1.
Lower house
–
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position below the house, in many legislatures worldwide. A legislature composed of one house is described as unicameral. In comparison with the house, lower houses frequently display certain characteristics, Powers In a parliamentary system, Much more power. Able to override the upper house in some ways, can vote a motion of no confidence against the government. In a presidential system, Somewhat less power, as the house alone gives advice. Given the sole power to impeach the executive Status Always elected directly, while the house may be elected directly, indirectly. Its members may be elected with a different voting system to the upper house, most populated administrative divisions are better represented than in the upper house, representation is usually proportional to population. Elected all at once, not by staggered terms, in a parliamentary system, can be dissolved by the executive. Has total or original control over budget and monetary laws, lower age of candidacy than the upper house. Many lower houses are named in the manner, House/Chamber of Representatives/the People/Commons/Deputies
Lower house
–
Inside the Australian House of Representatives
Lower house
–
Dáil Éireann, Republic of Ireland
2.
House of Commons of England
–
In 1801, with the union of Great Britain and Ireland, that house was in turn replaced by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The Parliament of England developed from the Magnum Concilium that advised the English monarch in medieval times and this royal council, meeting for short periods, included ecclesiastics, noblemen, as well as representatives of the counties. The chief duty of the council was to approve taxes proposed by the Crown, in many cases, however, the council demanded the redress of the peoples grievances before proceeding to vote on taxation. The first parliament to invite representatives of the towns was Montforts Parliament in 1265. At the Model Parliament of 1295, representatives of the boroughs were admitted, thus, it became settled practice that each county send two knights of the shire, and that each borough send two burgesses. Any show of independence by burgesses would thus be likely to lead to the exclusion of their towns from Parliament, the knights of the shire were in a better position, although less powerful than their noble and clerical counterparts in what was still a unicameral Parliament. They formed what became known as the House of Commons, while the clergy, although they remained subordinate to both the Crown and the Lords, the Commons did act with increasing boldness. The Commons even proceeded to some of the Kings ministers. Mare was soon released after the death of King Edward III, during the reign of the next monarch, Richard II, the Commons once again began to impeach errant ministers of the Crown. They began to insist that they could control both taxation and public expenditures, despite such gains in authority, however, the Commons still remained much less powerful than the Lords and the Crown. The influence of the Crown was increased by the wars of the late fifteenth century. Both houses of Parliament held little power during the years. The domination of the monarch grew further under the House of Tudor in the sixteenth century and this trend, however, was somewhat reversed when the House of Stuart came to the English throne in 1603. The first two Stuart monarchs, James I and Charles I, provoked conflicts with the Commons over issues such as taxation, religion, and royal powers. The differences between Charles I and Parliament were great, and resulted in the English Civil War, in which the forces of Parliament were victorious. In December 1648 the House of Commons was purged by the New Model Army, prides Purge was the only military coup in English history. Subsequently, King Charles I was beheaded and the Upper House was abolished, in 1653, when leading figures in this Parliament began to disagree with the army, it was dissolved by Oliver Cromwell. However, the monarchy and the House of Lords were both restored with the Commons in 1660, the influence of the Crown had been decreased, and was further diminished after James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Bill of Rights 1689 was enacted
House of Commons of England
–
Interior of the House of Commons In Session by
Peter Tillemans, c. 1710
House of Commons of England
–
Royal coat of arms of England (1509-1554) with English lion and Welsh dragon
3.
Burgh Commissioners
–
A Commissioner was a legislator appointed or elected to represent a royal burgh or shire in the pre-Union Scottish Parliament and the associated Convention of the Estates. Member of Parliament and Deputy are equivalent terms in other countries, the Scottish Parliament and the Convention of the Estates were unicameral legislatures, so Commissioners sat alongside prelates and members of the nobility. Burgh Commissioners were the estate, and were the longest-established. Burgh commissioners often acted and lobbied collectively, assisted by the fact that the Convention of Royal Burghs often met in association with parliamentary sessions. From the 16th century, the estate of the nobility was reorganised by the selection of Shire Commissioners from the lower nobility. Each shire, stewartry or constabulary sent two Shire Commissioners to parliament, with the exception of the shires of Clackmannan and Kinross which only sent one. However, each shire had only one vote, meaning that the two commissioners had to cooperate and compromise with each other and they appear to have possessed plena potestas, and were not necessarily required to consult their electorates. Early shire commissioners were lesser barons, with the earliest recorded shire election being on 31 January 1596, the powers of the shire commissioners greatly expanded over time, especially with the long-term decline in power of the prelates. In 1640, the Covenanters abolished the episcopates, and each shire commissioner was given their own vote and this arrangement continued upon the Restoration of the Episcopates in 1662
Burgh Commissioners
–
The architect
William Bruce sat in the Scottish Parliament as shire commissioner for
Fife (1669-74), and for
Kinross (1681-2).
Burgh Commissioners
–
Fletcher of Saltoun was elected in 1678 as a Commissioner for
Haddingtonshire.
Burgh Commissioners
–
Parliament House, Edinburgh
4.
Parliament of Scotland
–
The Parliament of Scotland, or Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The parliament, like other such institutions, evolved during the Middle Ages from the council of bishops. It is first identifiable as a parliament in 1235, during the reign of Alexander II, by the early fourteenth century, the attendance of knights and freeholders had become important, and from 1326 commissioners from the burghs attended. Parliamentary business was carried out by sister institutions, such as General Councils or Convention of Estates. These could carry out much business also dealt with by parliament – taxation, legislation and policy-making –, the Parliament of Scotland met for more than four centuries, until it was prorogued sine die at the time of the Acts of Union in 1707. Thereafter the Parliament of Great Britain operated for both England and Scotland, thus creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain, when the Parliament of Ireland was abolished in 1801, its former members were merged into what was now called the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Later, the bishops themselves were removed from the Church of Scotland during the Glorious Revolution, the Second Estate was then split into two to retain the division into three. From the 16th century, the estate was reorganised by the selection of Shire Commissioners. During the 17th century, after the Union of the Crowns and these latter identifications remain highly controversial among parliamentary historians. Regardless, the used for the assembled members continued to be the Three Estates. A Shire Commissioner was the closest equivalent of the English office of Member of Parliament, because the parliament of Scotland was unicameral, all members sat in the same chamber, as opposed to the separate English House of Lords and House of Commons. The Scottish parliament evolved during the Middle Ages from the Kings Council and it is perhaps first identifiable as a parliament in 1235, described as a colloquium and already with a political and judicial role. In 1296 we have the first mention of burgh representatives taking part in decision making, by the early 14th century, the attendance of knights and freeholders had become important, and Robert the Bruce began regularly calling burgh commissioners to his Parliament. Consisting of The Three Estates – of clerics, lay Tenants-in-chief and burgh commissioners – sitting in a single chamber, parliamentary business was also carried out by sister institutions, before c.1500 by General Council and thereafter by the Convention of Estates. These could carry out much business also dealt with by Parliament – taxation, legislation and policy-making –, the Scottish parliament met in a number of different locations throughout its history. In addition to Edinburgh, meetings were held in Perth, Stirling, St Andrews, Dundee, Linlithgow, Dunfermline, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness and Berwick-upon-Tweed. From the early 1450s until 1690, a deal of the legislative business of the Scottish Parliament was usually carried out by a parliamentary committee known as the Lords of the Articles. This was a chosen by the three estates to draft legislation which was then presented to the full assembly to be confirmed
Parliament of Scotland
–
Estates of Parliament
Parliament of Scotland
–
Arms of the Kingdom of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland
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Parliament House c. 1647
Parliament of Scotland
–
Eras
5.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
–
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
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
–
The House of Commons in the early 19th century by
Augustus Pugin and
Thomas Rowlandson.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
–
Another picture of the old House of Commons chamber. Note the dark veneer on the wood, which was purposely made much brighter in the new chamber.
