1.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
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The House of Commons of the United Kingdom is the lower house of the countrys parliament. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster, officially, the full name of the house is, The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. The House is a body consisting of 650 members known as Members of Parliament. Members are elected to represent constituencies by first-past-the-post and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved, under the Parliament Act 1911, the Lords power to reject legislation was reduced to a delaying power. The Government is primarily responsible to the House of Commons and the prime minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of a majority of its members. Although it does not formally elect the prime minister, the position of the parties in the House of Commons is of overriding importance, by convention, the prime minister is answerable to, and must maintain the support of, the House of Commons. Since 1963, by convention, the minister is always a member of the House of Commons. The Commons may indicate its lack of support for the Government by rejecting a motion of confidence or by passing a motion of no confidence, confidence and no confidence motions are sometimes phrased explicitly, for instance, That this House has no confidence in Her Majestys Government. Many other motions were considered confidence issues, even though not explicitly phrased as such, in particular, important bills that form a part of the Governments agenda were formerly considered matters of confidence, as is the annual Budget. Parliament normally sits for a term of five years. Subject to that limit, the minister could formerly choose the timing of the dissolution of parliament. By this second mechanism, the government of the United Kingdom can change without a general election. In such circumstances there may not even have been a party leadership election, as the new leader may be chosen by acclaim. A prime minister may resign if he or she is not defeated at the polls. In such a case, the premiership goes to whoever can command a majority in the House of Commons, in practice this is usually the new leader of the outgoing prime ministers party. Until 1965, the Conservative Party had no mechanism for electing a new leader, when Anthony Eden resigned as PM in 1957 without recommending a successor and it fell to the Queen to appoint Harold Macmillan as the new prime minister, after taking the advice of ministers. By convention, all ministers must be members of the House of Commons or of the House of Lords, a handful have been appointed who were outside Parliament, but in most cases they then entered Parliament either in a by-election or by receiving a peerage. Since 1902, all ministers have been members of the Commons
2.
Charles James Fox
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His father Henry, a leading Whig of his day, had similarly been the great rival of Pitts famous father. He rose to prominence in the House of Commons as a forceful and eloquent speaker with a notorious and colourful life, though his opinions were rather conservative. Fox became a prominent and staunch opponent of George III, whom he regarded as a tyrant, he supported the American Patriots. Briefly serving as Britains first Foreign Secretary in the ministry of the Marquess of Rockingham in 1782, he returned to the post in a coalition government with his old enemy Lord North in 1783. After Pitts death in January 1806, Fox served briefly as Foreign Secretary in the Ministry of All the Talents of William Grenville, before he died on 13 September 1806, aged 57. Fox was born at 9 Conduit Street, London, the surviving son of Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, and Lady Caroline Lennox. Henry Fox was an ally of Robert Walpole and rival of Pitt the Elder and he had amassed a considerable fortune by exploiting his position as Paymaster General of the forces. Foxs elder brother, Stephen became 2nd Baron Holland and his younger brother, Henry, had a distinguished military career. The stories of Charless over-indulgence by his father are legendary. It was said that Charles once expressed a desire to break his fathers watch and was not restrained or punished when he duly smashed it on the floor. In later life he was always to have carried a copy of Horace in his coat pocket. On this trip, Charles was given an amount of money with which to learn to gamble by his father. These three pursuits – gambling, womanising and the love of things and fashions foreign – would become, once inculcated in his adolescence, Fox entered Hertford College, Oxford, in October 1764, although he would later leave without taking a degree, rather contemptuous of its nonsenses. For the 1768 general election, Henry Fox bought his son a seat in Parliament for the West Sussex constituency of Midhurst, though Charles was still nineteen, thus he spent much of his early years unwittingly manufacturing ammunition for his later critics and their accusations of hypocrisy. A supporter of the Grafton and North ministries, Fox was prominent in the campaign to punish the radical John Wilkes for challenging the Commons and he thus opened his career by speaking in behalf of the Commons against the people and their elected representative. Consequently, both Fox and his brother, Stephen, were insulted and pelted with mud in the street by the pro-Wilkes London crowds, however, between 1770 and 1774, Foxs seemingly promising career in the political establishment was spoiled. Behind these incidents lay his familys resentment towards Lord North for refusing to elevate the Holland barony to an earldom, but the fact that such a young man could seemingly treat ministerial office so lightly was noted at court. George III, also observing Foxs licentious private behaviour, took it to be presumption and he drifted from his rather unideological family-oriented politics into the orbit of the Rockingham Whig party
3.
