1st Parliament of Great Britain
Encyclopedia
The first Parliament
of the Kingdom of Great Britain
was established in 1707, after the merger of the Kingdom of England
and the Kingdom of Scotland
. No fresh elections were held in England, and the existing members of the House of Commons of England
sat as members of the new House of Commons of Great Britain
. In Scotland, prior to the union coming into effect, the Scottish Parliament appointed sixteen peers (see representative peers) and 45 Members of Parliaments to join their English counterparts in Westminster.
Queen Anne
did declare it to be expedient that the existing House of Commons of England sit in the first Parliament of Great Britain.
The Parliament of Scotland
duly passed an Act settling the manner of electing the sixteen peers and forty five commoners to represent Scotland in the Parliament of Great Britain. A special provision for the 1st Parliament of Great Britain was "that the Sixteen Peers and Forty five Commissioners for Shires and Burghs shall be chosen by the Peers, Barrons and Burghs respectively in this present session of Parliament and out of the members thereof in the same manner that Committees of Parliament are usually now chosen shall be the members of the respective Houses of the said first Parliament of Great Britain for and on the part of Scotland ..."
The United Kingdom of Great Britain
came into existence on 1 May 1707.
was in the Autumn of 1702. The Parliament of Scotland met between 6 May 1703 and 25 March 1707.
First meeting and maximum legal term: Parliament first met on 23 October 1707. The Parliament was due to expire, if not sooner dissolved, at the end of the term of three years from the first meeting of the last Parliament of England; which would have been on 14 June 1708.
Dissolution: The 1st Parliament of Great Britain was dissolved on 3 April 1708.
Ambitious noble and gentry families formed themselves into connections of relatives and hangers on. Connections grouped themselves into factions, usually supporting a prominent public figure seeking royal favour and office for himself and his associates. Factions were usually of a Whig
or Tory tendency.
Cross-cutting the Whig and Tory division was the Court and Country one. Court Party supporters were those who tended to support the Queen's ministers. Country Party men were inclined to oppose all Ministries.
The party divisions in Scotland were similar to those in England and Wales (although more inclined to Court and Whig than Country and Tory attitudes). Scottish politics also included the Squadrone Volante
. This was a group, named after a type of cavalry formation, which had first opposed the Union but developed into moderate supporters of it.
An estimate of the composition of the Parliament of England, after the 1705 election, was Tory 267 and Whig 246.
Scotland is being counted here as a single constituency, as all 45 MPs were elected by the last Parliament of Scotland
. Monmouthshire
(with one borough and two county members) is included in Wales for the purposes of this article, although at this period it was often regarded as part of England.
(1655-1723), MP (Whig) for Andover since 1695, was elected the first Speaker
of the House of Commons of Great Britain. Smith had been the Speaker of the House of Commons of England since 1705.
When this Parliament took place no office of Prime Minister
existed. The Lord High Treasurer was then a leading and important minister of the Crown.
The Lord High Treasurer
, throughout this Parliament (in office in England since 8 May 1702) was Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin
. Godolphin was a Tory, but the 1702-08 Ministry included both Tory and Whig members (see Coalition Ministry
for some more information). After a political crisis in February 1708, Secretary of State Robert Harley
was forced to resign and Godolphin remained in office, in a reconstructed Coalition Ministry.
Notes on lists:
(1) Background colours vary with political association.
(2) In the constituency column, for members from England and Wales, BC means Borough Constituency, CC stands for County Constituency and UC for University Constituency. Members for Scotland have 'Scotland' followed by a number representing their alphabetical order in the list of MPs from Scotland.
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
of the Kingdom of Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
was established in 1707, after the merger of the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
and the Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
. No fresh elections were held in England, and the existing members of the House of Commons of England
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
sat as members of the new House of Commons of Great Britain
House of Commons of Great Britain
The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the Parliament of Scotland, as one of the most significant...
. In Scotland, prior to the union coming into effect, the Scottish Parliament appointed sixteen peers (see representative peers) and 45 Members of Parliaments to join their English counterparts in Westminster.
Legal background to the convening of the 1st Parliament
Under the Treaty of Union of the Two Kingdoms of England and Scotland it was provided:Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
did declare it to be expedient that the existing House of Commons of England sit in the first Parliament of Great Britain.
The Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
duly passed an Act settling the manner of electing the sixteen peers and forty five commoners to represent Scotland in the Parliament of Great Britain. A special provision for the 1st Parliament of Great Britain was "that the Sixteen Peers and Forty five Commissioners for Shires and Burghs shall be chosen by the Peers, Barrons and Burghs respectively in this present session of Parliament and out of the members thereof in the same manner that Committees of Parliament are usually now chosen shall be the members of the respective Houses of the said first Parliament of Great Britain for and on the part of Scotland ..."
The United Kingdom of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
came into existence on 1 May 1707.
Dates of the Parliament
Election: On 29 April 1707, the Parliament of Great Britain was proclaimed. The members of the last English House of Commons had been elected between 7 May 1705 and 6 June 1705. The last general election in pre-Union ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
was in the Autumn of 1702. The Parliament of Scotland met between 6 May 1703 and 25 March 1707.
First meeting and maximum legal term: Parliament first met on 23 October 1707. The Parliament was due to expire, if not sooner dissolved, at the end of the term of three years from the first meeting of the last Parliament of England; which would have been on 14 June 1708.
Dissolution: The 1st Parliament of Great Britain was dissolved on 3 April 1708.
Party composition
The concept of party was much looser than it later became. Neither contemporaries or subsequent historians could be absolutely certain of who belonged in which category, however some estimates can be made.Ambitious noble and gentry families formed themselves into connections of relatives and hangers on. Connections grouped themselves into factions, usually supporting a prominent public figure seeking royal favour and office for himself and his associates. Factions were usually of a Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
or Tory tendency.
Cross-cutting the Whig and Tory division was the Court and Country one. Court Party supporters were those who tended to support the Queen's ministers. Country Party men were inclined to oppose all Ministries.
The party divisions in Scotland were similar to those in England and Wales (although more inclined to Court and Whig than Country and Tory attitudes). Scottish politics also included the Squadrone Volante
Squadrone Volante
The so called Squadrone Volante was a seventeenth-century independent and liberal cardinal movement within the Catholic Church. The Squad, protected by Christina of Sweden and led by Cardinal Decio Azzolino, was highly involved in European politics in the second half of the century...
. This was a group, named after a type of cavalry formation, which had first opposed the Union but developed into moderate supporters of it.
An estimate of the composition of the Parliament of England, after the 1705 election, was Tory 267 and Whig 246.
Summary of the Members of Parliament
Key to categories in the following tables: BC: Borough constituencies, CC: County constituencies, UC: University constituencies, C: Constituency (election by Parliament), Total C: Total constituencies, BMP: Borough Members of Parliament, CMP: County Members of Parliament, SMP: Scottish (co-opted) Members of Parliament, UMP: University Members of Parliament.Scotland is being counted here as a single constituency, as all 45 MPs were elected by the last Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
. Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
(with one borough and two county members) is included in Wales for the purposes of this article, although at this period it was often regarded as part of England.
| Country | BC | CC | UC | C | Total C | BMP | CMP | UMP | SMP | Total MPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kingdom of England |
202 | 39 | 2 | 0 | 243 | 404 | 78 | 4 | 0 | 486 |
 Wales |
13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
 Kingdom of Scotland |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 45 |
| Total | 215 | 52 | 2 | 1 | 270 | 417 | 92 | 4 | 45 | 558 |
| Country | BC×1 | BC×2 | BC×4 | CC×1 | CC×2 | UC×2 | C×45 | Total C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingdom of England |
4 | 196 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 243 |
| Wales |
13 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| Kingdom of Scotland |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 17 | 196 | 2 | 12 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 270 |
Speaker and Government
On 23 October 1707, John SmithJohn Smith (Chancellor of the Exchequer)
John Smith was an English politician, twice serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer.Smith's father was also called John Smith and he had a sister called Anne, who became Lady Dashwood. He was educated St John's College, Oxford, was at the Middle Temple and was first elected a Member of Parliament...
(1655-1723), MP (Whig) for Andover since 1695, was elected the first Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the House of Commons of Great Britain. Smith had been the Speaker of the House of Commons of England since 1705.
When this Parliament took place no office of Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
existed. The Lord High Treasurer was then a leading and important minister of the Crown.
The Lord High Treasurer
Lord High Treasurer
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Act of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third highest ranked Great Officer of State, below the Lord High Chancellor and above the Lord President...
, throughout this Parliament (in office in England since 8 May 1702) was Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin
Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin
Sir Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin, KG, PC was a leading English politician of the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
. Godolphin was a Tory, but the 1702-08 Ministry included both Tory and Whig members (see Coalition Ministry
Coalition Ministry
Upon Queen Anne's accession to the English throne in 1702, she appointed Lord Godolphin as First Lord of the Treasury and the Duke of Marlborough as Master-General of the Ordnance . They would lead this coalition of Tories and Whigs until 1708, one year after the Act of Union formed the Kingdom of...
for some more information). After a political crisis in February 1708, Secretary of State Robert Harley
Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer
Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer KG was a British politician and statesman of the late Stuart and early Georgian periods. He began his career as a Whig, before defecting to a new Tory Ministry. Between 1711 and 1714 he served as First Lord of the Treasury, effectively Queen...
was forced to resign and Godolphin remained in office, in a reconstructed Coalition Ministry.
Members of the 1st Parliament
- List of members of the 1st Parliament of Great Britain (for Scotland and Wales)
- List of members of the 1st Parliament of Great Britain, part two (for England).
- Scottish representatives to the 1st Parliament of Great BritainScottish representatives to the 1st Parliament of Great BritainScottish representatives to the House of Commons of the 1st Parliament of Great Britain were not elected but co-opted in 1707 from the Commissioners of the last Parliament of Scotland.-Legal background to the composition of the 1st Parliament:...
Notes on lists:
(1) Background colours vary with political association.
- Court Party: blue.
- Independent (Anti-Union): dark grey.
- None (ie no information as to party currently available): light grey.
- Squadrone Party: green.
- Tory Party: red.
- Whig Party: yellow.
(2) In the constituency column, for members from England and Wales, BC means Borough Constituency, CC stands for County Constituency and UC for University Constituency. Members for Scotland have 'Scotland' followed by a number representing their alphabetical order in the list of MPs from Scotland.
Sources
- The Treaty of Union of Scotland and England 1707, edited by George S. Pryde (Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd 1950)
- British Historical Facts 1688-1760, by Chris Cook and John Stevenson (The Macmillan Press 1988)