6.
Speaker of the British House of Commons
–
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdoms lower chamber of Parliament. The office is held by John Bercow, who was initially elected on 22 June 2009. He was returned as an MP in the 2010 general election and was re-elected as Speaker when the House sat at the start of the new Parliament on 18 May 2010. He was again returned as an MP in the 2015 general election and was re-elected, unopposed, the Speaker presides over the Houses debates, determining which members may speak. The Speaker is also responsible for maintaining order during debate, the Speaker does not take part in debate or vote. Aside from duties relating to presiding over the House, the Speaker also performs administrative and procedural functions, the Speaker has the right and obligation to reside in Speakers House at the Palace of Westminster. The office of Speaker is almost as old as Parliament itself, the earliest year for which a presiding officer has been identified is 1258, when Peter de Montfort presided over the Parliament held in Oxford. Early presiding officers were known by the title parlour or prolocutor, Edward III was frail and in seclusion, his prestigious eldest son, Edward the Black Prince, terminally ill. It was left to the son, a furious John of Gaunt. He arrested De la Mare and disgraced other leading critics, in the next, Bad Parliament, in 1377, a cowed Commons put forward Gaunts steward, Thomas Hungerford, as their spokesman in retracting their predecessors misdoings of the previous year. On 6 October 1399, Sir John Cheyne of Beckford was elected speaker, the powerful Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Arundel, is said to have voiced his fears of Cheynes reputation as a critic of the Church. Eight days later, Cheyne resigned on grounds of ill-health, although he remained in favour with the king, in such a situation, the influence of the speaker should not be underestimated. Sir Thomas More was the first speaker to go on to become Lord Chancellor, until the 17th century, members of the House of Commons often continued to view their Speaker as an agent of the Crown. As Parliament evolved, however, the Speakers position grew into one that involved more duties to the House than to the Crown, such was definitely the case by the time of the English Civil War. This change is said to be reflected by an incident in 1642. The development of Cabinet government under King William III in the late 17th century caused further change in the nature of the Speakership, Speakers were generally associated with the ministry, and often held other government offices. For example, Robert Harley served simultaneously as Speaker and as a Secretary of State between 1704 and 1705, the Speaker between 1728 and 1761, Arthur Onslow, reduced ties with the government, though the office did remain to a large degree political. The Speakership evolved into its modern form—in which the holder is an impartial and apolitical officer who does not belong to any party—only during the middle of the 19th century, over 150 individuals have served as Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
–
Incumbent
John Bercow since 22 June 2009
Speaker of the British House of Commons
–
Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
–
William Court Gully
Speaker of the British House of Commons
–
Henry Addington in state robes.
7.
Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth
–
Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, PC was a British statesman who served as Prime Minister from 1801 to 1804. He is best known for obtaining the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, when that treaty broke down he resumed the war but he was without allies and conducted a relatively weak defensive war, ahead of what would become the War of the Third Coalition. He was forced from office in favour of William Pitt the Younger, Addington is also known for his ruthless and efficient crackdown on dissent during a ten-year spell as Home Secretary from 1812 to 1822. He is the longest continuously serving holder of office since it was created in 1782. Henry Addington was the son of Anthony Addington, Pitts physician, and Mary Addington, as a consequence of his fathers position, Addington was a childhood friend of William Pitt the Younger. Addington studied at Reading School, Winchester and Brasenose College, Oxford, Addington is a relative of Robert Sharrock who collaborated with Robert Boyle. Addington is the relative of John Sharrock of the Visitation Family of Cornwall, david Sharrock, Heralds’ Visitation of Cornwall He was elected to the House of Commons in 1784 as Member of Parliament for Devizes, and became Speaker of the House of Commons in 1789. Both Pitt and the King insisted that Addington take over as Prime Minister, despite his own objections, foreign policy was the centerpiece of his term in office. Some historians have been highly critical saying it was ignorant and indifferent to Britains greatest needs, addingtons domestic reforms doubled the efficiency of the Income tax. In foreign affairs he secured the Treaty of Amiens, in 1802, at the time and ever since Addington has been criticized for his lackluster conduct of the war and his defensive posture. However without allies, Britains options were limited to defence and he did increase the forces, provide a tax base that could finance an enlarged war, and seize several French possessions. To gain allies, Addington cultivated better relations with Russia, Austria, and Prussia, Addington also strengthened British defences against a French invasion through the building of Martello towers on the south coast and the raising of more than 600,000 men at arms. Although the king stood by him it was not enough because Addington did not have a strong hold on the two houses of Parliament. Addingtons greatest failing was his inability to manage a majority, by cultivating the loyal support of MPs beyond his own circle. This combined with his speaking ability, left him vulnerable to Pitts mastery of parliamentary management. Pitts parliamentary assault against Addington in March 1804 led to the slimming of his majority to the point where defeat in the House of Commons was imminent. Addington remained an important political figure, however, and the year he was created Viscount Sidmouth. He served in Pitts final Cabinet as Lord President of the Council to 1806 and he returned to government again as Lord President in March 1812, and, in June of the same year, became Home Secretary
Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth
–
Portrait by Sir
William Beechey
Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth
–
In Britannia between Death and the Doctor's (1804),
James Gillray caricatured Pitt kicking Addington (at left) out of Britannia's sickroom.
8.
