnshire North (two MPs)		South Lindsey (or Horncastle) Division) (one MP)
		East Lindsey (or Louth) Division (one MP)
Lincolnshire South (two MPs)		North Kesteven (or Sleaford) Division (one MP)
		Holland (or Spalding) Division (one MP)
		South Kesteven (or Stamford) Division (one MP)
Middlesex Representation increased from 18 to 47 MPs † Formed part of "The Metropolis" of London
Boroughs[38]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Chelsea (two MPs)†	Divided into four parliamentary boroughs, three of which returned 1 MP each, and one (Kensington) was itself divided into two single-member divisions.[28]	Chelsea (one MP)†
		Fulham (one MP)†
		Hammersmith (one MP)†
		Kensington, North Division (one MP)†
		Kensington, South Division (one MP)†
City of London (four MPs)†	Representation reduced to two MPs[39]	City of London (two MPs)†
Finsbury (two MPs)†	Divided into two parliamentary boroughs: Finsbury, consisting of 3 single-member divisions; and Islington divided into 4 single-member divisions.[28]	Finsbury, Central Division (one MP)†
		Finsbury, East Division (one MP)†
		Finsbury, Holborn Division (one MP)†
		Islington, East Division (one MP)†
		Islington, North Division (one MP)†
		Islington, South Division (one MP)†
		Islington, West Division (one MP)†
Hackney (two MPs)†	Divided into three parliamentary boroughs: Bethnal Green (divided into 2 one-member divisions), Hackney (divided into 3 one-member divisions) and Shoreditch (divided into 2 one-member divisions)[28]	Bethnal Green, North East Division (one MP)†
		Bethnal Green, South West Division (one MP)†
		Hackney, Central Division (one MP)†
		Hackney, North Division (one MP)†
		Hackney, South Division (one MP)†
		Shoreditch, Haggerston Division (one MP)†
		Shoreditch, Hoxton Division (one MP)†
Created from part of parliamentary county	New parliamentary borough of Hampstead[27]	Hampstead (one MP)†
Marylebone (two MPs)†	Divided into three parliamentary boroughs: Marylebone (divided into 2 divisions), Paddington (2 divisions) and St Pancras (4 divisions).[28]	Marylebone, East Division (one MP)†
		Marylebone, West Division (one MP)†
		Paddington, North Division (one MP)†
		Paddington, South Division (one MP)†
		St Pancras, East Division (one MP)†
		St Pancras, North Division (one MP)†
		St Pancras, South Division (one MP)†
		St Pancras, West Division (one MP)†
Tower Hamlets (two MPs)†	Divided into 7 single-member divisions.[28]	Bow and Bromley (one MP)†
		Limehouse Division (one MP)†
		Mile End Division (one MP)†
		Poplar Division (one MP)†
		St George Division (one MP)†
		Stepney Division (one MP)†
		Whitechapel Division (one MP)†
Westminster (two MPs)†	Divided into three parliamentary boroughs, each returning one MP.[27][28]	Westminster (one MP)†
		St George, Hanover Square (one MP)†
		Strand (one MP)†
County Divisions[38]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Middlesex (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into seven single-member divisions, part constituted as new parliamentary borough of Hampstead.[27]	Brentford Division (one MP)
		Ealing Division (one MP)
		Enfield Division (one MP)
		Harrow Division (one MP)
		Hornsey Division (one MP)
		Tottenham Division (one MP)
		Uxbridge Division (one MP)
Norfolk Representation unchanged (10 MPs) ‡ The Borough of Great Yarmouth was partly in Suffolk
Boroughs[40]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
King's Lynn (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12] Boundaries extended to include entire municipal borough.[16]	King's Lynn (one MP)
Norwich (two MPs)	No change	Norwich (two MPs)
Formed from part of North Division of the county	New parliamentary borough of Great Yarmouth[27]	Great Yarmouth‡ (one MP)
County Divisions[40]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
North Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into six single-member divisions, part constituted as new parliamentary borough of Great Yarmouth.[13][27]	Eastern Division (one MP)
		Mid Division (one MP)
South Division (two MPs)		North Division (one MP)
		North West Division (one MP)
West Division (two MPs)		South Division (one MP)
		South West Division (one MP)
Northamptonshire Representation decreased from 8 to 7 MPs
Boroughs[41]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Peterborough (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Peterborough (one MP)
Northampton (two MPs)	No change	Northampton (two MPs)
County Divisions[41]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Northern Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into four single-member divisions.[13]	Eastern Division (one MP)
		Mid Division (one MP)
Southern Division (two MPs)		Northern Division (one MP)
		Southern Division (one MP)
Northumberland Representation decreased from 10 to 8 MPs
Boroughs[42]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Berwick-upon-Tweed (two MPs)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Morpeth (one MP)	No change	Morpeth (one MP)
Newcastle-upon-Tyne (two MPs)	No change	Newcastle-upon-Tyne (two MPs)
Tynemouth and North Shields (one MP)	Renamed	Tynemouth (one MP)
County Divisions[42]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Northern Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into four single-member divisions.[13]	Berwick-upon-Tweed Division (one MP)
		Hexham Division (one MP)
Southern Division (two MPs)		Tyneside Division (one MP)
		Wansbeck Division (one MP)
Nottinghamshire Representation decreased from 10 to 7 MPs ‡ The Borough of East Retford was partly in the West Riding of Yorkshire
Boroughs[43]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
East Retford‡ (two MPs)	Abolished[15]
Newark (two MPs)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Nottingham (two MPs)	Boundaries extended to include entire municipal borough.[16] Divided into three single-member divisions.[28]	East Division (one MP)
		South Division (one MP)
		West Division (one MP)
County Divisions[43]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Northern Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into four single-member divisions, absorbed parliamentary boroughs of East Retford and Newark.[13]	Bassetlaw Division (one MP)
		Mansfield Division (one MP)
Southern Division (two MPs)		Newark Division (one MP)
		Rushcliffe Division (one MP)
Oxfordshire Representation decreased from 6 to 4 MPs ‡ The Borough of Banbury was partly in Northamptonshire
Boroughs[44]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Banbury‡ (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Oxford (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Oxford (one MP)
Woodstock (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
County Divisions[44]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Oxfordshire (undivided) (three MPs)	Divided into three single-member divisions, absorbing parliamentary boroughs of Banbury and Woodstock.[13]	Northern or Banbury Division (one MP)
