Rioting broke out in Bristol, England, after the Second Reform Bill failed to pass parliament, causing 250 casualties and £300,000 of damage (pictured).

The 1831 Bristol riots took place on 29–31 October 1831 and were part of the 1831 reform riots in England. The riots arose after the second Reform Bill was voted down in the House of Lords, stalling efforts at electoral reform. The arrival of the anti-reform judge Charles Wetherell in the city on 29 October led to a protest, which degenerated into a riot. The civic and military authorities were poorly focused and uncoordinated and lost control of the city. Order was restored on the third day by a combination of a posse comitatus of the city's middle-class citizens and military forces.

The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to reform the electoral system in England and Wales and to expand the franchise. The measure was brought forward by the Whig government of Prime Minister Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey.