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UAB FONAMENTS B 8A - A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT 

 Nobody set out to create Parliament. It developed naturally out of the daily political needs of the English

King and his government. Nor did it develop continuously over time, but went through short periods of

rapid growth. Yet despite its unintentional and haphazard development, the modern ritish Parliament is one

of the oldest continuous representative assemblies in the world. !ow did this happen" It is a story that

involves revolt, war, invasion, several dethronings, and even !enry #III$s love life.

Anglo-Saxon origins%he modern &K Parliament can trace its origins all the way bac' to two features of (nglo)*a+on

government from the th to --th centuries. %hese are the itan and the moot.

The Wian was the occasion when the King would call together his leading advisors and nobles to discuss

matters affecting the country. It e+isted only when the King chose and was made up of those individuals

whom he particularly summoned. %he itan$s main duty was to advise the King, but its assent was not

necessary for the King to ta'e action. Nor did it help frame the laws, as the modern Parliament does, but

 primarily consented to the laws the King had already decided to enact. !owever, (nglo)*a+on Kings

realised that they could not govern their territories without local support from these powerful men, and so began the delicate balancing act between the King$s power and the power of those he governed.

(lso, under the (nglo)*a+ons there had been regular meetings, or !oos, for each county /or shire0 where

cases were heard and local matters discussed. %he $shire moot$ was attended by the local lords and bishops,

the sheriff, and most importantly, four representatives of each village.

Nor!an "on#$es - %&''

(fter the Norman 1on2uest, Kings of England began to govern through a smaller but permanent inner

council of advisers and officials, but occasionally the King would call on additional nobles /earls and

 barons0 and churchmen /bishops and abbots0 to gain their approval of his decisions, especially regarding

ta+ation. %his larger group of noble advisors especially summoned was 'nown as the 3reat 1ouncil

/magnum concilium0 and it formed the basis for the modern &pper !ouse of Parliament ) today the !45.

(fter the 1on2uest, the moot became 'nown as the 1ounty 1ourt and it introduced the idea of representative 

government at the local level. %hese two gatherings remained separate for many centuries, but eventually

the noble councillors of the 3reat 1ouncil and the local spo'esmen of the 1ounty 1ourt would combine to

ma'e a Parliament of two !ouses, the aristocratic 5ords and the locally representative 1ommons.

Magna "ara - %(%)

hen this system of consultation and consent bro'e down, it often became impossible for government to

function effectively. %he most notorious early e+ample of this was the disagreements between King 6ohn 

and the barons.

King 6ohn became King of England, 7u'e of Normandy /in 8rance0, 7u'e of (2uitaine /in 8rance0, 1ountof (n9ou /in 8rance0, and 5ord of Ireland in --::. In -;<=, the King of 8rance too' Normandy and (n9ou

from 6ohn. 6ohn wanted to regain his lost territories in 8rance, which his family had ruled for hundreds of

years. 6ohn>s attempts to recapture his family>s lost territory in 8rance, meant that he needed money. !e

raised ta+es in England much higher than they had been before, causing officials to become more and more

oppressive in the way they collected these ta+es.

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?aising ta+es made 6ohn increasingly unpopular with the English barons, whom the 'ing relied on to assist

him in governing the 'ingdom. %he immediate cause of the arons> rebellion was the decisive defeat in

 battle of King 6ohn>s army at ouvines in -;-=, by the force of the 'ing of 8rance. %his, together with

6ohn>s personality and ruthless actions, which seem to have provo'ed hostility and fear in others more than

the loyalty on which 'ings of this period had to rely, caused much opposition among the barons. %he defeat

at ouvines led to the meeting at ?unnymede and @agna 1arta was hammered out in negotiations between

the leaders of two armed parties A the 'ing on one side and the rebel barons on the other. It was the first

document to put into writing the principle that the 'ing and his government was not above the law. It sought

to prevent the 'ing from e+ploiting his power, and placed limits of royal authority by establishing law as a

 power in itself.