		Mid or Woodstock Division (one MP)
		Southern or Henley Division (one MP)
Rutland Representation reduced from 2 MPs to 1
Parliamentary County[45]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Rutland (undivided) (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP[13]	Rutland (one MP)
Shropshire Representation decreased from 10 to 5 MPs
Boroughs[46]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Bridgnorth (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Ludlow (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Shrewsbury (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP[12]	Shrewsbury (one MP)
Wenlock (two MPs)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[46]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Northern Division (two MPs)	Reorganised as four single-member divisions, absorbing abolished parliamentary boroughs of Brignorth, Ludlow and Wenlock.[13]	Mid or Wellington Division (one MP)
		Northern or Newport Division (one MP)
Southern Division (two MPs)		Southern or Ludlow Division (one MP)
		Western or Oswestry Division (one MP)
Somerset Representation decreased from 12 to 10 MPs
Boroughs[47]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Bath (two MPs)	No change	Bath (two MPs)
Frome (two MPs)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Taunton (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Taunton (one MP)
County Divisions[47]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
East Division (two MPs)	Reorganised as seven single-member divisions.[13]	Bridgwater Division (one MP)
		Eastern Division (one MP)
Mid Division (two MPs)		Frome Division (one MP)
		Northern Division (one MP)
Western Division (two MPs)		Southern Division (one MP)
		Wells Division (one MP)
		Western or Wellington Division (one MP)
Staffordshire Representation decreased from 20 to 17 MPs ‡ The Borough of Tamworth was partly in Warwickshire
Boroughs[48]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Lichfield (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Newcastle-under-Lyme (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12] Boundaries extended to include entire municipal borough, Tunstall local government district and part of the parish of Wolstanton.[16]	Newcastle-under-Lyme (one MP)
Stafford (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12] Boundaries extended to include entire municipal borough.[16]	Stafford (one MP)
Stoke-upon-Trent (two MPs)	Divided into two new parliamentary boroughs.[27]	Stoke upon Trent (one MP)
		Hanley (one MP)
Tamworth‡ (two MPs)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division of Warwickshire.[13]
Walsall (one MP)	No change	Walsall (one MP)
Wednesbury (one MP)	Divided into two new parliamentary boroughs.[27]	Wednesbury (one MP)
		West Bromwich (one MP)
Wolverhampton (two MPs)	Divided into three single-member divisions.[28]	East Division (one MP)
		South Division (one MP)
		West Division (one MP)
County Divisions[48]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
East Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into seven single-member divisions.[13]	Burton Division (one MP)
		Handsworth Division (one MP)
North Division (two MPs)		Kingswinford Division (one MP)
		Leek Division (one MP)
West Division (two MPs)		Lichfield Division (one MP)
		North-Western Division (one MP)
		Western Division (one MP)
Suffolk Representation decreased from 9 to 8 MPs
Boroughs[49]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Bury St Edmunds (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Bury St Edmunds (one MP)
Eye (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Ipswich (two MPs)	No change	Ipswich (two MPs)
County Divisions[49]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Eastern Division of Suffolk (two MPs)	Reorganised into five single-member divisions, absorbing parliamentary borough of Eye.[13]	Northern or Lowestoft Division (one MP)
		North-Eastern or Eye Division (one MP)
		North-Western or Stowmarket Division (one MP)
Western Division of Suffolk (two MPs)		South or Sudbury Division (one MP)
		South-Eastern or Woodbridge Division (one MP)
Surrey Representation increased from 11 to 22 MPs † Formed part of "The Metropolis" of London
Boroughs[50]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Created from parts of the Eastern and Mid Divisions of parliamentary county	New parliamentary borough of Battersea and Clapham formed from the parish of Battersea from Mid Division and the parish of Clapham from Eastern Division.[27] Divided into two single-member divisions.[28]	Battersea and Clapham, Battersea Division (one MP)†
		Battersea and Clapham, Clapham Division (one MP)†
Created from part of Eastern Division of parliamentary county	New parliamentary borough of Croydon[27]	Croydon (one MP)
Guildford (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Lambeth (two MPs)†	Reconstituted as three new parliamentary boroughs: Camberwell (incorporating Dulwich from the Eastern Division of county), Lambeth and Newington. The three boroughs were divided into nine single-member divisions.[28]	Camberwell, Dulwich Division (one MP)†
		Camberwell, North Division (one MP)†
		Camberwell, Peckham Division (one MP)†
		Lambeth, Brixton Division (one MP)†
		Lambeth, Kennington Division (one MP)†
		Lambeth, North Division (one MP)†
		Lambeth, Norwood Division (one MP)†
		Newington, Walworth Division (one MP)†
		Newington, West Division (one MP)†
Southwark (two MPs)†	Representation increased to three members; divided into three single-member divisions.[28]	Southwark, Bermondsey Division (one MP)†
		Southwark, Rotherhithe Division (one MP)†
		Southwark, West Division (one MP)†
Created from parts of the Eastern and Mid Divisions of parliamentary county	New parliamentary borough of Wandsworth[27]	Wandsworth (one MP)†
County Divisions[50]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Eastern Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into six single-member divisions.[13]	Kingston Division (one MP)
		Mid or Epsom Division (one MP)
Mid Division (two MPs)		North-Eastern or Wimbledon Division (one MP)
		North-Western or Chertsey Division (one MP)
Western Division (two MPs)		South-Eastern or Reigate Division (one MP)
		South-Western or Guildford Division (one MP)
Sussex Representation decreased from 15 to 9 MPs
Boroughs[51]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Brighton (two MPs)	No change	Brighton (two MPs)
Chichester (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Hastings (two MPs)	Boundaries altered.[16] Representation reduced to 1 MP.[12]	Hastings (one MP)
Horsham (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Lewes (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Midhurst (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
New Shoreham (two MPs)	Abolished.[15]
Rye (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
