Constitution of the United Kingdom Peel was on holiday in Italy at the time). Peel resigned after failing to win the 1835 General Election — prior to the 1832 Reform Act, which abolished many rotten and pocket boroughs, it would have been very unusual for a government with Royal backing to be defeated in this way. Queen Victoria was the last monarch to veto a ministerial appointment. In 1892, she refused William Ewart Gladstone's advice to include Henry Labouchère (a radical who had insulted the Royal Family) in the Cabinet. The last monarch to veto legislation passed by Parliament was Queen Anne, who withheld assent
Representation of the People Act 1985 The percentage of votes needed to retain the deposit was lowered from 12½% to 5%. The deposit for election to the European Parliament were raised from £600 to £700. Representation of the People Act 1985 The Representation of the People Act 1985 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning British electoral law. The Act allows British citizens who are resident outside the United Kingdom to qualify as "overseas electors" in the constituency for which they were last registered for a period of five years after they have left (this was subsequently changed to 20 years and