Voting system
–
Common electoral systems are majority rule, proportional representation and plurality voting, with a number of variations and methods such as first-past-the-post and preferential voting. The study of formally defined voting methods is called social choice theory or voting theory, depending on the meaning chosen, the common majority rule systems can produce results that the majority does not support. If every election had two choices, the winner would be determined using majority rule alone. However, when there are more than two options, there may not be an option that is most liked or most disliked by a majority. A simple choice does not allow voters to express the ordering or the intensity of their feeling, different voting systems may give very different results, particularly in cases where there is no clear majority preference. An electoral system specifies the form of the ballot, the set of votes, and the tallying method. This outcome may be a winner, as in the case of a presidential election, or may result in multiple winners. The electoral system may specify how voting power is distributed among the voters. The real-world implementation of an election is not considered part of the electoral system. An electoral system also does not specify whether or how votes are kept secret, how to verify that votes are counted accurately and these are aspects of the broader topic of elections and election systems. Different electoral systems have different ways of allowing individuals to express their votes, in ranked ballot or preference electoral systems, such as Instant-runoff voting, the Borda count, or a Condorcet method, each voter orders the list of options from most to least preferred. In range voting, voters rate each option separately on a scale, in plurality voting, voters select only one option, while in approval voting, they can select as many as they want. In electoral systems that allow plumping, like voting, voters may vote for the same candidate multiple times. Some electoral systems include additional choices on the ballot, such as write-in candidates, some systems call for a primary election first to determine which candidates will be on the ballot. Many elections are based on the principle of one person, one vote and this is not true of all elections, however. Corporate elections, for instance, usually weight votes according to the amount of each voter holds in the company, changing the mechanism to one share. Votes can also be weighted unequally for other reasons, such as increasing the weight of higher-ranked members of an organization. Voting weight is not the thing as voting power
Voting system
–
Jean-Charles de Borda, an early voting theorist
Voting system
–
In a simple
plurality ballot, the voter is expected to mark only one selection.
Voting system
–
The Marquis de Condorcet, another early voting theorist
Voting system
–
Kenneth Arrow, a pioneer of modern voting theory.
9.
First past the post
–
First-past-the-post voting method is one of several plurality voting methods. It is a common, but not universal, feature of voting methods with single-member electoral divisions, the method is widely used in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and most of their current and former colonies and protectorates, and a few other countries. There is some confusion between highest vote, majority vote and plurality voting methods, all three use a first-past-the-post voting method, but there are subtle differences in the method of execution. First-past-the-post voting is used in two-round systems and some exhaustive ballots. First-past-the-post voting methods can be used for single- and multiple-member electoral divisions, in a single-member election, the candidate with the highest number – not necessarily a majority – of votes is elected. The two-round voting method uses a first-past-the-post voting method in each of the two rounds, the first round determines which two candidates will progress to the second, final-round ballot. In a multiple-member, first-past-the-post ballot, the first number of candidates – in order of highest vote, if there are six vacancies, then the first six candidates with the highest vote are elected. The Electoral Reform Society is a pressure group based in the United Kingdom which advocates abolishing the first-past-the-post method for all national and local elections. It argues FPTP is bad for voters, bad for government and it is the oldest organisation concerned with electoral methods in the world. States other than Maine and Nebraska use a form of simple plurality, first-past-the-post voting. Under a first-past-the-post voting method the highest polling candidate is elected, in this real-life example, Tony Tan obtained a greater number than the other candidates, and so was declared the winner, even though majority of voters did not vote for him. It is more likely that a party will hold a majority of legislative seats. In the United Kingdom,18 out of 23 general elections since 1922 have produced a single-party majority government. For example, the 2005 United Kingdom general election results in Great Britain are as follows, It can be seen that Labour took a majority of seats, 57%, the largest two parties took 69% of votes and 88% of seats. Meanwhile, the smaller Liberal Democrat party took more than a fifth of votes, another example would be the UK General Election held on 7 May 2015, Here, the Conservatives took 51% of the seats with only 37% of the vote. It should be noted that the Liberal Democrats also suffered under first-past-the-post, the benefits of FPTP are that its concept is very easy to understand, and ballots can be easily counted and processed. Alternative methods such as rank-based voting require far more work or processing power to tabulate results than a single choice, supporters of FPTP argue that it is the electoral method providing the best governance. It trades fairness in representation for more responsible government and its tendency to produce majority rule allows the government to pursue a consistent strategy for its term in office and to make decisions that may be both correct and unpopular
First past the post
–
A graph showing the difference between the popular vote (inner circle) and the number of seats won by major political parties (outer circle) at the
United Kingdom general election, 2015
10.
Palace of Westminster
–
The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Commonly known as the Houses of Parliament after its occupants, the Palace lies on the bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster. The palace is owned by the monarch in right of the Crown and for ceremonial purposes, the building is managed by committees appointed by both houses, which report to the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker. The first royal palace was built on the site in the 11th century, part of the New Palaces area of 3.24 hectares was reclaimed from the Thames, which is the setting of its nearly 300-metre long façade, called the River Front. Barry was assisted by Augustus Pugin, an authority on Gothic architecture and style. The Palace is one of the centres of political life in the United Kingdom, Westminster has become a metonym for the UK Parliament, the Palace of Westminster has been a Grade I listed building since 1970 and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. The Palace of Westminster site was important during the Middle Ages. Known in medieval times as Thorney Island, the site may have been first-used for a residence by Canute the Great during his reign from 1016 to 1035. St Edward the Confessor, the penultimate Anglo-Saxon monarch of England, Thorney Island and the surrounding area soon became known as Westminster. Neither the buildings used by the Anglo-Saxons nor those used by William I survive, the oldest existing part of the Palace dates from the reign of William Is successor, King William II. The Palace of Westminster was the principal residence in the late Medieval period. The predecessor of Parliament, the Curia Regis, met in Westminster Hall, simon de Montforts parliament, the first to include representatives of the major towns, met at the Palace in 1265. The Model Parliament, the first official Parliament of England, met there in 1295, in 1512, during the early years of the reign of King Henry VIII, fire destroyed the royal residential area of the palace. In 1534, Henry VIII acquired York Place from Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, renaming it the Palace of Whitehall, Henry used it as his principal residence. Although Westminster officially remained a royal palace, it was used by the two Houses of Parliament and by the various law courts. Because it was originally a residence, the Palace included no purpose-built chambers for the two Houses. Important state ceremonies were held in the Painted Chamber which had originally built in the 13th century as the main bedchamber for King Henry III. The House of Commons, which did not have a chamber of its own, the Commons acquired a permanent home at the Palace in St Stephens Chapel, the former chapel of the royal palace, during the reign of Edward VI
Palace of Westminster
–
The Palace of Westminster with
Elizabeth Tower and
Westminster Bridge, viewed from across the
River Thames
Palace of Westminster
–
Conjectural restoration of Westminster during reign of Henry VIII
Palace of Westminster
–
Parliament before
1834 Fire with
Old Palace Yard in foreground
Palace of Westminster
–
A detail from
John Rocque's 1746 map of London. St Stephen's Chapel, labelled "H of Comm" (House of Commons), was adjacent to Westminster Hall; the Parliament Chamber—labelled "H of L" (House of Lords)—and the Prince's Chamber were to the far south. The Court of Requests, between the two Houses, would become the new home of the Lords in 1801. At the north-east, by the river, stood Speaker's House.
11.