County Divisions[51]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Eastern Division (two MPs)	Absorbed abolished parliamentary boroughs of Chichester, Horsham, Lewes, Midhurst, New Shoreham and Rye. Reorganised into six single-member divisions.[13]	Eastern or Rye Division (one MP)
		Mid or Lewes Division (one MP)
		Northern or East Grinstead Division (one MP)
Western Division (two MPs)		North-Western or Horsham Division (one MP)
		Southern or Eastbourne Division (one MP)
		South-Western or Chichester Division (one MP)
Warwickshire Representation increased from 11 to 14 MPs
Boroughs[52]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Created from part of Northern Division of parliamentary county	New parliamentary borough of Aston Manor[27]	Aston Manor (one MP)
Birmingham (three MPs)	Boundaries of parliamentary borough extended to include local government districts of Balsall Heath, Harborne, and Saltley, and the hamlet of Little Bromwich.[16] Representation increased to seven MPs, divided into seven single-member divisions.[28]	Birmingham, Bordesley Division (one MP)
		Birmingham, Central Division (one MP)
		Birmingham, East Division (one MP)
		Birmingham, Edgbaston Division (one MP)
		Birmingham, North Division (one MP)
		Birmingham, South Division (one MP)
		Birmingham, West Division (one MP)
Coventry (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Coventry (one MP)
Warwick (two MPs)	Parliamentary Borough of Warwick extended to include the municipal borough of Royal Leamington Spa and the local government districts of Milverton and Lillington.[16] Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Warwick and Leamington (one MP)
County Divisions[52]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Northern Division (two MPs)	Reorganised into four single-member divisions.[13]	Northern or Tamworth Division (one MP)
		North-Eastern or Nuneaton Division (one MP)
Southern Division (two MPs)		South-Eastern or Rugby Division (one MP)
		South Western or Stratford on Avon Division (one MP)
Westmorland Representation decreased from 3 to 2 MPs
Boroughs[53]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Kendal (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
County Divisions[53]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Westmorland (undivided) (two MPs)	Reorganised into two single-member divisions, absorbing abolished parliamentary borough of Kendal.[13]	Northern or Appleby Division (one MP)
		Southern or Kendal Division (one MP)
Wiltshire Representation decreased from 15 to 6 MPs ‡ The Borough of Cricklade was partly in Gloucestershire
Boroughs[54]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Calne (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Chippenham (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Cricklade‡ (two MPs)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Devizes (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Malmesbury (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Marlborough (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Salisbury (two MPs)	Boundaries extended to incliude entire parish of Fisherton Anger, part of the parish of Milford.[16] Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Salisbury (one MP)
Westbury (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Wilton (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
County Divisions[54]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Northern Division (two MPs)	Reorganised as five single-member divisions, absorbing the abolished parliamentary boroughs of Calne, Chippenham, Cricklade, Devizes, Malmesbury, Marlborough, Westbury and Wilton.[13]	Eastern or Devizes Division (one MP)
		Northern or Cricklade Division (one MP)
		North-Western or Chippenham Division (one MP)
Southern Division (two MPs)		Southern or Wilton Division (one MP)
		Western or Westbury Division (one MP)
Worcestershire Representation decreased from 11 to 8 MPs
Boroughs[55]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Bewdley (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Droitwich (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Dudley (one MP)	No change	Dudley (one MP)
Evesham (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Kidderminster (one MP)	No change	Kidderminster (one MP)
Worcester (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Worcester (one MP)
County Divisions[55]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Eastern Division (two MPs)	Reorganised as five single-member divisions, absorbing the abolished parliamentary boroughs of Bewdley, Droitwich and Evesham.[13]	Eastern Division (one MP)
		Mid or Droitwich Division (one MP)
		Northern Division (one MP
Western Division (two MPs)		Southern or Evesham Division (one MP)
		Western or Bewdley Division (one MP)
Yorkshire Representation increased from 38 to 52 MPs
Boroughs[56]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Bradford (two MPs)	Boundaries widened to include entire municipal borough.[16] Representation increased to three MPs, divided into three single-member divisions.[28]	Bradford, Central Division (one MP)
		Bradford, East Division (one MP)
		Bradford, West Division (one MP)
Dewsbury (one MP)	No change	Dewsbury (one MP)
Halifax (two MPs)	No change	Halifax (two MPs)
Huddersfield (one MP)	No change	Huddersfield (one MP)
Kingston upon Hull (two MPs)	Boundaries extended to include entire municipal borough.[16] Representation increased to three MPs, divided into three single-member divisions.[28]	Kingston-upon-Hull, Central Division (one MP)
		Kingston-upon-Hull, East Division (one MP)
		Kingston-upon-Hull, West Division (one MP)
Knaresborough (one MP)	Abolished[15]
Leeds (three MPs)	Representation increased to five MPs, divided into five single-member divisions.[28]	Leeds, Central Division (one MP)
		Leeds, East Division (one MP)
		Leeds, North Division (one MP)
		Leeds, South Division (one MP)
		Leeds, West Division (one MP)
Malton (one MP)	Abolished[15] Gave its name (with Thirsk) to a county division.[13]
Middlesbrough (one MP)	Boundaries extended to include entire municipal borough.[16]	Middlesbrough (one MP)
Northallerton (one MP)	Abolished[15]
Pontefract (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one member.[12]	Pontefract (one MP)
Richmond (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Ripon (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
Scarborough (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one member.[12]	Scarborough (one MP)
Sheffield (two MPs)	Representation increased to five members. Divided into five single-member divisions.[28]	Sheffield, Attercliffe Division (one MP)
		Sheffield, Brightside Division (one MP)
		Sheffield, Central Division (one MP)
		Sheffield, Ecclesall Division (one MP)
		Sheffield, Hallam Division (one MP)
Thirsk (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name (with Malton) to a county division.[13]