( few months after he had issued the charter, 6ohn persuaded the Pope to declare @agna 1arta illegal

 because it interfered with the rights of the 'ing. %he barons would not accept this and a civil war bro'e out,

in which most of the barons fought for @agna 1arta against 6ohn. In 4ctober -;-B, King 6ohn died so it was

decided to ma'e his nine)year)old son, !enry, 'ing. King !enry III was 'nighted and then crowned on ;

4ctober -;-B. 8ollowing this, 6ohn>s leading advisers sent out letters to all the rebels in the name of the new

'ing, confirming @agna 1arta and calling for their loyalty. 8or the remainder of !enry III>s childhood,

@agna 1arta was repeatedly confirmed and reissued and became well)'nown across England, not 9ust

among the barons, but also in the counties.

Si!on *e Mon+or,s Parlia!en - %()8

*imon de @ontfort, earl of 5eicester, was a 8rench noble who came to England in the -;C<s and received

lands from King !enry III who was around the same age. *imon controversially married the 'ing>s sister at

a time when marriages of the aristocracy were strictly controlled by the 'ing. !enry III however, accepted

the marriage and *imon became one of King !enry>s main advisers.

4nce the minority of !enry III ended and he too' full control of the government, leading nobles became

increasingly concerned with his style of government, specifically his unwillingness to consult them on

decisions he too', and his seeming patronization of his foreign relatives over his native sub9ects. !enry$s

support of a disastrous papal invasion of *icily was the last straw. In -;D, seven leading barons forced

!enry to swear to uphold the Provisions of 4+ford. %his effectively abolished the absolutist (nglo)Norman

monarchy, giving power to a council of fifteen barons, and providing for a thrice)yearly meeting of

 parliament to monitor their performance. Parliament assembled si+ times between 6une -;D and (pril

-;B;, most notably at 4+ford in -;D.

*imon de @ontfort emerged as the leader of this rebellion. In the following years, those supporting @ontfortand those supporting the 'ing grew more hostile to each other. !enry obtained a papal bull in -;BC

e+empting him from his oath and both sides began to raise armies. (t the attle of 5ewes on -= @ay -;B=,

!enry was defeated and ta'en prisoner by @ontfort$s army. *o in -;B=, @ontfort summoned the first

 parliament in English history without any prior royal authorisation. %he archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls

and barons were summoned, as were two 'nights from each shire and two burgesses from each borough.

Knights had been summoned to previous councils, but the representation of the boroughs was

unprecedented. %his was significant because it formed the basis of a more representative democracy A the

origins of this structure of parliament can be lin'ed to the !ouse of 1ommons as we 'now it today.

8ollowing Edward$s escape from captivity, @ontfort was defeated and 'illed at the attle of Evesham in

-;BD. !enry$s authority was restored, but this was nonetheless a turning point in the history of theParliament of England. hen Edward became 'ing after !enry III died in -;;, he once again began to call

representatives of the counties and towns to parliament. %his happened more and more fre2uently, and these

representatives eventually formed the !ouse of 1ommons in the fourteenth century. %he !ouse of

1ommons continues to contain representatives of the people of the country to this day.

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E*ar* III - %./%

In -C=- the 1ommons met separately from the nobility and clergy for the first time, creating what was

effectively an &pper 1hamber and a 5ower 1hamber, with the 'nights and burgesses sitting in the latter.

%his &pper 1hamber became 'nown as the !ouse of 5ords from -D== onward, and the 5ower 1hamber

 became 'nown as the !ouse of 1ommons, collectively 'nown as the !ouses of Parliament.

%he authority of parliament grew under Edward IIIF it was established that no law could be made, nor any

ta+ levied, without the consent of both !ouses and the *overeign. %his development occurred during thereign of Edward III because he was involved in the !undred Years$ ar  and needed finances. 7uring his

conduct of the war, Edward tried to circumvent parliament as much as possible, which caused this edict to

 be passed.

The 0oo* Parlia!en - %.1'

y -CB people were getting tired of the elderly Edward III$s rule, and the influence of his favourites. In the

Parliament of that year the 1ommons chose *ir Peter de la @are to act as its spo'esman before the King in

 9oining its complaints with that of the 5ords. 7e la @are was thus the forerunner of the office of *pea'er of

the !ouse of 1ommons ) a member selected by the 1ommons to chair its business and represent its views.

%he following year %homas !ungerford was the first spo'esman to be termed *pea'er in the official record.

%he Parliament of -CB was called the 3ood Parliament. %his was because the 1ommons prosecuted before

the nobles some of the King$s corrupt ministers, a process 'nown as impeachment. %his became a fre2uent

 procedure over the following years as Parliament turned against Edward III$s successor ?ichard II.