William Pitt the Younger
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William Pitt the Younger, PC was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 and he left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806. He was also the Chancellor of the Exchequer throughout his premiership, born William Pitt, he is known as the Younger to distinguish him from his father, William Pitt the Elder, who had previously served as Prime Minister. The younger Pitts prime ministerial tenure, which came during the reign of George III, was dominated by events in Europe, including the French Revolution. Pitt, although referred to as a Tory, or new Tory. He is best known for leading Britain in the wars against France. Pitt was an administrator who worked for efficiency and reform. He raised taxes to pay for the war against France. To meet the threat of Irish support for France, he engineered the Acts of Union 1800, Pitt created the new Toryism, which revived the Tory Party and enabled it to stay in power for the next quarter-century. Historian Asa Briggs points out that his personality did not endear itself to the British mind, for Pitt was too solitary, too colourless and his greatness came in the war with France, with the adversary setting the pace. Pitt reacted to become what Lord Minto called the Atlas of our reeling globe and his integrity and industry and his role as defender of the threatened nation allowed him to inspire and access all the national reserves of strength. William Wilberforce said that, For personal purity, disinterestedness and love of this country, for this he is ranked highly amongst British Prime Ministers. The Honourable William Pitt, second son of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, was born at Hayes Place in the village of Hayes, Pitt was from a political family on both sides. His mother, Hester Grenville, was sister to former prime minister George Grenville, according to biographer John Ehrman, Pitt inherited brilliance and dynamism from his fathers line, and a determined, methodical nature from the Grenvilles. Suffering from occasional poor health as a boy, he was educated at home by the Reverend Edward Wilson, an intelligent child, Pitt quickly became proficient in Latin and Greek. In 1773, aged fourteen, he attended Pembroke College, Cambridge, at Cambridge, Pitt was tutored by George Pretyman, who became a close personal friend. Pitt later appointed Pretyman Bishop of Lincoln then Winchester and drew upon his advice throughout his political career, while at Cambridge, he befriended the young William Wilberforce, who became a lifelong friend and political ally in Parliament. Pitt tended to socialise only with students and others already known to him
4.
Devizes (UK Parliament constituency)
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Devizes /dᵻvaɪzᵻz/ is a constituency in Wiltshire, England, which is represented in the House of Commons of the U. K. Parliament and includes four towns and many villages in the middle, the areas representative has been a Conservative since 1924. The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 abolished the borough, and created a new county constituency of the same name, covering a wider area. It has returned a Conservative MP at every election since 1924 and its most notable MP was Henry Addington, who held the seat during his term as Prime Minister, as well as when he was Speaker of the House of Commons. 1885-1918, The Municipal Boroughs of Devizes and Marlborough, the Sessional Divisions of Devizes, Everley, Pewsey, Marlborough, and Ramsey, and part of the Sessional Division of Pewsey. 1918-1950, The Municipal Boroughs of Devizes and Marlborough, the Rural Districts of Devizes, Marlborough, Pewsey, and Ramsbury, 1950-1983, The Municipal Boroughs of Devizes and Marlborough, and the Rural Districts of Devizes, Highworth, Marlborough and Ramsbury, and Pewsey. 1983-1997, The District of Kennet, and the Borough of Thamesdown wards of Blunsdon, Chiseldon, Covingham, Highworth, Ridgeway, St Margaret, St Philip, 2010–present, The District of Kennet, and the District of Salisbury wards of Bulford and Durrington. The Devizes constituency covers Devizes in Wiltshire and the surrounding former Kennet district, Devizes has been a safe Conservative seat since 1945. The current Member of Parliament is Claire Perry who was first elected at the 2010 general election, succeeding Michael Ancram and he was portrayed by actor Michael Troughton. General Election 1939/40, Another General Election was required to place before the end of 1940. General Election 1914/15, Another General Election was required to place before the end of 1915
5.