Wakefield (one MP)	Boundaries extended to include the Belle Vue area of the parish of Sandal Magna.[16]	Wakefield (one MP)
Whitby (one MP)	Abolished.[15] Gave its name to a county division.[13]
York (two MPs)	Boundaries extended to include entire municipal borough.[16]	York (two MPs)
County Divisions[56]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
East Riding Division (two MPs)	Divided into three single-member divisions.[13]	Buckrose Division (one MP)
		Holderness Division (one MP)
		Howdenshire Division (one MP)
North Riding Division (two MPs)	Divided into four single-member divisions, absorbing abolished parliamentary boroughs of Malton, Northallerton, Richmond, Thirsk and Whitby.[13]	Cleveland Division (one MP)
		Richmond Division (one MP)
		Thirsk and Malton Division (one MP)
		Whitby Division (one MP)
Eastern Division of the West Riding (two MPs)	Divided into six single-member divisions, absorbing the abolished parliamentary boroughs of Knaresborough and Ripon.[13]	Barkston Ash Division (one MP)
		Osgoldcross Division (one MP)
		Otley Division (one MP)
		Pudsey Division (one MP)
		Ripon Division (one MP)
		Spen Valley Division (one MP)
Northern Division of the West Riding (two MPs)	Divided into five single-member divisions.[13]	Elland Division (one MP)
		Keighley Division (one MP)
		Shipley Division (one MP)
		Skipton Division (one MP)
		Sowerby Division (one MP)
Southern Division of the West Riding (two MPs)	Divided into eight single-member divisions.[13]	Barnsley Division (one MP)
		Colne Valley Division (one MP)
		Doncaster Division (one MP)
		Hallamshire Division (one MP)
		Holmfirth Division (one MP)
		Morley Division (one MP)
		Normanton Division (one MP)
		Rotherham Division (one MP)
Universities University representation was not altered by the act.[57]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Cambridge University (two MPs)	No change	Cambridge University (two MPs)
London University (one MP)	No change	London University (one MP)
Oxford University (two MPs)	No change	Oxford University (two MPs)

Redistributed seats: Wales

Anglesey Representation decreased from 2 to 1 MPs
Boroughs
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Beaumaris district of Boroughs (Amlwch, Beaumaris, Holyhead and Llangefni)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Anglesey (undivided) (one MP)	Absorbed Beaumaris District of Boroughs	Anglesey (undivided) (one MP)
Breconshire Representation decreased from 2 to 1 MPs
Boroughs
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Brecon (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Breconshire (undivided) (one MP)	Absorbed abolished parliamentary borough of Brecon.[15]	Breconshire (undivided) (one MP)
Cardiganshire Representation decreased from 2 to 1 MPs ‡ The Borough of Cardigan was partly in Pembrokeshire, the Boroughs of Adpar and Lampeter were partly in Carmarthenshire
Boroughs
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Cardigan District of Boroughs‡ (one MP) (Cardigan, Aberystwyth, Lampeter and Adpar)	Abolished[15]
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Cardiganshire (undivided) (one MP)	Absorbed abolished Cardigan District of Boroughs.	Cardiganshire (undivided) (one MP)
Carmarthenshire Representation unchanged (3 MPs)
Boroughs
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Carmarthen Boroughs (one MP) (Carmarthen and Llanelly)	No change	Carmarthen Boroughs (one MP) (Carmarthen and Llanelly)
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Carmarthenshire (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	Eastern Division (one MP)
		Western Division (one MP)
Carnarvonshire Representation increased from 2 to 3 MPs
Boroughs
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Carnarvon District of Boroughs (one MP) (Carnarvon, Bangor, Conway, Criccieth, Nevin, and Pwllheli)	No change	Carnarvon District of Boroughs (one MP) (Carnarvon, Bangor, Conway, Criccieth, Nevin, and Pwllheli)
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Carnarvonshire (undivided) (one MP)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	The Northern or Arfon Division (one MP)
		The Southern or Eifion Division (one MP)
Denbighshire Representation unchanged (3 MPs)
Boroughs
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Denbigh Boroughs (one MP) (Denbigh, Holt, Ruthin, and Wrexham)	No change	Denbigh Boroughs (one MP) (Denbigh, Holt, Ruthin, and Wrexham)
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Denbighshire (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	Eastern Division (one MP)
		Western Division (one MP)
Flintshire Representation unchanged (2 MPs)
Boroughs
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Flint Boroughs (one MP) (Caergwrle, Caerwys, Flint, Holywell, Mold, Overton, Rhuddlan and St Asaph)	No change	Flint Boroughs (one MP) (Caergwrle, Caerwys, Flint, Holywell, Mold, Overton, Rhuddlan and St Asaph)
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Flintshire (undivided) (one MP)	No change	Flintshire (undivided) (one MP)
Glamorganshire Representation increased from 6 to 10 MPs
Boroughs
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Cardiff District of Boroughs (one MP) (Cardiff, Cowbridge and Llantrisant)	Parliamentary Borough of Cardiff extended to include entire municipal borough.[16]	Cardiff District of Boroughs (one MP) (Cardiff, Cowbridge and Llantrisant)
Merthyr Tydfil (two MPs)	No change	Merthyr Tydfil (two MPs)
Swansea District of Boroughs (one MP) (Aberavon, Kenfig, Loughor, Neath and Swansea)	Reconstituted as Parliamentary Borough of Swansea without alteration of boundaries. Representation increased to two MPs. Divided into two single-member divisions.[28]	Swansea, District (one MP) (Aberavon, Kenfig, Loughor, Neath and suburban areas of Swansea)
		Swansea, Town (one MP)
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Glamorganshire (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into five single-member divisions.[13]	Eastern Division (one MP)
		Mid Division (one MP)
		Rhondda Division (one MP)
		Southern Division (one MP)
		Western or Gower District (one MP)
Merionethshire Representation unchanged (1 MP)
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Merionethshire (undivided) (one MP)	No change	Merionethshire (undivided) (one MP)
Monmouthshire Representation increased from 3 to 4 MPs
Boroughs
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Monmouth Boroughs (one MP) (Monmouth, Newport and Usk)	Parliamentary Borough of Newport extended to include entire municipal borough.[16]	Monmouth Boroughs (one MP) (Monmouth, Newport and Usk)
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Monmouthshire (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into three single-member divisions.[13]	Northern Division (one MP)
		Southern Division (one MP)
		Western Division (one MP)
