the British Parliament

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Parliament: The political institution

Parliament, as a political institution, has developed over hundreds of years. During that period the two distinct Houses – Commons and Lords – emerged and the balance of power between Parliament and the monarchy changed dramatically.
Origins of Parliament - King's councils
The origins of Parliament go back to the 12th century, when King's councils were held involving barons and archbishops. They discussed politics and were involved in taxation and judgments.
Over time, these councils took a more formal role and saw knights representing each county. This was the beginning of a Commons element in Parliament. The word 'Parliament' was used to describe these meetings by the early 13th century.
Two Houses
By the 14th century two distinct Houses, the Commons and the Lords, had developed. The Commons involved representatives from counties, towns and cities, the Lords already consisted of members of the nobility and clergy.
Parliament and the monarchy
During the 15th century, King Henry V put the Commons on an equal footing with the Lords.
The 17th century saw civil war break out between supporters of Parliament and the monarchy. King Charles I was executed on 30 January 1649 and a Commonwealth led by Oliver Cromwell established. During the years 1649 to 1660 a series of Parliaments were elected using different constitutional rules.
In 1660 the monarchy was restored under King Charles II.
The Bill of Rights was agreed in 1689. This established Parliament's authority over the monarch: Parliament would be responsible for passing or repealing all laws.
Parliament and the home nations
The 1707 Act of Union between England and Scotland saw the nations' individual Parliaments replaced by the new Parliament of Great Britain.
After the 1800 Act of Union with Ireland, the Dublin Parliament was abolished and Irish MPs and Lords were represented in the Westminster Parliament.
Parliament Acts - 1911 and 1949
The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 increased the authority of the Commons over the Lords when passing new laws. The Acts removed the powers of the Lords to amend any Bills concerning money and reduced the amount of time they could delay a Bill. :


Parliament: The building

Where Parliament now stands has been a centre of authority for over a thousand years. Once the home of the royal family, and still officially a royal palace, the buildings that now make up the modern Houses of Parliament have developed through design, accident and attack.
A royal palace
The first known royal palace to occupy Parliament’s site was Edward the Confessor’s (c1065). Parliament officially remains a royal palace and is still referred to as the ‘Palace of Westminster’. The site was used as a royal residence until Henry VIII moved the royal family out in 1512 following a fire.
Westminster Hall
Westminster Hall is the oldest part of Parliament. The walls were built in 1097 and the hall is one Europe’s largest medieval halls with an unsupported roof. It was extensively rebuilt during the 14th century.
Once used as a law court, the hall has held several notable trials, including that of Sir William Wallace (1305), the Gunpowder Plot conspirators (1606) and King Charles I (1649).
Today the hall is often used for important State occasions such as the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and the lying-in-State of the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, both in 2002.
The 1834 fire and rebuilding
The Palace almost completely burnt down in a fire on 16 October 1834, which destroyed everything except Westminster Hall, the crypt of St Stephen’s Chapel and the Jewel Tower.
The Houses of Parliament, as we know them today, were rebuilt after the fire. The process, which incorporated Westminster Hall and the remains of St Stephen’s Chapel, took just over 30 years. The rebuilding was completely finished by 1870.
Architect Charles Barry won an open competition for a new design with his gothic vision. Barry was assisted by Augustus Welby Pugin, especially in the details, fittings and furniture.
The bombing of 1941
During the Second World War, on 10 May 1941, a bombing raid destroyed the House of Commons chamber. Architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed a new, five-floor block (with two floors occupied by the chamber). It was used for the first time on 26 October 1950.


