View source for Parliament of Great Britain

{{short description|United English and Scottish parliament 1707–1800}}
{{about|the historical parliament in existence from 1707 to 1800|its present-day successor|Parliament of the United Kingdom}}
{{Use British English|date= November 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox legislature
| name               = Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain
| native_name        =
| transcription_name =
| coa_pic            = Coat of Arms of Great Britain (1714-1801).svg
| coa_res            = 220px
| coa_caption        = [[Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom|Royal coat of arms of Great Britain]], 1714–1800
| house_type         = Bicameral
| houses             = [[House of Lords]]<br/>[[House of Commons of Great Britain|House of Commons]]
| legislature        =
| established        = 1 May 1707
| preceded_by        = [[Parliament of England]]<br/>[[Parliament of Scotland]]
| succeeded_by       = [[Parliament of the United Kingdom#Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]
| disbanded          = 31 December 1800
| leader1_type       = [[Lord Chancellor]]
| leader1            = [[Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl of Rosslyn|Lord Loughborough]]
| election1          = 1793
| leader2_type       = [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|Speaker of the House]]
| leader2            = [[Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth|Henry Addington]]
| election2          = 1789
| members            =
| house1             = [[House of Lords]]
| house2             = [[House of Commons of Great Britain|House of Commons]]
| house3             =
| structure2        = 1796 British GE map - Westminster.svg
| structure2_res = 300
| political_groups2  =[[18th Parliament of Great Britain|Final composition]] of the British House of Commons:<br/>558 seats{{legend|#3333CC|[[Tories (British political party)|Tories]]: 424 seats}} {{legend|#FF7F00|[[Whigs (British political party)|Whigs]]: 95 seats}} {{legend|#CDCDCD|Others: 39 seats}}
| voting_system1     = [[Ennoblement]] by [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|the Sovereign]] or inheritance of a [[Peerage of Great Britain|peerage]]
| voting_system2     = [[First-past-the-post]] with [[Unreformed House of Commons|limited suffrage]]
| session_room       = Isaac Cruikshank - View of the Houses of Lords and Commons from Old Palace Yard - B1977.14.17696 - Yale Center for British Art.jpg
| meeting_place      = [[Palace of Westminster]], London
| footnotes          = See also:<br />[[Parliament of Ireland]]
}}
{{Parliaments of Great Britain sidebar}}
The '''Parliament of Great Britain''' was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]] by both the [[Parliament of England]] and the [[Parliament of Scotland]]. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] and created the parliament of Great Britain located in the former home of the English parliament in the [[Palace of Westminster]], near the [[City of London]]. This lasted nearly a century, until the [[Acts of Union 1800]] merged the separate British and Irish Parliaments into a single [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] with effect from 1 January 1801.

==History==
{{multiple image
|align=center
|direction=horizontal
|total_width=600
|header=
|image1=Peter Tillemans (c. 1684-1734) - Queen Anne (1665-1714) in the House of Lords - RCIN 405301 - Royal Collection.jpg
|caption1=Painting of {{circa|1708–14}} showing [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] addressing the [[House of Lords]] in the old [[Palace of Westminster]], depicting the ceremonial union of crown and parliament after the [[Acts of Union 1707]].
|alt1=Painting of Queen Anne addressing the House of Lords
|image3=The political raree-show- or a picture of parties and politics, during and at the close of the last session of Parliament, June 1779 (BM 1868,0808.4594).jpg
|caption3=''The political raree-show: or a picture of parties and politics, during and at the close of the last session of Parliament, June 1779'' (1779 [[etching]]).
|alt3=Political caricature of Parliament in 1779
}}
Following the [[Treaty of Union]] in 1706, [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]] ratifying the Treaty were passed in both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland, which created a new Kingdom of Great Britain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/citizenship/rise_parliament/uniting.htm|title=Uniting the kingdom?|website=The National Archives |access-date=18 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206163446/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/citizenship/rise_parliament/uniting.htm |archive-date= Feb 6, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/visitingHolyrood/union_exhibition.pdf|title=Making the Act of Union 1707|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511140052/http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/visitingHolyrood/union_exhibition.pdf|archive-date=11 May 2011|website=Scottish Parliament |access-date=18 January 2011}}</ref> The Acts paved the way for the enactment of the treaty of Union which created a new parliament, referred to as the 'Parliament of Great Britain', based in the home of the former English parliament. All of the traditions, procedures, and standing orders of the English parliament were retained, although there is no provision for this within the treaty; furthermore, the incumbent officers and members representing England comprised the overwhelming majority of the new body. It was not even considered necessary to hold a new general election. While [[Scots law]] and Scottish legislation remained separate, new legislation was thereafter to be enacted by the new parliament, with the exception of that pertaining to private right which could only legislated on for the "evident utility" of the people.<ref>[[s:Act of Union 1707|Act of Union 1707]], Article 1</ref> England's ''de facto'' prominence in the new parliament was, and remains, a contentious issue.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

After the [[House of Hanover|Hanoverian]] [[George I of Great Britain|King George I]] ascended the British throne in 1714 through the [[Act of Settlement 1701|Act of Settlement of 1701]], real power continued to shift away from the monarchy. George was a [[Germans|German]] ruler, spoke poor English, and remained interested in governing his dominions in continental Europe rather than in Britain. He thus entrusted power to a group of his ministers, the foremost of whom was [[Robert Walpole|Sir Robert Walpole]], and by the end of his reign in 1727 the position of the ministers – who had to rely on Parliament for support – was cemented. George I's successor, his son [[George II of Great Britain|George II]], continued to follow through with his father's domestic policies and made little effort to re-establish monarchical control over the government which was now in firm control by Parliament. By the end of the 18th century the monarch still had considerable influence over Parliament, which was dominated by the English aristocracy, by means of [[patronage]], but had ceased to exert direct power: for instance, the last occasion on which [[royal assent]] was withheld was in 1708 by [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]], even this being done only at the request of her ministers.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Black | first = Jeremy | title = Parliament and Foreign Policy in the Eighteenth Century | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]] | year = 2004 | location = England | pages = 21 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cWGk4-59GGIC&q=british+royal+veto+1708&pg=PA21 | isbn = 0-521-83331-0 }}</ref> At [[general election]]s the vote was restricted to [[Freehold (law)|freeholders]] and landowners, in constituencies that had changed little since the [[Middle Ages]], so that in many [[Rotten and pocket boroughs|"rotten" and "pocket" boroughs]] seats could be bought, while major cities remained unrepresented, except by the [[Knights of the Shire]] representing whole counties. Reformers and [[Radicalism (historical)|Radicals]] sought parliamentary reform, but as the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] developed the British government became repressive against dissent and progress towards reform was stalled.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

George II's successor, [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]], sought to restore royal supremacy and absolute monarchy, but by the end of his reign the position of the king's ministers – who discovered that they needed the support of Parliament to enact any major changes – had become central to the role of British governance, and would remain so ever after.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

During the first half of George III's reign, the monarch still had considerable influence over Parliament, which itself was dominated by the patronage and influence of the English nobility. Most candidates for the House of Commons were identified as [[Whigs (British political party)|Whigs]] or [[Tories (British political party)|Tories]], but once elected they formed shifting coalitions of interests rather than dividing along clear party lines. At [[general election]]s the vote was restricted in most places to property owners, in constituencies which were out of date and did not reflect the growing importance of manufacturing towns or shifts of population, so that in the rotten and pocket boroughs seats in parliament could be bought from the rich landowners who controlled them, while major cities remained unrepresented. Reformers like [[William Beckford (politician)|William Beckford]] and [[Radicalism (historical)|Radicals]] beginning with [[John Wilkes]] called for reform of the system. In 1780, a draft programme of reform was drawn up by [[Charles James Fox]] and [[Thomas Brand Hollis]] and put forward by a sub-committee of the electors of Westminster. This included calls for the six points later adopted by the [[Chartism|Chartist]]s.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The [[American Revolutionary War|American War of Independence]] ended in defeat for a foreign policy that sought to prevent the [[Thirteen Colonies|thirteen American colonies]] from breaking away and forming their [[United States|own independent nation]], something which [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]] had fervently advocated, and in March 1782 the king was forced to appoint an administration led by his opponents which sought to curb royal patronage. In November of 1783, he took the opportunity to use his influence in the [[House of Lords]] to defeat a bill to reform the [[East India Company|Honourable East India Company]], dismissed the government of the day, and appointed [[William Pitt the Younger]] to form a new government. Pitt had previously called for Parliament to begin to reform itself, but he did not press for long for reforms the king did not like. Proposals Pitt made in April 1785 to redistribute seats from the "rotten boroughs" to London and the counties were defeated in the House of Commons by 248 votes to 174.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

In the wake of the [[French Revolution]] of 1789, [[Radicalism (historical)|Radical]] organisations such as the [[London Corresponding Society]] sprang up to press for parliamentary reform, but as the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] developed the government took extensive repressive measures against feared domestic unrest aping the democratic and egalitarian ideals of the French Revolution and progress toward reform was stalled for decades.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