Montgomeryshire Representation unchanged (2 MPs)
Boroughs
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Montgomery District of Boroughs (one MP) (Llanfyllin, Llanidloes, Machynlleth, Montgomery, Newtown, and Welshpool)	No change	Montgomery District of Boroughs (one MP) (Llanfyllin, Llanidloes, Machynlleth, Montgomery, Newtown, and Welshpool)
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Montgomeryshire (undivided) (one MP)	No change	Montgomeryshire (undivided) (one MP)
Pembrokeshire Representation decreased from 3 to 2 MPs
Boroughs
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Pembroke District of Boroughs (one MP) (Pembroke, Milford, Tenby and Wiston)	Districts of parliamentary boroughs of Pembroke and Haverfordwest merged.[15]	Pembroke and Haverfordwest District of Boroughs (one MP) (Fishguard, Haverfordwest, Pembroke, Milford, Narberth, St David's, Tenby and Wiston)
Haverfordwest District of Boroughs (one MP) (Fishguard, Haverfordwest, Narberth and St David's)
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Pembrokeshire	No change	Pembrokeshire
Radnorshire Representation decreased from 2 to 1 MPs
Boroughs
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Radnor District of Boroughs (one MP) (Cefnllys, Knighton, Knucklas, New Radnor, Presteigne and Rhayader)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Radnorshire (undivided) (one MP)	Absorbed abolished parliamentary boroughs.	Radnorshire (undivided) (one MP)

Redistributed seats: Scotland

Burghs and Districts
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Aberdeen (one MP)	Representation of parliamentary burgh increased to two seats. Divided into two single-member divisions.[28]	Aberdeen, North Division (one MP)
		Aberdeen, South Division (one MP)
Ayr District of Burghs (one MP)	No change. Comprised five parliamentary burghs: Ayr and Irvine in Ayrshire, Campbeltown and Inverary in Argyllshire and Rothesay in Buteshire.[58]	Ayr District of Burghs (one MP)
Dundee (two MPs)	No change.	Dundee (two MPs)
Dumfries District of Burghs (one MP)	No change. Comprised five parliamentary burghs: Annan Lochmaben and Sanquhar in Dumfriesshire, Dumfries in Dumfriesshire and Kirkcudbrightshire, Kirkcudbright in Kirkcudbrightshire.[58]	Dumfries District of Burghs (one MP)
Edinburgh (two MPs)	Boundaries widened to include entire municipal burgh.[16] Representation of parliamentary burgh increased to four seats. Divided into four single-member divisions.[28]	Edinburgh, Central Division (one MP)
		Edinburgh, East Division (one MP)
		Edinburgh, South Division (one MP)
		Edinburgh, West Division (one MP)
Elgin District of Burghs (one MP)	No change. Comprised five parliamentary burghs: Inverurie, Kintore and Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Banff and Cullen in Banffshire, and Elgin in Elginshire.[58]	Elgin District of Burghs (one MP)
Falkirk District of Burghs (one MP)	Comprised five parliamentary burghs: Airdrie, Hamilton and Lanark in Lanarkshire, Linlithgow in Linlithgowshire and Falkirk in Stirlingshire.[58] Boundaries widened to include entire municipal burgh of Hamilton.[16]	Falkirk District of Burghs (one MP)
Glasgow (two MPs)	Boundaries widened to include entire municipal burgh.[16] Representation of parliamentary burgh increased to seven seats. Divided into seven single-member divisions.[28]	Glasgow, Blackfriars and Hutchesontown Division (one MP)
		Glasgow, Bridgeton Division (one MP)
		Glasgow, Camlachie Division (one MP)
		Glasgow, Central Division (one MP)
		Glasgow, College Division (one MP)
		Glasgow, St. Rollox Division (one MP)
		Glasgow, Tradeston Division (one MP)
Greenock (one MP)	Boundaries extended to include entire municipal burgh.[16]	Greenock (one MP)
Haddington District of Burghs (one MP)	Abolished.[15] The five parliamentary burghs that comprised the district were each merged into their respective parliamentary counties: Lauder into Berwickshire; Dunbar, Haddington,and North Berwick into Haddingtonshire; and Jedburgh into Roxburghshire.
Hawick District of Burghs (one MP)	Comprised three parliamentary burghs: Hawick in Roxburghshire and Galashiels and Selkirk in Selkirkshire.[58] Boundaries extended to include entire municipal burgh of Hawick.[16]	Hawick District of Burghs (one MP)
Inverness District of Burghs (one MP)	No change Comprised four parliamentary burghs: Forres in Elginshire, Inverness in Inverness-shire, Nairn in Nairnshire and Fortrose in Ross and Cromarty.[58]	Inverness District of Burghs (one MP)
Kilmarnock District of Burghs (one MP)	Comprised five burghs: Kilmarnock in Ayrshire; Dumbarton in Dumbartonshire; Rutherglen in Lanarkshire and Renfrew and Port Glasgow in Renfrewshire.[58] Boundaries of parliamentary burghs of Kilmarnock, Port Glasgow and Renfrew extended to include entire municipal burghs.[16]	Kilmarnock District of Burghs (one MP)
Kirkcaldy District of Burghs (one MP)	Comprised four burghs in Fife: Kirkcaldy, Burntisland, Dysart, Kinghorn[58] Extended to include entire municipal burgh of Kirkcaldy.[16]	Kirkcaldy District of Burghs (one MP)
Leith District of Burghs (one MP)	No change Comprised three burghs in the County of Edinburgh: Leith, Musselburgh and Portobello.[58]	Leith District of Burghs (one MP)
Montrose District of Burghs (one MP)	No change Comprised five burghs: Arbroath, Brechin, Forfar and Inverbervie in Forfarshire and Montrose in Kincardineshire.[58]	Montrose District of Burghs (one MP)
Paisley (one MP)	Boundaries widened to include entire municipal burgh.[16]	Paisley (one MP)
Perth City (one MP)	Boundaries widened to include entire municipal burgh.[16]	Perth City (one MP)
St Andrews District of Burghs (one MP)	No change Comprised seven burghs in Fife: Anstruther Easter, Anstruther Wester, Crail, Cupar, Kilrenny, Pittenweem and St Andrews.[58]	St Andrews District of Burghs (one MP)
Stirling District of Burghs (one MP)	No change Comprised five burghs: Dunfermline and Inverkeithing in Fife; Queensferry in Linlithgowshire; Culross in Perthshire and Stirling in Stirlingshire.[58]	Stirling District of Burghs (one MP)
Wick District of Burghs (one MP)	No change Comprised six burghs: Wick in Caithness; Kirkwall in Orkney; Cromarty, Dingwall and Tain in Ross and Cromarty; Dornoch in Sutherland.[58]	Wick District of Burghs (one MP)
Wigtown District of Burghs (one MP)	Abolished[15] The four constituent burghs were merged into the parliamentary counties of Kirkcudbrightshire (New Galloway) and Wigtownshire (Stranraer, Whithorn and Wigtown).
Aberdeenshire Representation unchanged (2 MPs) See also the parliamentary burgh of Aberdeen and the Elgin District of Burghs which included Peterhead.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Eastern Division (one MP)	No change.	Eastern Division (one MP)
Western Division (one MP)	No change.	Western Division (one MP)
Argyllshire Representation unchanged (1 MP) The parliamentary burghs in the county formed part of the Ayr District.