T$*or Monar2hs - %/8)

It was during the reign of the %udor monarchs that the modern structure of the English Parliament began to

 be created. %he %udor monarchy was powerful and there were often periods of several years when

 parliament did not sit at all. !owever the %udor monarchs were astute enough to realize that they needed

 parliament to legitimise many of their decisions, mostly out of a need to raise money through ta+ation

legitimately without causing discontent. %hus they consolidated the state of affairs whereby monarchs

would call and close parliament as and when they needed it.

y the time !enry %udor /!enry #II0 came to the throne in -=D the monarch was not a member of eitherthe &pper 1hamber or the 5ower 1hamber. 1onse2uently, the monarch would have to ma'e his or her

feelings 'nown to Parliament through his or her supporters in both houses.

( member of either chamber could present a GbillG to parliament. ills supported by the monarch were often

 proposed by members of the Privy 1ouncil who sat in parliament. In order for a bill to become law it would

have to be approved by a ma9ority of both !ouses of Parliament before it passed to the monarch for royal

assent or veto. %he royal veto was applied several times during the -Bth and -th centuries and it is still the

right of the monarch of the &nited Kingdom to veto legislation today, although it has not been e+ercised

since -< /today such e+ercise would presumably precipitate a constitutional crisis0.

It was in this period that the Palace of estminster  was established as the seat of the English Parliament. In-D=, the !ouse of 1ommons was granted a regular meeting place by the 1rown, *t *tephen$s 1hapel. %his

had been a royal chapel. It was made into a debating chamber after !enry #III became the last monarch to

use the Palace of estminster as a place of residence. %his room became the home of the !ouse of

1ommons until it was destroyed by fire in -C=, although the interior was altered several times up until

then.

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The 0$n3o*er Plo - %'&)

It was a failed assassination attempt against King 6ames I of England and #I of *cotland by a group of

 provincial English 1atholics led by ?obert 1atesby. %he plan was to blow up the !ouse of 5ords during the

*tate 4pening of England$s Parliament on D November -B<D, as the prelude to a popular revolt in the

@idlands during which 6ames$s nine)year)old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, was to be installed as the

1atholic head of state. 3uy 8aw'es, who had -< years of military e+perience fighting in the *panish

 Netherlands in suppression of the 7utch ?evolt, was given charge of the e+plosives.

%he plot was revealed to the authorities in an anonymous letter and 8aw'es was discovered guarding

CB barrels of gunpowder  Henough to reduce the !ouse of 5ords to rubbleHand arrested. (t their trial on

; 6anuary -B<B, eight of the survivors, including 8aw'es, were convicted and sentenced to be hanged,

drawn and 2uartered.

The English "i4il War - %'/(

In -B;, alarmed by the arbitrary e+ercise of royal power, the !ouse of 1ommons submitted to 1harles I the

Petition of ?ight, demanding the restoration of their liberties. %hough he accepted the petition, 1harles later

dissolved parliament and ruled without them for eleven years. It was only after the financial disaster of the

*cottish ishops$ ars /-BC:A-B=<0 that he was forced to recall Parliament so that they could authorise new

ta+es. %his resulted in the calling of the assemblies 'nown historically as the *hort Parliament of -B=< and

the 5ong Parliament, which sat with several brea's and in various forms between -B=< and -BB<.

hen trouble started to brew in Ireland, both 1harles and his parliament raised armies to 2uell the uprisings

 by native 1atholics there. It was not long before it was clear that these forces would end up fighting each

other, leading to the English 1ivil ar  which began with the attle of Edgehill in 4ctober -B=; those

supporting the cause of parliament were called Parliamentarians /or  ?oundheads0.

%he final victory of the parliamentary forces was a turning point in the history of the Parliament of England.

%his mar'ed the point when parliament replaced the monarchy as the supreme source of power in England.

%his change was symbolised in the e+ecution of 1harles I in 6anuary -B=: and the start of an -- year

republic. %he !ouse of 5ords was abolished and the purged !ouse of 1ommons governed England until

(pril -BDC, when army chief 4liver 1romwell dissolved it following disagreements over religious policy

and how to carry out elections to parliament.