Irish House of Commons
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The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords, the membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive franchise, similar to the Unreformed House of Commons in contemporary England and Great Britain. Most notably, Roman Catholics were disqualified from sitting in the Irish parliament from 1691, from 1728 until 1793 they were also disfranchised. Most of the population of all religions had no vote, the vast majority of parliamentary boroughs were pocket boroughs, the private property of an aristocratic patron. When these boroughs were disfranchised at the under the Act of Union, the British-appointed Irish executive, under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, was not answerable to the House of Commons but to the British government. However, the Chief Secretary for Ireland was usually a member of the Irish parliament, in the Commons, business was presided over by the Speaker. The House of Commons was abolished when the Irish parliament merged with its British counterpart in 1801 under the Act of Union, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the House sat for the last time in Parliament House, Dublin on 2 August 1800. The Speaker of the Irish House of Commons was the officer of the House. The position was one of power and prestige, and in the absence of a government chosen from and answerable to the Commons. The last Speaker was John Foster, the House was elected in the same way as the British House of Commons. The number of Boroughs invited to return members had originally been small but was doubled by the Stuart monarchs. They could cease to be a member of the House only by one of four ways, death expulsion taking Holy Orders being awarded a peerage, in 1793 a methodology for resignation was created, equivalent to the Chiltern Hundreds in the British House of Commons. Irish members could now be appointed to either the Escheatorship of Munster, the Escheatorship of Leinster, possession of one of these Crown offices, with entailed a 30/- salary, automatically terminated ones membership of the House of Commons. Henry Grattan, Went on to serve as an Irish member of the United Kingdom House of Commons. Boyle Roche, The father of Irish bulls Hon. Arthur Wellesley, Later became Duke of Wellington, defeated Napoleon I at Waterloo and he represented his family borough of Trim, County Meath from 1790–98. William Conolly, A past Speaker, Conolly remains today one of the most widely known figures ever to be produced by the Irish parliament. He is famous not just for his role in parliament but also for his wealth that allowed him to build one of Irelands greatest Georgian houses. Major influence on the architecture of Georgian Dublin and the Irish Palladian Country house, John Philpot Curran, Orator and wit, originator of the quotation Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty
6.
Parliament of Ireland
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The Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. It comprised two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the House of Lords consisted of members of the Irish peerage and the bishops, while the Commons was directly elected, albeit on a very restricted franchise. The main purpose of parliament was to approve taxes that were levied by. Those who would pay the bulk of taxation, the clergy, merchants and landowners, in 1541 the parliament voted to create the Kingdom of Ireland. However, this Irish Parliament was a meeting of Irish nobles and bishops, later, in the 15th century, Irish parliaments began to invite representatives of the people. Among its most famous meeting places were Dublin Castle, the Bluecoat School, Chichester House and, its permanent home. The Irish Parliament was formally founded in 1297 by the Justiciar, John Wogan, to represent the Irish, in 1292 a less formal assembly of unelected nobles and merchants had raised £10,000, known as the lay subsidy. This tax was a fifteenth of the net worth of the chattels of wealthier citizens, the poor, the Parliament arose from and for citizens of the Lordship of Ireland, based on Norman laws and English practices. Magna Carta was extended in 1217 in the Great Charter of Ireland, alongside this reduced control grew a Gaelic resurgence that was political as well as cultural. In turn this resulted in numbers of the Anglo-Irish Old English nobility joining the independent Gaelic nobles in asserting their feudal independence. Eventually the crowns power shrank to a fortified enclave around Dublin known as the Pale. The Parliament thereafter became essentially the forum for the Pale community until the 16th century, the role of the Parliament changed after 1541, when Henry VIII declared the Kingdom of Ireland and embarked on the Tudor conquest of Ireland. Initially in 1537, the Irish Parliament approved both the Act of Supremacy, acknowledging Henry VIII as head of the Church and the dissolution of the monasteries, the Plantation of Ulster allowed English and Scottish Protestant candidates in as representatives of the newly formed boroughs in planted areas. Initially this gave Protestants a majority of 132-100 in the House of Commons, in the House of Lords the Catholic majority continued until the 1689 Patriot Parliament, with the exception of the Commonwealth period. Following the death of Cromwell and the end of the Protectorate, then, during the reign of James II of England, who had converted to Roman Catholicism, Irish Catholics briefly recovered their pre-eminent position as the crown now favoured their community. When James was overthrown in England, he turned to his Catholic supporters in the Irish Parliament for support, nonetheless, the franchise was still available to wealthier Catholics. Until 1728, Catholics voted in House of Commons elections and held seats in the Lords, for no particular reason, beyond a general pressure for Catholics to conform, they were barred from voting in the election for the first parliament in the reign of George II. Privileges were also limited to supporters of the Church of Ireland
7.