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Argyllshire (undivided) (one MP)	No change.	Argyllshire (undivided) (one MP)
Ayrshire Representation unchanged (2 MPs) The parliamentary burghs in the county formed parts of Ayr and Kilmarnock Districts.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Northern Division (one MP)	No change	Northern Division (one MP)
Southern Division (one MP)	No change	Southern Division (one MP)
Banffshire Representation unchanged (1 MP) The parliamentary burghs in the county formed part of the Elgin District.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Banffshire (undivided) (one MP)	No change	Banffshire (undivided) (one MP)
Berwickshire Representation unchanged (1 MP)
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Berwickshire (undivided) (one MP)	Absorbed the abolished parliamentary burgh of Lauder, previously part of the Haddington District of Burghs.[15]	Berwickshire (undivided) (one MP)
Buteshire Representation unchanged (1 MP)
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Buteshire (undivided) (one MP)	No change	Buteshire (undivided) (one MP)
Caithness Representation unchanged (1 MP) The parliamentary burgh in the county formed part of the Wick District
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Caithness (undivided) (one MP)	No change	Caithness (undivided) (one MP)
Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire Representation unchanged (1 MP)
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire (undivided) (one MP)	No change The constituency consisted of the combined parliamentary counties of Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire, and also included the parishes of Tulliallan, Culross and Muckhart in Perthshire, the Perthshire portions of the parishes of Logie and Fossaway, and the Stirlingshire part of the parish of Alva.[59]	Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire (undivided) (one MP)
Dumfriesshire Representation unchanged (1 MP) The parliamentary burghs in the county formed part of the Dumfries District
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Dumfriesshire (undivided) (one MP)	No change	Dumfriesshire (undivided) (one MP)
Dumbartonshire Representation unchanged (1 MP) The parliamentary burgh of Dumbarton formed part of Kilmarnock District
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Dumbartonshire (undivided) (one MP)	No change	Dumbartonshire (undivided) (one MP)
County of Edinburgh Representation unchanged (1 MP) See also the parliamentary burgh of Edinburgh and the Leith District of Burghs.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
County of Edinburgh (undivided) (one MP)	No change	County of Edinburgh (undivided) (one MP)
Elginshire and Nairnshire Representation unchanged (1 MP) The parliamentary burgh of Elgin formed part of Elgin District; the burghs of Forres and Nairn were part of Inverness District.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Elginshire and Nairnshire (undivided) (one MP)	No change. The constituency consisted of the combined parliamentary counties of Elginshire and Nairnshire.[59]	Elginshire and Nairnshire (undivided) (one MP)
Fife Representation increased from 1 to 2 MPs The 13 parliamentary burghs in the county formed the Kirkcaldy District, the St Andrews District and part of the Stirling District.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Fife (undivided) (one MP)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	Fife, Eastern Division (one MP)
		Fife, Western Division (one MP)
Forfarshire Representation unchanged (1 MP) See also the parliamentary burgh of Dundee and the Montrose District of Burghs.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Forfarshire (one MP)	No Change	Forfarshire (one MP)
Haddingtonshire Representation unchanged (1 MP)
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Haddingtonshire (undivided) (one MP)	Absorbed the abolished parliamentary burghs of Haddington, Dunbar, and North Berwick formerly part of the Haddington District of Burghs	Haddingtonshire (undivided) (one MP)
Inverness-shire Representation unchanged (1 MP) The parliamentary burgh of Inverness formed part of the Inverness District of Burghs.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Inverness-shire (undivided) (one MP)	No change	Inverness-shire (undivided) (one MP)
Kincardineshire Representation unchanged (1 MP) The parliamentary burgh of Montrose formed part of the Montrose District of Burghs.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Kincardineshire (undivided) (one MP)	No change	Kincardineshire (undivided) (one MP)
Kirkcudbrightshire Representation unchanged (1 MP) The parliamentary burgh of Kirkcudbright and the burgh of Dumfries (partly in the county) formed part of Dumfries District.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Kirkcudbrightshire (undivided) (one MP)	No change.	Kirkcudbrightshire (undivided) (one MP)
Lanarkshire Representation increased from 2 to 6 MPs See also the parliamentary burgh of Glasgow, the Falkirk District of Burghs which included three Lanarkshire burghs and the Kilmarnock District of Burghs which included the burgh of Rutherglen.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Northern Division (one MP)	Reorganised as six single-member divisions.[13]	Govan Division (one MP)
		Mid Division (one MP)
		North Eastern Division (one MP)
Southern Division (one MP)		North Western Division (one MP)
		Partick Division (one MP)
		Southern Division (one MP)
Linlithgowshire Representation unchanged (1 MP) The parliamentary burgh of Linlithgow formed part of Fakirk District and the burgh of Queensferry formed part of Stirling District.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Linlithgowshire (undivided) (one MP)	No change	Linlithgowshire (undivided) (one MP)
Orkney and Shetland Representation unchanged (1 MP) The parliamentary burgh of Kirkwall formed part of Wick District.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Orkney and Shetland (undivided) (one MP)	No change	Orkney and Shetland (undivided) (one MP)
Peeblesshire and Selkirkshire Representation unchanged (1 MP) The parliamentary burghs of Galashiels and Selkirk formed part of the Hawick District
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Peeblesshire and Selkirkshire (undivided) (one MP)	No change. The constituency consisted of the combined parliamentary counties of Peeblesshire and Selkirkshire.[60]	Peeblesshire and Selkirkshire (undivided) (one MP)
Perthshire Representation increased from 1 to 2 MPs See also the parliamentary burghs of Perth City and Culross (part of Stirling District). Detached parts of the county formed part of the Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire constituency.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Perthshire (undivided) (one MP)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	Perthshire, Eastern Division (one MP)
		Perthshire, Western Division (one MP)
Renfrewshire Representation increased from 1 to 2 MPs See also the parliamentary burghs of Greenock and Paisley; and two burghs in the Kilmarnock District: Port Glasgow and Renfrew. Part of the parliamentary burgh of Glasgow was in Renfrewshire.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Renfrewshire (undivded) (one MP)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	Renfrewshire, Eastern Division (one MP)
		Renfrewshire, Western Division (one MP)
Ross and Cromarty Representation unchanged (1 MP) Parliamentary burghs of Cromarty, Dingwall and Tain formed part of the Dingwall District; the burgh of Fortrose was part of the Inverness District.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Ross and Cromarty (undivided) (one MP)	Comprised the combined counties of Ross-shire and Cromarty.[59]	Ross and Cromarty (undivided) (one MP)
Roxburghshire Representation unchanged (1 MP) Parliamentary burgh of Hawick formed part of the Hawick District.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Roxburghshire (undivided) (one MP)	Absorbed the abolished parliamentary burgh of Jedburgh, previously part of the Haddington District of Burghs.[15]	Roxburghshire (undivided) (one MP)
Stirlingshire Representation unchanged (1 MP) Parliamentary burgh of Falkirk formed part of the Falkirk District; burgh of Stirling was part of Stirling District. The Stirlingshire portion of the parish of Alva formed of the Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire constituency.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Stirlingshire (undivided) (one MP)	No change	Stirlingshire (undivided) (one MP)
Sutherland Representation unchanged (1 MP) The parliamentary burgh of Dornoch formed part of the Wick District.