(lthough it is easy to dismiss the English ?epublic of -B=:)B< as nothing more than a 1romwellian military

dictatorship, the events that too' place in this decade were hugely important in determining the future of

 parliament. 8irst, it was during the sitting of the first ?ump Parliament that members of the !ouse of1ommons became 'nown as G@PsG /@embers of Parliament0. *econd, 1romwell gave a huge degree of

freedom to his parliaments, although royalists were barred from sitting in all but a handful of cases. %he

?ump Parliament between -B=: and -BDC proved that parliament could survive without a monarchy and a

!ouse of 5ords if it wanted to. 8uture English monarchs would never forget this. 1harles I was the last

English monarch ever to enter the !ouse of 1ommons.

Even to this day, a @ember of the Parliament of the &nited Kingdom is sent to uc'ingham Palace as a

ceremonial hostage during the *tate 4pening of Parliament, in order to ensure the safe return of the

sovereign from a potentially hostile parliament. 7uring the ceremony the monarch sits on the throne in the

!ouse of 5ords and signals for the 5ord 3reat 1hamberlain to summon the !ouse of 1ommons to the 5ords

1hamber. %he 5ord 3reat 1hamberlain then raises his wand of office to signal to the 3entleman &sher ofthe lac' ?od, who has been waiting in the central lobby. lac' ?od turns and, escorted by the door'eeper

of the !ouse of 5ords and an inspector of police, approaches the doors to the chamber of the 1ommons. %he

doors are slammed in his face A symbolising the right of the 1ommons to debate without the presence of the

Jueen$s representative. !e then stri'es three times with his staff /the lac' ?od0, and he is admitted.

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The Resoraion - %''&

8ollowing the death of 4liver 1romwell in *eptember -BD, his son ?ichard 1romwell succeeded him as

5ord Protector but he was unable to continue on his father>s wor' due to lac' of support from the army.

 New elections were called and this parliament voted to reinstate the monarchy and the !ouse of 5ords.

1harles II returned to England as 'ing in @ay -BB<. %he ?estoration began the tradition whereby all

governments loo'ed to parliament for legitimacy.

%he Indemnity and 4blivion (ct, which became law on ;: (ugust -BB<, pardoned all past treason againstthe crown, but specifically e+cluded those involved in the trial and e+ecution of 1harles I. C- of the D:

commissioners /9udges0 who had signed the death warrant in -B=: were still living. In the ensuing trials,

twelve were condemned to death.

The 0lorio$s Re4ol$ion - %'88

1harles II died in -BD and he was succeeded by his brother 6ames II. 7uring his lifetime 1harles had

always pledged loyalty to the Protestant 1hurch of England, despite his private 1atholic sympathies. 6ames

was openly 1atholic. !e attempted to lift restrictions on 1atholics ta'ing up public offices. %his was bitterly

opposed by Protestants in his 'ingdom. %hey invited illiam of 4range, a Protestant who had married

@ary, daughter of 6ames II, to invade England and claim the throne. illiam assembled an army estimated

at -D,<<< soldiers and landed at ri+ham in southwest England in November, -B. hen many Protestant

officers, including 6ames$s close adviser, 6ohn 1hurchill, defected from the English army to illiam$s

invasion force, 6ames fled the country.

Parliament then offered the 1rown to his Protestant daughter @ary who refused the offer, and instead

illiam and @ary ruled 9ointly, with both having the right to rule alone on the other$s death. (s part of the

compromise in allowing illiam to be KingHcalled the 3lorious ?evolution HParliament was able to havethe -B: ill of ?ights enacted. 5ater the -<- (ct of *ettlement was approved. %hese were statutes that

lawfully upheld the prominence of parliament for the first time in English history. %hese events mar'ed the

 beginning of the English constitutional monarchy and its role as one of the three elements of parliament.

5a4i* Ll6o* 0eorge 7 %%%

&ntil the early years of the ;<th century, the !ouse of 5ords had the power to prevent legislation, as bills

had to be passed by both !ouses of Parliament.

7avid 5loyd)3eorge$s so)called $people$s budget$ of -:<: brought this arrangement under strain, when the

!ouse of 5ords originally refused to pass it. Eventually, the budget was passed after a general election in

-:-<F a second election was then fought on the issue of reform of the !ouse of 5ords.

%he result was the Parliament (ct of -:--, which removed from the !ouse of 5ords the power to veto a bill.

%he (ct also reduced the ma+imum lifespan of a Parliament from seven years to its present five years.