Westminster
–
Westminster is an area of central London within the City of Westminster, part of the West End, on the north bank of the River Thames. Historically the area lay within St Margarets parish, City & Liberty of Westminster and it has been the home of the permanent institutions of Englands government continuously since about 1200 and is now the seat of British government. In a government context, Westminster often refers to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the closest tube stations are Westminster, St Jamess Park on the Jubilee, Circle, and District lines. Within the area is Westminster School, a public school which grew out of the Abbey. Bounding Westminster to the north is Green Park, a Royal Park of London, the area has a substantial resident population, indeed most of its listed buildings are residential. A proportion of residents are people of limited means, living in council, hotels, large Victorian homes and barracks exist nearer to Buckingham Palace. The name describes an area no more than 1 mile from Westminster Abbey, the settlement grew up around the palace and abbey, as a service area for them. The need for a church, St Margarets Westminster for the servants of the palace. It became larger and in the Georgian period became connected through urban development with the City along the Strand. It did not become a local government unit until created as a civil parish. Indeed, the Cathedral and diocesan status of the church lasted only from 1539 to 1556, as such it is first known to have had two Members of Parliament in 1545 as a new Parliamentary Borough, centuries after the City of London and Southwark were enfranchised. The historic core of Westminster is the former Thorney Island on which Westminster Abbey was built, the abbey became the traditional venue of the coronation of the kings and queens of England from that of Harold Godwinson onwards. From about 1200, near the abbey, the Palace of Westminster became the royal residence, marked by the transfer of royal treasury. Later the palace housed the developing Parliament and Englands law courts, thus London developed two focal points, the City of London and Westminster. The monarchs later moved to St James Palace and the Palace of Whitehall a little towards the north-east, the main law courts have since moved to the Royal Courts of Justice. The Westminster area formed part of the City and Liberty of Westminster in Middlesex, the ancient parish was St Margaret, after 1727 this became the civil parish of St Margaret and St John, the latter a new church required for the increasing population. The area around Westminster Abbey formed the extra-parochial Close of the Collegiate Church of St Peter surrounded by —, until 1900 the local authority was the combined vestry of St Margaret and St John, which was based at Westminster City Hall in Caxton Street from 1883. The Liberty of Westminster, governed by the Westminster Court of Burgesses, also included St Martin in the Fields, Westminster had its own quarter sessions, but the Middlesex sessions also had jurisdiction
Westminster
–
The
Palace of Westminster
Westminster
–
Western façade of
Westminster Abbey
Westminster
–
Bird's Eye Picture of Westminster in 1909
Westminster
12.
London
–
London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
London
–
Palace of Westminster,
Buckingham Palace and
Central London skyline
London
London
London
–
The name London may derive from the
River Thames
13.
Irish House of Commons
–
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
Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
–
Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
–
Engraving of section of the Irish House of Commons chamber by Peter Mazell based on the drawing by Rowland Omer 1767
14.
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 the Parliament of Scotland. 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. Following the Treaty of Union in 1706, 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. The Acts dissolved both parliaments, replacing them with a new parliament, referred to as the Parliament of Great Britain and 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, after the Hanoverian King George I ascended the British throne in 1714 through the Act of Settlement of 1701, real power continued to shift away from the monarchy. George was a German ruler, spoke poor English, and remained interested in governing his dominions in continental Europe rather than in Britain. Reformers and Radicals sought parliamentary reform, but as the French Revolutionary Wars developed the British government became repressive against dissent and progress towards reform was stalled. During the first half of George IIIs reign, the still had considerable influence over Parliament. Most candidates for the House of Commons were identified as Whigs or Tories, reformers like William Beckford and 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 this included calls for the six points later adopted by the Chartists. Pitt had previously called for Parliament to begin to reform itself, 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
Parliament of Great Britain
–
Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain
Parliament of Great Britain
–
Royal coat of arms of Great Britain, 1714–1800
15.
Acts of Union 1707
–
The Acts of Union were two Acts of Parliament, the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had agreed on 22 July 1706. Although described as a Union of Crowns, until 1707 there were in two separate Crowns resting on the same head. The Acts took effect on 1 May 1707, on this date, the Scottish Parliament and the English Parliament united to form the Parliament of Great Britain, based in the Palace of Westminster in London, the home of the English Parliament. Hence, the Acts are referred to as the Union of the Parliaments, on the Union, the historian Simon Schama said What began as a hostile merger, would end in a full partnership in the most powerful going concern in the world. It was one of the most astonishing transformations in European history, the first attempts at Union surrounded the foreseen unification of the Royal lines of Scotland and England. In pursuing the English throne in the 1560s, Mary, Queen of Scots pledged herself to a union between the two kingdoms. England and Scotland were ruled by the king for the first time in 1603 when James VI of Scotland also became the king of England. However they remained two separate states until 1 May 1707, the first attempt to unite the parliaments of England and Scotland was by Marys son, King James VI and I. On his accession to the English throne in 1603 King James announced his intention to unite his two realms so that he would not be guilty of bigamy. James used his prerogative powers to take the style of King of Great Britain and to give an explicitly British character to his court. In the meantime, James declared that Great Britain be viewed as presently united, and as one realm and kingdom, the Scottish and English parliaments established a commission to negotiate a union, formulating an instrument of union between the two countries. However, the idea of union was unpopular, and when James dropped his policy of a speedy union. When the House of Commons attempted to revive the proposal in 1610, the ordinance was ratified by the Second Protectorate Parliament, as an Act of Union, on 26 June 1657. One united Parliament sat in Westminster, with 30 representatives from Scotland and 30 from Ireland joining the members from England. Whilst free trade was brought about amongst the new Commonwealth, the benefits were generally not felt as a result of heavy taxation used to fund Cromwells New Model Army. This republican union was dissolved automatically with the restoration of King Charles II to the thrones of England and Scotland, Scottish members expelled from the Commonwealth Parliament petitioned unsuccessfully for a continuance of the union. An abortive scheme for union occurred in Scotland in 1670, following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the records of the Parliament of Scotland show much discussion of possible union
Acts of Union 1707
–
"Articles of Union with Scotland", 1707
Acts of Union 1707
Acts of Union 1707
–
Portrait of Queen Anne in 1702, the year she became queen, from the school of
John Closterman
Acts of Union 1707
–
18thC French illustration of an opening of the Scottish Parliament
16.
Kingdom of England
–
In the early 11th century the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, united by Æthelstan, became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway. The completion of the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1284 put Wales under the control of the English crown, from the accession of James I in 1603, the Stuart dynasty ruled England in personal union with Scotland and Ireland. Under the Stuarts, the kingdom plunged into war, which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649. The monarchy returned in 1660, but the Civil War had established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without the consent of Parliament and this concept became legally established as part of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. From this time the kingdom of England, as well as its state the United Kingdom. On 1 May 1707, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, the Anglo-Saxons referred to themselves as the Engle or the Angelcynn, originally names of the Angles. They called their land Engla land, meaning land of the English, by Æthelweard Latinized Anglia, from an original Anglia vetus, the name Engla land became England by haplology during the Middle English period. The Latin name was Anglia or Anglorum terra, the Old French, by the 14th century, England was also used in reference to the entire island of Great Britain. The standard title for all monarchs from Æthelstan until the time of King John was Rex Anglorum, Canute the Great, a Dane, was the first king to call himself King of England. In the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with use of Rex Anglie. The Empress Matilda styled herself Domina Anglorum, from the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex or Regina Anglie. In 1604 James VI and I, who had inherited the English throne the previous year, the English and Scottish parliaments, however, did not recognise this title until the Acts of Union of 1707. The kingdom of England emerged from the unification of the early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdoms known as the Heptarchy, East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Essex, Sussex. The Viking invasions of the 9th century upset the balance of power between the English kingdoms, and native Anglo-Saxon life in general, the English lands were unified in the 10th century in a reconquest completed by King Æthelstan in 927 CE. During the Heptarchy, the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms might become acknowledged as Bretwalda, the decline of Mercia allowed Wessex to become more powerful. It absorbed the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex in 825, the kings of Wessex became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during the 9th century. In 827, Northumbria submitted to Egbert of Wessex at Dore, in 886, Alfred the Great retook London, which he apparently regarded as a turning point in his reign. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that all of the English people not subject to the Danes submitted themselves to King Alfred, asser added that Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly
Kingdom of England
–
The dominions of
Cnut the Great (1014–1035)
Kingdom of England
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Flag
Kingdom of England
–
King John signs
Magna Carta at
Runnymede in 1215, surrounded by his baronage. Illustration from Cassell's History of England, 1902.