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Sutherland (undivided) (one MP)	No change	Sutherland (undivided) (one MP)
Wigtownshire Representation unchanged (1 MP)
County Divisions
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Wigtownshire (undivided) (one MP)	Absorbed abolished parliamentary burghs of Stranraer, Whithorn and Wigtown, previously part of Wigtown District of Burghs.[15]	Wigtownshire (undivided) (one MP)
Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities (one MP)	No change.[57][61]	Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities (one MP)
Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities (one MP)	No change	Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities (one MP)

Redistributed seats: Ireland

Antrim Representation increased from 6 to 8 MPs ‡ The parliamentary boroughs of Belfast and Lisburn were partly in County Down
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Carrickfergus (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Belfast‡ (two MPs)	Enlarged to include parts of the parishes of Holywood and Newtownbreda in County Down; and part of the parish of Shankill in County Antrim. Representation increased to four members, divided into four single-member divisions.[28]	Belfast, East Division (one MP)
		Belfast, North Division (one MP)
		Belfast, South Division (one MP)
		Belfast, West Division (one MP)
Lisburn‡ (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Antrim (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into four single-member divisions, absorbing abolished parliamentary borough of Lisburn.[13]	East Antrim (one MP)
		Mid Antrim (one MP)
		North Antrim (one MP)
		South Antrim (one MP)
Armagh Representation unchanged (3 MPs)
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Armagh (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Armagh County (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into three single-member divisions, absorbing abolished parliamentary borough of Armagh.[13]	Mid Armagh (one MP)
		North Armagh (one MP)
		South Armagh (one MP)
Carlow Representation decreased from 3 MPs to 1. ‡ Part of the borough of Carlow was in Queen's County
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Carlow‡ (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Carlow County (undivided) (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one member, absorbed abolished parliamentary borough of Carlow.[13]	Carlow County (one MP)
Cavan Representation unchanged (2 MPs)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Cavan (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	East Cavan (one MP)
		West Cavan (one MP)
Clare Representation decreased from 3 to 2 MPs
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Ennis‡ (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Clare (undivided) (two MPs)	Absorbed abolished parliamentary borough of Ennis.[15] Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	East Clare (one MP)
		West Clare (one MP)
Cork Representation increased from 8 to 9 MPs
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Bandon (one MP)	Abolished[15]
Cork (two MPs)	No change	Cork (two MPs)
Kinsale (one MP)	Abolished[15]
Mallow (one MP)	Abolished[15]
Youghal (one MP)	Abolished[15]
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
County Cork (undivided) (two MPs)	Absorbed abolished parliamentary boroughs of Bandon, Kinsale, Mallow and Youghal.[15] Divided into seven single-member divisions.[13]	East Cork (one MP)
		Mid Cork (one MP)
		North Cork (one MP)
		North East Cork (one MP)
		South Cork (one MP)
		South East Cork (one MP)
		West Cork (one MP)
Donegal Representation increased from 2 to 4 MPs
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Donegal (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into four single-member divisions.[13]	East Donegal (one MP)
		North Donegal (one MP)
		South Donegal (one MP)
		West Donegal (one MP)
Down Representation increased from 4 to 5 MPs ‡ The Borough of Newry was partly in County Armagh.
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Downpatrick (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Newry‡ (one MP)	No change	Newry‡ (one MP)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Down (undivided) (two MPs)	Absorbed parliamentary borough of Downpatrick.[15] Divided into for single-member divisions.[13]	East Down (one MP)
		North Down (one MP)
		South Down (one MP)
		West Down (one MP)
Dublin Representation increased from 4 to 6 MPs
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Dublin (two MPs)	Representation increased to four members. Divided into four single-member divisions.[28]	Dublin, College Green Division (one MP)
		Dublin, Harbour Division (one MP)
		Dublin, St Patrick's Division (one MP)
		Dublin, St Stephen's Green Division (one MP)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Dublin County (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	North Dublin (one MP)
		South Dublin (one MP)
Fermanagh Representation reduced from 3 to 2 MPs
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Enniskillen (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Fermanagh (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	North Fermanagh (one MP)
		South Fermanagh (one MP)
Galway Representation increased from 4 to 5 MPs
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Galway Borough (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one MP.[12]	Galway Borough (one MP)
Galway County (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into four single-member divisions.[13]	County of Galway, Connemara (one MP)
		East Galway (one MP)
		North Galway (one MP)
		South Galway (one MP)
Kerry Representation increased from 3 to 4 MPs
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Tralee (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Kerry (undivided) (two MPs)	Absorbed abolished parliamentary borough of Tralee.[15] Divided into four single-member divisions.[13]	East Kerry (one MP)
		North Kerry (one MP)
		South Kerry (one MP)
		West Kerry (one MP)
Kildare Representation unchanged (2 MPs)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Kildare (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	North Kildare (one MP)
		South Kildare (one MP)
Kilkenny Representation unchanged (3 MPs)
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Kilkenny City (one MP)	No change	Kilkenny City (one MP)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
County Kilkenny (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	North Kilkenny (one MP)
		South Kilkenny (one MP)
King's County Representation unchanged (2 MPs)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
King's County (undivided ) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	King's County, Tullamore (one MP)
		King's County, Birr (one MP)
Leitrim Representation unchanged (2 MPs)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Leitrim (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	North Leitrim (one MP)
		South Leitrim (one MP)
Limerick Representation reduced from 4 to 3 MPs
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Limerick City (two MPs)	Representation reduce to one MP.[12]	Limerick City (one MP)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Limerick County (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	East Limerick (one MP)
		West Limerick (one MP)
Londonderry Representation reduced from 4 to 3 MPs
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Coleraine (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Londonderry City (one MP)	No change	Londonderry City (one MP)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Londonderry County (two MPs)	Absorbed abolished parliamentary borough of Coleraine.[15] Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	North Londonderry (one MP)
		South Londonderry (one MP)
Longford Representation unchanged (2 MPs)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Longford (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	North Longford (one MP)
		South Longford (one MP)
Louth Representation reduced from 4 to 2 MPs ‡ The parliamentary borough of Drogheda lay partly in County Meath.
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Drogheda‡ (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Dundalk(one MP)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Louth County (undivided) (two MPs)	Absorbed abolished parliamentary boroughs of Drogheda and Dundalk.[15] Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	North Louth (one MP)
		South Louth (one MP)
Mayo Representation increased from 2 to 4 MPs
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Mayo (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into four single-member divisions.[13]	East Mayo (one MP)
		North Mayo (one MP)
		South Mayo (one MP)
		West Mayo (one MP)
Meath Representation unchanged (2 MPs)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Meath (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	North Meath (one MP)
		South Meath (one MP)
Monaghan Representation unchanged (2 MPs)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Monaghan (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	North Monaghan (one MP)
		South Monaghann (one MP)
Queen's County Representation reduced from 3 MPs to 2. ‡ The parliamentary borough of Portarlington was partly in King's County
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Portarlington (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Queen's County (undivided) (two MPs)	Absorbed abolished parliamentary borough of Portarlington.[15] Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	Queen's County, Leix (one MP)
		Queen's County, Ossory (one MP)
Roscommon Representation unchanged (2 MPs)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Roscommon (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	North Roscommon (one MP)
		South Roscommon (one MP)
Sligo Representation unchanged (2 MPs)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Sligo County (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	North Sligo (one MP)
		South Sligo (one MP)
Tipperary Representation increased from 3 MPs to 4. ‡ The parliamentary borough of Clonmel was partly in County Waterford
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Clonmel ‡ (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Tipperary (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into four single-member divisions.[13]	East Tipperary (one MP)
		Mid Tipperary (one MP)
		North Tipperary (one MP)
		South Tipperary (one MP)
Tyrone Representation increased from 3 MPs to 4.
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Dungannon (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Tyrone (undivided) (two MPs)	Absorbed abolished parliamentary borough of Dungannon.[15] Divided into four single-member divisions.[13]	East Tyrone (one MP)
		Mid Tyrone (one MP)
		North Tyrone (one MP)
		South Tyrone (one MP)
Waterford Representation reduced from 5 to 3 MPs
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Dungarvan (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Waterford City (two MPs)	Representation reduced to one member.[12]	Waterford City (one MP)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Waterford County (undivided) (two MPs)	Absorbed abolished parliamentary borough of Dungarvan.[15] Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	East Waterford (one MP)
		West Waterford (one MP)
Westmeath Representation reduced from 3 to 2 MPs ‡ The parliamentary borough of Athlone was partly in County Roscommon.
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Athlone‡ (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Westmeath (undivided) (two MPs)	Absorbed abolished parliamentary borough of Athlone.[15] Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	North Westmeath (one MP)
		South Westmeath (one MP)
Wexford Representation reduced from 4 to 2 MPs ‡ The parliamentary borough of New Ross was partly in County Kilkenny.
Boroughs[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
New Ross‡ (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
Wexford Borough (one MP)	Abolished.[15]
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Wexford County (undivided) (two MPs)	Absorbed abolished parliamentary boroughs of New Ross and Wexford.[15] Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	North Wexford (one MP)
		South Wexford (one MP)
Wicklow Representation unchanged (2 MPs)
County Divisions[62]
Before 1885	Change	After 1885
Wicklow (undivided) (two MPs)	Divided into two single-member divisions.[13]	East Wicklow (one MP)
		West Wicklow (one MP)
University of Dublin Representation increased from one to 2 Mps)
Dublin University (one MP)	Representation increased to two members.	Dublin University (two MPs)

See also

• The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918

External link - text as originally enacted

• Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, 48 & 49 Vict. C. 23

References

• Youngs, Frederic A, Jr. (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.
• Youngs, Frederic A, Jr. (1991). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.2: Northern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-86193-127-0.

1. Lowell, A Lawrence (1912). The Government Of England. 1. London: Macmillan. p. 199.
2. Little, Tony. "Gladstone's second government". Liberal Democrat History Group. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
3. Adelman, Paul. "House of Lords: The Peers Versus the People". History Today. 35 (2).
4. McLean, Iain (2001). Rational choice and British politics: an analysis of rhetoric and manipulation from Peel to Blair. Oxford University Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-19-829529-7.
5. "The Boundary Commission". The Times. 3 December 1884. p. 12.
6. "Editorial". The Times. 2 December 1884. p. 9.
7. "Liberal Meeting at the Foreign Office". The Times. 2 December 1884. p. 10.
8. "Second Reading". Hansard 1803-2005. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 4 December 1884. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
9. "House of Commons Debates 13 April 1885 vol 296 cc1500-69". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 13 April 1885. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
10. Searle, G R (2005). A new England?: peace and war, 1886-1918. The new Oxford history of England. Oxford University Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-19-928440-5.
11. Youngs (1979) p. 711
12. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Schedule 2: Boroughs to lose one member
13. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Schedule 7: Counties at Large. Number of Members and Names and Contents of Divisions.
14. Youngs (1979) pp. 712-713
15. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. Schedule 1, Part 1. Boroughs to cease as such.
16. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. Schedule 5. Contents and Boundaries of Boroughs with altered Boundaries
17. Youngs (1979) pp. 714-715
18. Youngs (1979) p. 716
19. Youngs (1991) pp. 801-804
20. Youngs (1979) pp. 717-718
21. Youngs (1991) pp. 805-806
22. Youngs (1991) pp. 807-809
23. Youngs (1979) pp. 720-722
24. Youngs (1979) pp. 723-724
25. Youngs (1991) pp. 810-812
26. Youngs (1979) pp. 725-728
27. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. Schedule 4, New Boroughs
28. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. Schedule 6, Divisions of Boroughs
29. Youngs (1979) pp. 729-731
30. Youngs (1979) pp. 732-734
31. Youngs (1991) pp. 813-814
32. Youngs (1979) pp. 735-736
33. Youngs (1979) p. 737
34. Youngs (1979) pp. 738-741
35. Youngs (1991) pp. 815-821
36. Youngs (1991) pp. 822-823
37. Youngs (1991) pp. 824-827
38. Youngs (1979) pp. 748-750
39. Representation of the People Act 1885, section 4
40. Youngs (1979) pp. 751-754
41. Youngs (1991) pp. 828-829
42. Youngs (1991) pp. 830-832
43. Youngs (1991) pp. 833-834
44. Youngs (1979) pp. 755-756
45. Youngs (1991) p.835
46. Youngs (1991) pp. 836-837
47. Youngs (1979) pp. 757-760
48. Youngs (1991) pp. 838-840
49. Youngs (1979) pp. 761-763
50. Youngs (1979) pp. 764-766
51. Youngs (1979) pp. 767-769
52. Youngs (1991) pp. 841-843
53. Youngs (1991) p. 844
54. Youngs (1979) pp. 770-772
55. Youngs (1991) p. 845-847
56. Youngs (1991) p. 848-857
57. "Redistribution (HC Deb 10 March 1885 vol 295 cc639-751)". Hansard 1803-2005. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 10 March 1885. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
58. "Table V. The parliamentary districts of burghs and of counties". Census 1891. Population report, Scotland. Vol. I. Edinburgh: HMSO. 1891. pp. 171–177.
59. Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832 c.65 sch.B. Combined Counties
60. Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 c.48 s.10
61. Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 c.48 s.9
62. Robert Henry Mair, ed. (1886). Debrett's House of Commons and The Judicial Bench. London: Dean & Son. pp. 165–244.