House of Lords
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The House of Lords of the United Kingdom, referred to ceremonially as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster, officially, the full name of the house is, The Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. Unlike the elected House of Commons, all members of the House of Lords are appointed, the membership of the House of Lords is drawn from the peerage and is made up of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. The Lords Spiritual are 26 bishops in the established Church of England, of the Lords Temporal, the majority are life peers who are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. However, they include some hereditary peers including four dukes. Very few of these are female since most hereditary peerages can only be inherited by men, while the House of Commons has a defined 650-seat membership, the number of members in the House of Lords is not fixed. There are currently 805 sitting Lords, the House of Lords is the only upper house of any bicameral parliament to be larger than its respective lower house. The House of Lords scrutinises bills that have approved by the House of Commons. It regularly reviews and amends Bills from the Commons, while it is unable to prevent Bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it can delay Bills and force the Commons to reconsider their decisions. In this capacity, the House of Lords acts as a check on the House of Commons that is independent from the electoral process, Bills can be introduced into either the House of Lords or the House of Commons. Members of the Lords may also take on roles as government ministers, the House of Lords has its own support services, separate from the Commons, including the House of Lords Library. The Queens Speech is delivered in the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament, the House also has a Church of England role, in that Church Measures must be tabled within the House by the Lords Spiritual. This new parliament was, in effect, the continuation of the Parliament of England with the addition of 45 MPs and 16 Peers to represent Scotland, the Parliament of England developed from the Magnum Concilium, the Great Council that advised the King during medieval times. This royal council came to be composed of ecclesiastics, noblemen, the first English Parliament is often considered to be the Model Parliament, which included archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, and representatives of the shires and boroughs of it. The power of Parliament grew slowly, fluctuating as the strength of the monarchy grew or declined, for example, during much of the reign of Edward II, the nobility was supreme, the Crown weak, and the shire and borough representatives entirely powerless. In 1569, the authority of Parliament was for the first time recognised not simply by custom or royal charter, further developments occurred during the reign of Edward IIs successor, Edward III. It was during this Kings reign that Parliament clearly separated into two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The authority of Parliament continued to grow, and, during the fifteenth century
8.