Kingdom of England
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Fifteenth-century miniature depicting the English victory over France at the
Battle of Agincourt.
17.
Kingdom of Scotland
–
The Kingdom of Scotland was a state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843, which joined with the Kingdom of England to form a unified Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the third of the island of Great Britain. It suffered many invasions by the English, but under Robert I it fought a war of independence. In 1603, James VI of Scotland became King of England, in 1707, the two kingdoms were united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain under the terms of the Acts of Union. The Crown was the most important element of government, the Scottish monarchy in the Middle Ages was a largely itinerant institution, before Edinburgh developed as a capital city in the second half of the 15th century. The Scottish Crown adopted the conventional offices of western European courts, Parliament also emerged as a major legal institution, gaining an oversight of taxation and policy, but was never as central to the national life as its counterpart in England. In the 17th century, the creation of Justices of Peace, the continued existence of courts baron and the introduction of kirk sessions helped consolidate the power of local lairds. Scots law developed into a system in the Middle Ages and was reformed and codified in the 16th and 17th centuries. Under James IV the legal functions of the council were rationalised, in 1532, the College of Justice was founded, leading to the training and professionalisation of lawyers. David I is the first Scottish king known to have produced his own coinage, Early Scottish coins were virtually identical in silver content to English ones, but from about 1300 their silver content began to depreciate more rapidly than the English coins. At the union of the Crowns in 1603 the Scottish pound was fixed at only one-twelfth the value of the English pound, the Bank of Scotland issued pound notes from 1704. Scottish currency was abolished by the Act of Union, Scotland is half the size of England and Wales in area, but has roughly the same length of coastline. Geographically Scotland is divided between the Highlands and Islands and the Lowlands, the Highlands had a relatively short growing season, which was further shortened during the Little Ice Age. From Scotlands foundation to the inception of the Black Death, the population had grown to a million, following the plague and it expanded in the first half of the 16th century, reaching roughly 1.2 million by the 1690s. Significant languages in the kingdom included Gaelic, Old English, Norse and French. Christianity was introduced into Scotland from the 6th century, in the Norman period the Scottish church underwent a series of changes that led to new monastic orders and organisation. During the 16th century, Scotland underwent a Protestant Reformation that created a predominately Calvinist national kirk, there were a series of religious controversies that resulted in divisions and persecutions. The Scottish Crown developed naval forces at various points in its history, Land forces centred around the large common army, but adopted European innovations from the 16th century, and many Scots took service as mercenaries and as soldiers for the English Crown
Kingdom of Scotland
–
James VI, whose inheritance of the thrones of England and Ireland created a dynastic union in 1603
Kingdom of Scotland
–
Flag
Kingdom of Scotland
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Coronation of
Alexander III of Scotland at
Scone Abbey; beside him are the
Mormaers of Strathearn and
Fife while his genealogy is recited by a royal poet.
Kingdom of Scotland
–
The
Regiam Majestatem is the oldest surviving written digest of Scots law.
18.
Kingdom of Great Britain
–
The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
Kingdom of Great Britain
–
Lord Clive meeting
Mir Jafar after the
Battle of Plassey, by
Francis Hayman (c. 1762)
Kingdom of Great Britain
–
Flag
Kingdom of Great Britain
–
Pitt addressing the
Commons in 1793
19.
William Pitt the Younger
–
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
William Pitt the Younger
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The Right Honourable William Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
–
William Pitt by
Joseph Nollekens, 1808
William Pitt the Younger
–
Statue of Pitt at
Pembroke College, Cambridge
William Pitt the Younger
–
The huge monument to William Pitt the Younger,
Guildhall, London faces an equally huge monument to his father,
William Pitt the Elder in a balanced composition
20.
Prime Minister of Great Britain
–
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of Her Majestys Government in the United Kingdom. The prime minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament, to their political party, the office is one of the Great Offices of State. The current prime minister, Theresa May, leader of the Conservative Party, was appointed by the Queen on 13 July 2016. The position of Prime Minister was not created, it evolved slowly and erratically over three hundred years due to acts of Parliament, political developments, and accidents of history. The office is therefore best understood from a historical perspective, the origins of the position are found in constitutional changes that occurred during the Revolutionary Settlement and the resulting shift of political power from the Sovereign to Parliament. The political position of Prime Minister was enhanced by the development of political parties, the introduction of mass communication. By the start of the 20th century the modern premiership had emerged, prior to 1902, the prime minister sometimes came from the House of Lords, provided that his government could form a majority in the Commons. However as the power of the aristocracy waned during the 19th century the convention developed that the Prime Minister should always sit in the lower house. As leader of the House of Commons, the Prime Ministers authority was further enhanced by the Parliament Act of 1911 which marginalised the influence of the House of Lords in the law-making process. The Prime Minister is ex officio also First Lord of the Treasury, certain privileges, such as residency of 10 Downing Street, are accorded to Prime Ministers by virtue of their position as First Lord of the Treasury. As the Head of Her Majestys Government the modern Prime Minister leads the Cabinet, in addition the Prime Minister leads a major political party and generally commands a majority in the House of Commons. As such the incumbent wields both legislative and executive powers, under the British system there is a unity of powers rather than separation. In the House of Commons, the Prime Minister guides the process with the goal of enacting the legislative agenda of their political party. The Prime Minister also acts as the face and voice of Her Majestys Government. The British system of government is based on an uncodified constitution, in 1928, Prime Minister H. H. Asquith described this characteristic of the British constitution in his memoirs, In this country we live. Our constitutional practices do not derive their validity and sanction from any Bill which has received the assent of the King, Lords. They rest on usage, custom, convention, often of slow growth in their early stages, not always uniform, the relationships between the Prime Minister and the Sovereign, Parliament and Cabinet are defined largely by these unwritten conventions of the constitution. Many of the Prime Ministers executive and legislative powers are actually royal prerogatives which are still vested in the Sovereign
Prime Minister of Great Britain
–
Incumbent
David Cameron since 11 May 2010
Prime Minister of Great Britain
–
Arms of
Her Majesty's Government
Prime Minister of Great Britain
–
Late in the 17th century Treasury Ministers began to attend the Commons regularly. They were given a reserved place, called the Treasury Bench, to the Speaker's right where the Prime Minister and senior Cabinet members sit today
Prime Minister of Great Britain
–
Portrait of Sir
Robert Walpole, studio of
Jean-Baptiste van Loo, 1740. Walpole is considered to have been Britain's first Prime Minister.