=== Parliament of the United Kingdom ===
In 1801, the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] was created when the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] was united with the [[Kingdom of Ireland]] to become the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] under the [[Acts of Union 1800]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

==Membership by constituent country, in 1801==
{{Hatnote|Key to categories in the following tables: BC – [[Borough constituency|Borough/Burgh constituencies]], CC – [[County constituencies]], UC – [[University constituencies]], Total C – Total constituencies, BMP – Borough/Burgh Members of Parliament, CMP – County Members of Parliament, UMP – University Members of Parliament.}}

[[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]] (One County constituency with two members and one single member Borough constituency) is included in Wales in these tables. Sources for this period may include the county in England.

Table 1: Constituencies and Members, by type and country, in 1801<ref>{{Cite web |title=Census Population 1801 – 1851 – Ditto Books |url=https://www.dittobooks.co.uk/extras/census/census-population-1801-1851 |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=www.dittobooks.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The 1801 Census |url=https://www.1911census.org.uk/1801 |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=www.1911census.org.uk}}</ref><ref>''British Historical Facts 1760–1830'', by Chris Cook and John Stevenson (The Macmillan Press 1980).</ref>
{{mw-datatable}}
{| class="wikitable mw-datatable sortable"
! Country
! {{tooltip|BC|borough or burgh constituencies}}
! {{tooltip|CC|County constituencies}}
!{{tooltip| UC|University constituencies}}
! {{tooltip|Total C|Total constituencies}}
! {{tooltip| BMP|Borough/Burgh Members of Parliament}}
! {{tooltip| CMP|County Members of Parliament}}
! {{tooltip| UMP|University Members of Parliament}}
! Total Members
!Population (1801)
!People per MP (1801)
|-
|{{flag|England}}
| align=right|202
| align=right|39
| align=right|2
| align=right|243
| align=right|404
| align=right|78
| align=right|4
| align=right|486
| align=right|8,350,859
| align=right|~17,182
|-
|{{noflag|[[Wales]]}}
| align=right|13
| align=right|13
| align=right|0
| align=right|26
| align=right|13
| align=right|14
| align=right|0
| align=right|27
| align=right|541,677
| align=right|~20,062
|-
|{{flag|Scotland}}
| align=right|15
| align=right|30
| align=right|0
| align=right|45
| align=right|15
| align=right|30
| align=right|0
| align=right|45
| align=right|1,608,420
| align=right|~35,724
|- class="sortbottom" style="font-weight:bold"
|{{noflag|Total}}
| align=right|230
| align=right|82
| align=right|2
| align=right|314
| align=right|432
| align=right|122
| align=right|4
| align=right|558
| align=right|10.5 million
| align=right|~18,819
|}

Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country, in 1801
{| class="wikitable mw-datatable sortable"
! Country
! BC×1
! BC×2
! BC×4
! CC×1
! CC×2
! UC×2
! Total C
|-
|{{flag|England}}
| align=right|4
| align=right|196
| align=right|2
| align=right|0
| align=right|39
| align=right|2
| align=right|243
|-
|{{noflag|[[Wales]]}}
| align=right|13
| align=right|0
| align=right|0
| align=right|12
| align=right|1
| align=right|0
| align=right|26
|-
|{{flag|Scotland}}
| align=right|15
| align=right|0
| align=right|0
| align=right|30
| align=right|0
| align=right|0
| align=right|45
|- class="sortbottom" style="font-weight:bold"
|{{noflag|Total}}
| align=right|32
| align=right|196
| align=right|2
| align=right|42
| align=right|40
| align=right|2
| align=right|314
|}

==See also==
* [[List of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain]]
* [[List of parliaments of Great Britain]]
** [[First Parliament of Great Britain]]
* [[List of speakers of the British House of Commons]]
* [[Parliament of Ireland]]
* [[:Category:Members of the Parliament of Great Britain|Members of the Parliament of Great Britain]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://www.connectedhistories.org/search/results?kw=parliament Connected Histories]

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{{s-bef|before=[[Parliament of England]]<br/>{{small|{{c.|1215}}–1707}}<br/>[[Parliament of Scotland]]<br/>{{small|{{c.|1235}}–1707}}}}
{{s-ttl|title=Parliament of Great Britain|years=1707–1800}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom#Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]<br/>{{small|1801–1927}}<br/>[[Parliament of the United Kingdom#Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]]<br/>{{small|1927–present}}}}
{{s-end}}

{{Kingdom of Great Britain}}
{{GB legislation}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Parliament of Great Britain}}
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