Representative peer
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In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to sit in the House of Lords, they did not elect a limited group of representatives. All peers who were created after 1707 as Peers of Great Britain, representative peers were introduced in 1707, when the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were united into the Kingdom of Great Britain. At the time, there were 168 English and 154 Scottish peers, a similar arrangement was adopted when the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in January 1801. Scotland was allowed to elect sixteen representative peers, while Ireland could elect twenty-eight and those chosen by Scotland sat for a single term, and following each dissolution new Scottish peers were elected. In contrast, Irish representative peers sat for life, elections for Irish peers ceased when the Irish Free State came into existence as a Dominion in December 1922. However, already-elected Irish peers continued to be entitled to sit until their death, elections for Scottish peers ended in 1963, when all Scottish peers obtained the right to sit in the House of Lords. Under the 1999 House of Lords Act, a new form of representative peer was introduced to some hereditary peers to stay in the House of Lords. Under articles XXII and XXIII of the Act of Union of 1707, each served for one Parliament or a maximum of seven years, but could be re-elected during future Parliaments. Upon the summons of a new Parliament, the Sovereign would issue a proclamation summoning Scottish peers to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The elections were held in the Great Gallery, a room decorated by eighty-nine of Jacob de Wets portraits of Scottish monarchs. The Lord Clerk Register would read out the Peerage Roll as indicates his presence when called, the Roll was then re–read, with each peer responding by publicly announcing his votes and the return being sent to the clerk of the crown at London. The same procedure was used whenever a vacancy arose, the block voting system was used, with each peer casting as many votes as there were seats to be filled. The Lord Clerk Register was responsible for tallying the votes, the position and rights of Scottish peers in relation to the House of Lords remained unclear during most of the eighteenth century. In 1711, The 4th Duke of Hamilton, a peer of Scotland, was made Duke of Brandon in the Peerage of Great Britain. They reasoned that the Act of Union 1707 had established the number of Scots peers in the House of Lords at no more and no less than sixteen. Under the Peerage Act 1963, all Scottish peers procured the right to sit in the House of Lords, Scottish as well as British and English hereditary peers lost their automatic right to sit in the Upper House with the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999. During the debate on the House of Lords Bill, a question arose as to whether the proposal would violate the Treaty of Union
9.
James Gillray
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James Gillray was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810. Gillray has been called the father of the cartoon, with his works satirizing George III, prime ministers. He was born in Chelsea, London and his father, a native of Lanark, had served as a soldier, losing an arm at the Battle of Fontenoy, and was admitted, first as an inmate, and afterwards as an outdoor pensioner, at Chelsea Hospital. Gillray commenced life by learning letter-engraving, at which he became adept. This employment, however, proved irksome to James, so he wandered about for a time with a company of strolling players and his caricatures are almost all in etching, some also with aquatint, and a few using stipple technique. None can correctly be described as engravings, although this term is loosely used to describe them. Hogarths works were the delight and study of his early years, paddy on Horseback, which appeared in 1779, is the first caricature which is certainly his. Two caricatures on Admiral Rodneys naval victory at the Battle of the Saintes, Gillray lived with Miss Humphrey during the entire period of his fame. It is believed that he several times thought of marrying her, and that on one occasion the pair were on their way to the church and we live very comfortably together, we had better let well alone. There is no evidence, however, to support the stories which scandalmongers invented about their relations, Gillrays plates were exposed in Humphreys shop window, where eager crowds examined them. One of his prints, Very Slippy-Weather, shows Miss Humphreys shop in St. Jamess Street in the background. Gillrays eyesight began to fail in 1806 and he began wearing spectacles but they were unsatisfactory. Unable to work to his previous standards, James Gillray became depressed and started drinking heavily. He produced his last print in September 1809, as a result of his heavy drinking Gillray suffered from gout throughout his later life. His last work, from a design by Bunbury, is entitled Interior of a Barbers Shop in Assize Time, while he was engaged on it he became mad, although he had occasional intervals of sanity, which he employed on his last work. The approach of madness may have been hastened by his intemperate habits, in July 1811 Gillray attempted to kill himself by throwing himself out of an attic window above Humphreys shop in St Jamess Street. Gillray lapsed into insanity and was looked after by Hannah Humphrey until his death on 1 June 1815 in London, he was buried in St Jamess churchyard, Piccadilly. A number of his most trenchant satires are directed against George III, during the French Revolution, Gillray took a conservative stance, and he issued caricature after caricature ridiculing the French and Napoleon, and glorifying John Bull
10.