Key dates in Parliament: 1215-1900

1215: Signing of the Magna Carta Magna Carta sealed by King John. This set the founding principles for parliament and constitution. It defined rights, legal practices and 'good lordship' - what subjects could expect from their monarch and superiors.
1295: Model ParliamentSummoned by Edward I and generally regarded as the first representative assembly.
1341: Separation of Commons and LordsCommons meet separately from the Lords for the first time.
1407: Commons given power over taxation
1414: Full equality of Common and Lords on legislation
1415: First Serjeant at Arms, Nicholas Maudit, appointed
1512: Lords meet in the Parliament chamber
1523: First known request by a Speaker for free speech (Speaker Thomas More)
1536: Wales first represented in the House of Commons
1544: Term 'House of Lords' first used
1605: Gunpowder plot
1642: King Charles I enters the Commons chamberKing Charles I attempts to arrest five leading Members of the Commons for treason. The Speaker voices his allegiance to Parliament rather than the monarch.
1649: House of Lords abolished During Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth.
1660: Monarchy restored House of Lords resumes.
1681: Last time Parliament met outside LondonParliament met in Oxford for one week.
1688-89: Glorious Revolution and Bill of Rights Established the constitutional monarchy and limited the power of the sovereign over Parliament.
1707: Last Royal veto on a BillQueen Anne refuses to give Royal Assent to the Scottish Militia Bill
1707: Union of England and Scotland Scottish Parliament abolished; first meeting of Parliament of Great Britain.
1716: Septennial ActExtended the length of Parliaments to seven years.
1800: Act of Union (with Ireland) In 1801, 100 Irish MPs entered the House of Commons and Irish Peers elected representatives from among their number to sit in the Lords.
1803: Newspaper reporters allocated seats in the public gallery for the first time
1812: Assassination of Prime Minister Spencer Perceval John Bellingham shoots and kills the Prime Minister in the Members' Lobby of the House of Commons.
1832: Reform Act Increased the electorate by almost 50 per cent and to 57 per cent overall. The proportion of adult English males entitled to vote was now 20 per cent.
1834: Fire!Fire destroys most of Parliament. Rebuilding the Houses of Parliament, in the design we know today, completed by 1870.
1876: Appellate Jurisdiction Act Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (Law Lords) created as full-time, professional judges.


Key dates in Parliament: 1901 to present day

1911: Parliament Act Removed the House of Lords’ right to refuse a Bill passed in the Commons - except those that proposed to extend the life of Parliament.
1918: Fourth Reform Act and Representation of the People ActGave the vote to men over 21 and women over 30 - increasing the electorate from 8 million to 21 million.
1919: First female MPViscountess Nancy Astor is the first woman to take her seat as an MP (Countess Constance Markiewicz was elected in 1918 but as a Sinn Fein member did not take her seat).
1920: Government of Ireland Act Southern Irish MPs no longer attend UK Parliament.
1928: Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) ActReduced voting age for women to 21.
1941: World War II bombingCommons chamber destroyed by enemy action on 10 May.
1949: Parliament ActReduced the Lords ability to delay a Bill passed in the Commons from two years to one year.
1950: New Commons chamber Re-built after 1941 bombing; used for the first time on 26 October.
1958: Life Peerages Act Permitted creation of peerages for life to persons of either sex, with no limit on numbers. First female life peer - Baroness Wootton of Abinger - is created. 1963: Peerage ActAllowed hereditary peerages to be disowned for life, hereditary peeresses to be members of the House of Lords and all Scottish peers to sit. First female hereditary peer: Baroness Strange of Knokin.
1978: Radio broadcastsBroadcasts of proceedings in Parliament begin on a permanent basis.
1985: Lords televisedProceedings in the Lords televised for first time.
1989: Commons televisedCommons proceedings televised for first time.
1997: Parliament website launched
1999: UK devolutionDevolution of powers to Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly.
1999: House of Lords ActRemoved the right of all but 92 hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords.
1999: Westminster Hall sittingsMPs sit for the first time in a parallel chamber, held in Westminster Hall.
2002: Parliament webcastsWebcasts of Parliament proceedings begins.
2005: Constitutional Reform Act Separates judiciary from the legislature (a term for Parliament) with the creation of a Supreme Court (from 2009) when the judicial function of the House of Lords will cease.
2006: First Lord SpeakerBaroness Hayman elected as the first Lord Speaker.


History of Hansard

Hansard is a report of both oral and written parliamentary proceedings. Its origins go back to the 17th century, when unofficial - and often suppressed - printings of debates in Parliament began production.
Suppression stopped in 1771 following a legal battle by John Wilkes MP.
William Cobbett and 'Debates'
In 1803, William Cobbett started printing records of debates, simply called 'Debates'. It was the first organised attempt to record proceedings.
Operation of Hansard
Due to insolvency, Cobbett sold the contract for Debates in 1812 to Thomas Curson Hansard, son of Luke Hansard, the British Government's printer (although Thomas' business was independent). Hansard put his name on the report in 1829.
Operation of Hansard was taken over by the House of Commons in 1909 and it was given the title 'Official Report'.
Hansard - the (un)official name
After being renamed the Official Report, there were attempts in the early 20th century to drop the name 'Hansard'. However, its use continued until Hansard returned to the report's front cover in 1943.