21.
Frederick North
–
Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, KG, PC, more often known by his courtesy title, Lord North, which he used from 1752 until 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the American War of Independence and he also held a number of other cabinet posts, including Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer. Norths reputation among historians has swung back and forth and it reached its nadir in the late nineteenth century when he was depicted as a creature of the king and an incompetent who lost the American colonies. In the early twentieth century a revisionism emphasized his strengths in administering the Treasury, handling the House of Commons, Herbert Butterfield, however, argued that his indolence was a barrier to efficient crisis management, he neglected his role in supervising the entire war effort. Lord North was born in London on 13 April 1732, at the house at Albemarle Street, just off Piccadilly. His father, the first Earl, was at the time Lord of the Bedchamber to Prince Frederick, North was descended from the 1st Earl of Sandwich and was related to Samuel Pepys and the 3rd Earl of Bute. He at times had a turbulent relationship with his father Francis North, 1st Earl of Guilford. In his early years the family was not wealthy, though their situation improved in 1735 when his father inherited property from his cousin, fredericks mother, Lady Lucy Montagu, died in 1734. His father remarried, but his stepmother, Elizabeth North, also died in 1745, one of his stepbrothers was Lord Dartmouth, who remained a close friend for life. He was educated at Eton College between 1742 and 1748, and at Trinity College, Oxford where in 1750 he was awarded an MA, after leaving Oxford he travelled in Europe on the Grand Tour with Dartmouth, visiting Leipzig where he studied at the University of Leipzig. He visited Vienna, Milan, and Paris, returning to England in 1753 and he soon developed a reputation as a good administrator and parliamentarian, and was generally liked by his colleagues. In November 1763 he was chosen to speak for the Government concerning radical MP John Wilkes, Wilkes had made a savage attack on both the Prime Minister and the King in his newspaper The North Briton, which many thought libelous. Norths motion that Wilkes be expelled from the House of Commons passed by 273 votes to 111, Wilkes expulsion took place in his absence, as he had already fled to France following a duel. When a government headed by the Whig magnate Lord Rockingham came to power in 1765, North left his post and he turned down an offer by Rockingham to rejoin the government, not wanting to be associated with the Whig grandees that dominated the Ministry. He returned to office when Pitt returned to head a government in 1766. North was appointed Joint Paymaster of the Forces in Pitts ministry, as Pitt was constantly ill, the government was effectively run by the Duke of Grafton, with North as one of its most senior members. In December 1767, he succeeded Charles Townshend as Chancellor of the Exchequer, with the resignation of the secretary of state Henry Seymour Conway in early 1768, North became Leader of the Commons as well. He continued to serve when Pitt was succeeded by Grafton in October, when the Duke of Grafton resigned as Prime Minister, North formed a government on 28 January 1770
Frederick North
–
Portrait by
Nathaniel Dance.
Frederick North
–
In The State Tinkers (1780),
James Gillray caricatured North (on his knees) and his allies as incompetent tinkers of the National Kettle. George III cries out in rapture in the rear.
Frederick North
–
French caricature on the government of Frederick North after the defeat of Grenada (1779).
Frederick North
–
This modern Silver medallion commemorates the motion of no confidence against Lord North on 27 February 1782 to end the American War of Independence. Subsequently Prime Minister Lord North resigned in March 1782.
22.
American Revolution
–
The British responded by imposing punitive laws on Massachusetts in 1774 known as the Coercive Acts, following which Patriots in the other colonies rallied behind Massachusetts. Tensions escalated to the outbreak of fighting between Patriot militia and British regulars at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the conflict then developed into a global war, during which the Patriots fought the British and Loyalists in what became known as the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress determined King George IIIs rule to be tyrannical and infringing the rights as Englishmen. The Patriot leadership professed the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism to reject monarchy and aristocracy, Congress rejected British proposals requiring allegiance to the monarchy and abandonment of independence. The British were forced out of Boston in 1776, but then captured and they blockaded the ports and captured other cities for brief periods, but failed to defeat Washingtons forces. After a failed Patriot invasion of Canada, a British army was captured at the Battle of Saratoga in late 1777, a combined American–French force captured a second British army at Yorktown in 1781, effectively ending the war in the United States. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 formally ended the conflict, confirming the new nations complete separation from the British Empire. The United States took possession of all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes, with the British retaining control of Canada. Among the significant results of the revolution was the creation of a new Constitution of the United States. Historians typically begin their histories of the American Revolution with the British victory in the French and Indian War in 1763, the lands west of Quebec and west of a line running along the crest of the Allegheny mountains became Indian territory, temporarily barred to settlement. For the prior history, see Thirteen Colonies, in 1764, Parliament passed the Currency Act to restrain the use of paper money which British merchants saw as a means to evade debt payments. Parliament also passed the Sugar Act, imposing customs duties on a number of articles, none did and Parliament passed the Stamp Act in March 1765 which imposed direct taxes on the colonies for the first time. All official documents, newspapers, almanacs, and pamphlets—even decks of playing cards—were required to have the stamps, the colonists did not object that the taxes were high, but because they had no representation in the Parliament. Benjamin Franklin testified in Parliament in 1766 that Americans already contributed heavily to the defense of the Empire, stationing a standing army in Great Britain during peacetime was politically unacceptable. London had to deal with 1,500 politically well-connected British officers who became redundant, in 1765, the Sons of Liberty formed. They used public demonstrations, boycott, violence, and threats of violence to ensure that the British tax laws were unenforceable, in Boston, the Sons of Liberty burned the records of the vice admiralty court and looted the home of chief justice Thomas Hutchinson. Several legislatures called for united action, and nine colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York City in October 1765, moderates led by John Dickinson drew up a Declaration of Rights and Grievances stating that taxes passed without representation violated their rights as Englishmen. Colonists emphasized their determination by boycotting imports of British merchandise, the Parliament at Westminster saw itself as the supreme lawmaking authority throughout all British possessions and thus entitled to levy any tax without colonial approval
American Revolution
–
John Trumbull 's
Declaration of Independence, showing the
Committee of Five presenting its work to Congress
American Revolution
–
Notice of Stamp Act of 1765 in newspaper
American Revolution
–
Burning of the
Gaspee
American Revolution
–
This 1846
lithograph by
Nathaniel Currier was entitled "The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor"; the phrase "
Boston Tea Party " had not yet become standard.
23.