John Horne Tooke
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John Horne Tooke was an English clergyman, politician, and philologist. He was born in Newport Street, Long Acre, Westminster, the son of John Horne. As a youth at Eton College, Tooke described his father to friends as a turkey merchant, before Eton, he had been at school in Soho Square, in a Kentish village, and from 1744 to 1746 at Westminster School. He was left blind in his eye after being injured in a schoolboy fight. Horne had been admitted on 9 November 1756, as student at the Inner Temple, becoming friends with John Dunning and his father wished him to take orders in the Church of England, and he was ordained deacon on 23 September 1759 and priest on 23 November 1760. For a few months he was usher at a school at Blackheath. On 26 September 1760 he became curate of New Brentford. Tooke retained this poor living until 1773, during part of this time he traveled on a tour in France, acting as a bear-leader to a wealthy man. The excitement created by the actions of John Wilkes led Horne into politics, in the autumn of 1765 he escorted another rich young man to Italy. In Paris he met Wilkes, and from Montpellier, in January 1766, in the summer of 1767 Horne returned, and in 1768 secured the return of Wilkes to parliament for Middlesex. On 1 July 1771 Horne obtained at Cambridge, though not without opposition from members of both the political parties, his degree of M. A. Earlier in that year he claimed for the public the right of printing an account of debates, and after a long struggle. In the same year, Horne argued with Junius, and ended in disarming his masked antagonist, Horne resigned his benefice in 1773 and began the study of the law and philology. An accident, however, occurred at this moment which largely affected his future and his friend William Tooke had purchased a considerable estate, including Purley Lodge, south of the town of Croydon in Surrey. Tooke declared his intention of making Horne the heir to his fortune, no sooner had this matter been happily settled than Horne found himself involved in serious trouble. Soon after his deliverance he applied to be called to the bar, Horne thereupon tried his fortune, but without success, on farming some land in Huntingdonshire. Two tracts about this time exercised great influence in the country, one of them, Fads Addressed to Landholders, etc. On his return from Huntingdonshire he became more a frequent guest at Tookes house at Purley
11.
Whigs (British political party)
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The Whigs were a political faction and then a political party in the parliaments of England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Between the 1680s and 1850s, they contested power with their rivals, the Whigs origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute monarchy. The Whigs played a role in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and were the standing enemies of the Stuart kings and pretenders. The Whigs took full control of the government in 1715, and remained dominant until King George III, coming to the throne in 1760. The Whig Supremacy was enabled by the Hanoverian succession of George I in 1714, the Whigs thoroughly purged the Tories from all major positions in government, the army, the Church of England, the legal profession, and local offices. The Partys hold on power was so strong and durable, historians call the period from roughly 1714 to 1783 the age of the Whig Oligarchy. The first great leader of the Whigs was Robert Walpole, who maintained control of the government through the period 1721–1742, his protégé was Henry Pelham, who led from 1743 to 1754. Both parties were founded on rich politicians, more than on votes, there were elections to the House of Commons. The Whig Party slowly evolved during the 18th century, later on, the Whigs drew support from the emerging industrial interests and wealthy merchants, while the Tories drew support from the landed interests and the royal family. The term Whig was originally short for whiggamor, a term meaning cattle driver used to describe western Scots who came to Leith for corn. In the reign of Charles I the term was used during Wars of the Three Kingdoms to refer derisively to a faction of the Scottish Covenanters who called themselves the Kirk Party. It was then applied to Scottish Presbyterian rebels who were against the Kings Episcopalian order in Scotland, Whig was a term of abuse applied to those who wanted to exclude James on the grounds that he was a Roman Catholic. The fervent Tory Samuel Johnson often joked that the first Whig was the Devil, the Whigs, under Lord Shaftesburys leadership, wished to exclude the Duke of York from the throne due to his Catholicism, his favouring of monarchical absolutism and his connections to France. They believed the Duke, if allowed to inherit the throne, would endanger the Protestant religion, liberty, the first Exclusion Bill was supported by a substantial majority on its second reading in May 1679. In response, King Charles prorogued Parliament and then dissolved it and this new parliament did not meet for thirteen months, because Charles wanted to give passions a chance to die down. When it met in October 1680, an Exclusion Bill was introduced and passed in the Commons without major resistance, Charles dissolved Parliament in January 1681, but the Whigs did not suffer serious losses in the ensuing election. The next Parliament first met in March, at Oxford, but Charles dissolved it only after a few days, when he made an appeal to the country against the Whigs, and determined to rule without Parliament. In February, Charles had made a deal with the French King Louis XIV, without Parliament, the Whigs gradually crumbled, mainly due to the Rye House Plot
England
Scotland
