Much of what we know about the alignment of voters with parties comes
from mass surveys of the electorate in the postwar period or from
aggregate electoral data. Using individual elector‐level panel data from
nineteenth‐century United Kingdom poll books, we reassess the
development of a party centered electorate. We show that (a) the
electorate was party‐centered by the time of the extension of the
franchise in 1867, (b) a decline in candidate‐centered voting is largely
attributable to changes in the behavior of the working class, and (c)
the enfranchised working class aligned with the Liberal left. This early
alignment of the working class with the left cannot entirely be
explained by a decrease in vote buying. The evidence suggests instead
that the alignment was based on the programmatic appeal of the Liberals.
We argue that these facts can plausibly explain the subsequent
development of the party system.