Speaker (politics)
–
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer. The title was first used in 1399 in England, the speakers 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 powers to members who break the procedures of the chamber or house. The speaker often also represents the body in person, as the voice of the body in ceremonial, the title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerford in the Parliament of England. By convention, speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as Mister Speaker, if a man, or Madam Speaker, in other cultures other styles are used, mainly being equivalents of English chairman or president. Many bodies also have a pro tempore, designated to fill in when the speaker is not available. The Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives is the officer of the Australian House of Representatives. The President of the Australian Senate is the officer of the Australian Senate. Now constitutional community highlights changes also in this role, in Canada, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the individual elected to preside over the House of Commons, the elected lower house. The speaker is a Member of Parliament and is elected at the beginning of new parliament by fellow MPs. The Speakers role in presiding over Canadas House of Commons is similar to that of speakers elsewhere in countries that use the Westminster system. The Speaker does not vote except in the case of a tie, by convention, if required to vote, the Speaker will vote in favour of continuing debate on a matter, but will not ultimately vote for a measure to be approved. The Speaker of the Senate of Canada is the officer of the Senate of Canada. The Speaker represents the Senate at official functions, rules on questions of procedure and parliamentary privilege. The Speaker of the Senate is appointed by the Governor General of Canada from amongst sitting senators upon the advice of the Prime Minister, the Speaker has a vote on all matters. In the event of a tie, the matter fails, at the provincial level, the presiding officer of the provincial legislatures is called the Speaker in all provinces except Quebec, where the term President is used. The presiding officer fulfills the role as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the elected to preside over the elected House of Commons
Speaker (politics)
–
Marshal's chair in the
Sejm, lower chamber of the
Polish Parliament
Speaker (politics)
–
Parliament of Albania
Speaker (politics)
–
Palace of the
Croatian parliament
24.
Act of Union (1800)
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The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with effect from 1 January 1801. Both Acts, though amended, still remain in force in the United Kingdom. Since the 12th century, the King of England had been technical overlord of the Lordship of Ireland, both the Kingdoms of Ireland and England later came into personal union with that of Scotland upon the Union of the Crowns in 1603. In 1707, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were united into a single kingdom, each Act had to be passed in both the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland. The Parliament of Ireland had recently gained a measure of legislative independence under the Constitution of 1782. Many members of the Irish Parliament jealously guarded this autonomy and a motion for union was rejected in 1799. Only Anglicans were permitted to become members of the Parliament of Ireland, though the majority of the Irish population were Roman Catholic. In 1793 Roman Catholics regained the right to vote if they owned or rented property worth £2 p. a. The Catholic hierarchy was strongly in favour of union, hoping for rapid emancipation, also the Irish and British parliaments, when creating a regency during King George IIIs madness, gave the Prince Regent different powers. These considerations led Great Britain to decide to attempt merger of the two kingdoms and their parliaments, whereas the first attempt had been defeated in the Irish House of Commons by 109 votes against to 104 for, the second vote in 1800 produced a result of 158 to 115. The Acts of Union were two complementary Acts, namely, The Union with Ireland Act 1800, an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and The Act of Union 1800, an Act of the Parliament of Ireland. They were passed on 2 July 1800 and 1 August 1800 respectively and they ratified eight articles which had been previously agreed by the British and Irish Parliaments, Articles I–IV dealt with the political aspects of the Union. The other 84 Irish parliamentary boroughs were disfranchised, all were pocket boroughs, article VI created a customs union, with the exception that customs duties on certain British and Irish goods passing between the two countries would remain for 10 years. Article VII stated that Ireland would have to contribute two-seventeenths towards the expenditure of the United Kingdom, the figure was a ratio of Irish to British foreign trade. Article VIII formalised the legal and judicial aspects of the Union, part of the attraction of the Union for many Irish Catholics was the promise of Catholic Emancipation, allowing Roman Catholic MPs, who had not been allowed in the Irish Parliament. This was however blocked by King George III who argued that emancipating Roman Catholics would breach his Coronation Oath, in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the members of the House of Commons were not elected afresh. The flag, created as a consequence of the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1800, called the Union Flag, it combined the flags of St Georges Cross and the St Andrews Saltire of Scotland with the St Patricks Saltire to represent Ireland. The Irish Constitutional Tradition, Responsible Government and Modern Ireland 1782–1992, gill & Macmillan, Dublin, Ireland,2003
Act of Union (1800)
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The second
Union Flag
25.
Kingdom of Ireland
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The Kingdom of Ireland was a client state of the Kingdom of England that existed on Ireland from 1542 until 1800. It came into being when the Parliament of Ireland passed the Crown of Ireland Act 1542, the territory of the Kingdom had previously had the status of a lordship of the Crown. The Parliament of Ireland passed the Acts of Union 1800 by which it abolished itself, the act was also passed by the Parliament of Great Britain. The act also had the effect of establishing the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on the first day of 1801 by uniting the Crowns of Ireland, in its early years, the Kingdom of Ireland had limited recognition. While some Protestant powers in Europe recognised Henry and his heir Edward as monarch of Ireland, Henrys daughter, Queen Mary I of England, was recognised as Queen of Ireland by Pope Paul IV in 1555. The papal bull Laudabiliter of Pope Adrian IV was issued in 1155 and it granted the Angevin King Henry II of England the title Dominus Hibernae. Laudabiliter authorised the king to invade Ireland, to bring the country into the European sphere, in return, Henry was required to remit a penny per hearth of the tax roll to the Pope. This was reconfirmed by Adrians successor Pope Alexander III in 1172, when Pope Clement VII excommunicated the king of England, Henry VIII, in 1533, the constitutional position of the lordship in Ireland became uncertain. Henry had broken away from the Holy See and declared himself the head of the Church in England and he had petitioned Rome to procure an annulment of his marriage to Queen Catherine. The Treason Act 1537 was passed to counteract this, following the failed revolt of Silken Thomas in 1534–35, Grey, the lord deputy, had some military successes against several clans in the late 1530s, and took their submissions. By 1540 most of Ireland seemed at peace and under the control of the kings Dublin administration, Henry was proclaimed King of Ireland by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542, an Act of the Irish Parliament. The new kingdom was not recognised by the Catholic monarchies in Europe, after the death of King Edward VI, Henrys son, the papal bull of 1555 recognised the Roman Catholic Queen Mary I as Queen of Ireland. The link of personal union of the Crown of Ireland to the Crown of England became enshrined in Catholic canon law, in this fashion, the Kingdom of Ireland was ruled by the reigning King of England. This placed the new Kingdom of Ireland in personal union with the Kingdom of England, in line with its expanded role and self-image, the administration established the Kings Inns for barristers in 1541, and the Ulster King of Arms to regulate heraldry in 1552. Proposals to establish a university in Dublin were delayed until 1592, in 1603 James VI King of Scots became James I of England, uniting the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland in a personal union. The political order of the kingdom was interrupted by the Wars of the Three Kingdoms starting in 1639, during the subsequent interregnum period, England, Scotland and Ireland were ruled as a republic until 1660. This period saw the rise of the loyalist Irish Catholic Confederation within the kingdom and, from 1653, the kingdoms order was restored 1660 with the restoration of Charles II. Without any public dissent, Charless reign was backdated to his fathers execution in 1649, Poynings Law was repealed in 1782 in what came to be known as the Constitution of 1782, granting Ireland legislative independence
Kingdom of Ireland
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Location of the Kingdom of Ireland in 1789.
26.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The British
HMS Sandwich fires into the French
flagship Bucentaure (completely dismasted) during
Trafalgar. The Bucentaure also fights
HMS Victory (behind her) and
HMS Temeraire (left side of the picture). In fact, HMS Sandwich never fought at Trafalgar, it's a mistake by
Auguste Mayer, the painter.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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Flag
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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Signing of the
Treaty of Ghent (1814), by A. Forestier c. 1915
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The Duke of Wellington
27.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
Scotland
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Edinburgh Castle. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of this early settlement is unclear.
Scotland
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Flag
Scotland
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The class I
Pictish stone at
Aberlemno known as Aberlemno 1 or the Serpent Stone.
Scotland
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The
Wallace Monument commemorates
William Wallace, the 13th-century Scottish hero.
28.
Co-option
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Two common uses of co-option are, to recruit members who have specific skills or abilities needed by the group which are not available among existing members. To fill vacancies which could not be filled by the usual process, co-opted members may or may not have the same rights as the elected members of a group, depending on the rules of the group. In this case, vacancies may be filled via a mechanism specified in its rules, examples are, geographical constituencies constituencies of adherents to a political party, known as proportional representation ethnic groups any other affinity group. Sociologist Philip Selznick, in the context of the Tennessee Valley Authority and this is arguably a derivation from the first sense
Co-option
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v
29.
England and Wales
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The devolved National Assembly for Wales was created in 1999 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under the Government of Wales Act 1998 and provides a degree of self-government in Wales. The powers of the Assembly were expanded by the Government of Wales Act 2006, which allows it to pass its own laws, there is no equivalent body for England, which is directly governed by the Parliament and the government of the United Kingdom. During the Roman occupation of Britain, the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit, at that time, most of the native inhabitants of Roman Britain spoke Brythonic languages, and were all regarded as Britons, divided into numerous tribes. After the conquest, the Romans administered this region as a single unit and this aimed to replace Welsh criminal law with English law. Welsh law continued to be used for civil cases until the annexation of Wales to England in the 16th century, the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 then consolidated the administration of all the Welsh territories and incorporated them fully into the legal system of the Kingdom of England. Prior to 1746 it was not clear whether a reference to England in legislation included Wales and this specified that in all prior and future laws, references to England would by default include Wales. The Wales and Berwick Act was repealed in 1967, although the definition of England it created is preserved for acts passed prior to its repeal. Since the Acts repeal what was referred to as England is now England and Wales, while references to England, England and Wales are treated as a single unit, for most purposes, because the two form the constitutional successor to the former Kingdom of England. The continuance of Scots law was guaranteed under the 1706 Treaty of Union that led to the Acts of Union 1707, thus, most laws applicable to England also applied to Wales. However, Parliament now passes laws applicable to Wales and not to England, examples are the Welsh Language Acts 1967 and 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998. Measures and Acts of the National Assembly for Wales passed since the Government of Wales Act 2006 also apply in Wales, following the Government of Wales Act, effective since May 2007, the National Assembly for Wales can legislate on matters devolved to it. Following a referendum on 3 March 2011, the Welsh Assembly gained direct law-making powers and this was the first time in almost 500 years that Wales had its own powers to legislate. Each piece of Welsh legislation is known as an Act of the Assembly, outside of the legal system the position is mixed. Some organisations combine as England and Wales, others are separate, some religious denominations organise on the basis of England and Wales, most notably the Roman Catholic Church, but also small denominations, e. g. the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Prior to the disestablishment of the Church in Wales in 1920, the Electoral Commission maintains a register of political parties, organised according to where the party operates. The order of precedence in England and Wales is distinct from those of Northern Ireland and Scotland, the national parks of England and Wales have a distinctive legislative framework and history. Courts of England and Wales Judiciary of England and Wales Cultural relationship between the Welsh and the English Geography of Wales Geography of England British Isles
England and Wales
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The Roman province of
Britannia in 410
England and Wales
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Location of England and Wales (dark green) – in
Europe (green & dark grey) – in the
United Kingdom (green)
England and Wales
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The
Royal Courts of Justice of England and Wales
30.
Borough constituency
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In local government elections electoral areas are called wards or electoral divisions. Since the advent of universal suffrage, the differences between county and borough constituencies are slight, formerly the franchise differed, and there were also county borough and university constituencies. Borough constituencies are predominantly urban while county constituencies are predominantly rural, otherwise they should be designated as borough constituencies. In Scotland, all House of Commons constituencies are county constituencies except those in the cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, the returning officer will typically be a local Councils Chief Executive or Head of Legal Services. The role, however, is separate from these posts, the spending limits for election campaigns are different in the two, the reasoning being that candidates in county constituencies tend to need to travel further. For by-elections to any of these bodies, the limit in all constituencies is £100,000, in the House of Commons of England, each English county elected two knights of the shire while each enfranchised borough elected burgesses. From 1535 each Welsh county and borough was represented, by one knight or burgess, a county borough was the constituency of a county corporate, combining the franchises of both county and borough. Until 1950 there were also university constituencies, which gave graduates an additional representation, similar distinctions applied in the Irish House of Commons, while the non-university elected members of the Parliament of Scotland were called Shire Commissioners and Burgh Commissioners. After the Acts of Union 1707, Scottish burghs were grouped into districts of burghs in the Parliament of Great Britain, after the Acts of Union 1800, smaller Irish boroughs were disenfranchised, while most others returned only one MP to the United Kingdom Parliament. The Reform Act 1832 reduced the number of parliamentary boroughs by eliminating the rotten boroughs and it also divided larger counties into two two-seat divisions, the boundaries of which were defined in the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832, and gave seven counties a third member. Constituency names are geographic, and should reflect the main population centre contained in the constituency. Compass points are used to distinguish constituencies from each other when a suitable label cannot be found. This is the reason for the difference in naming between, for example, North Shropshire and Reading West, in the 2005 United Kingdom general election, the House of Commons had 646 constituencies covering the whole of the United Kingdom. This rose to 650 in the 2010 election, each constituency elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election. The House of Commons is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Parliament of the United Kingdom, the other being the House of Lords, eleven additional members are elected from Greater London as a whole to produce a form or degree of mixed-member proportional representation. Constituency names and boundaries remain now as they were for the first general election of the assembly, the assembly is part of the Greater London Authority and general elections of the assembly are held at the same time as election of the mayor of London. There are 18 Northern Ireland Assembly Constituencies, four borough and 14 county constituencies elsewhere, each elects six MLAs to the 108 member NI Assembly by means of the single transferable vote system. Assembly Constituency boundaries are identical to their House of Commons equivalents, the constituencies below are not used for the election of members to the 11 district councils
Borough constituency
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Belfast East BC
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