1.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
2.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
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The House of Commons of the United Kingdom is the lower house of the countrys parliament. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster, officially, the full name of the house is, The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. The House is a body consisting of 650 members known as Members of Parliament. Members are elected to represent constituencies by first-past-the-post and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved, under the Parliament Act 1911, the Lords power to reject legislation was reduced to a delaying power. The Government is primarily responsible to the House of Commons and the prime minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of a majority of its members. Although it does not formally elect the prime minister, the position of the parties in the House of Commons is of overriding importance, by convention, the prime minister is answerable to, and must maintain the support of, the House of Commons. Since 1963, by convention, the minister is always a member of the House of Commons. The Commons may indicate its lack of support for the Government by rejecting a motion of confidence or by passing a motion of no confidence, confidence and no confidence motions are sometimes phrased explicitly, for instance, That this House has no confidence in Her Majestys Government. Many other motions were considered confidence issues, even though not explicitly phrased as such, in particular, important bills that form a part of the Governments agenda were formerly considered matters of confidence, as is the annual Budget. Parliament normally sits for a term of five years. Subject to that limit, the minister could formerly choose the timing of the dissolution of parliament. By this second mechanism, the government of the United Kingdom can change without a general election. In such circumstances there may not even have been a party leadership election, as the new leader may be chosen by acclaim. A prime minister may resign if he or she is not defeated at the polls. In such a case, the premiership goes to whoever can command a majority in the House of Commons, in practice this is usually the new leader of the outgoing prime ministers party. Until 1965, the Conservative Party had no mechanism for electing a new leader, when Anthony Eden resigned as PM in 1957 without recommending a successor and it fell to the Queen to appoint Harold Macmillan as the new prime minister, after taking the advice of ministers. By convention, all ministers must be members of the House of Commons or of the House of Lords, a handful have been appointed who were outside Parliament, but in most cases they then entered Parliament either in a by-election or by receiving a peerage. Since 1902, all ministers have been members of the Commons
3.
Preston (UK Parliament constituency)
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Preston is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2000 by Mark Hendrick, a member of the Labour Party and of the Co-operative Party. 1295-1950 The seat was created for the Model Parliament and sent members until at least 1331 until a new grant of two members to Westminster followed, from 1529 extending unusually beyond the 19th century until the 1950 general election the seat had two-member representation. Party divisions tended to run stronger after 1931 before which two different parties candidates frequently came first and second at elections under the bloc vote system, consequently, he was selected to be elevated to a peerage as 1st Earl Jowitt. With no sons he was to be the last Earl and wrote the Dictionary of English Law, 1983-present The representatives since the seats revival after 33 years of being split between North and South seats have all been members of the Labour Party. The member from 1987-2000 was Audrey Wise, a member of the Socialist Campaign Group and reformer of maternity healthcare in opposition on the Select Committee. 1983-1997, The Borough of Preston wards of Ashton, Avenham, Brookfield, Central, Deepdale, Fishwick, Ingol, Larches, Moorbrook, Park, Ribbleton, St Johns, St Matthews, and Tulketh. 2010-present, The City of Preston wards of Ashton, Brookfield, Deepdale, Fishwick, Ingol, Larches, Moor Park, Ribbleton, Riversway, St George’s, St Matthew’s, Town Centre, Tulketh, and University. The composition of the Preston constituency was confirmed in time for the United Kingdom general election,2010 as part of the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. While it previously crossed the River Ribble to include Bamber Bridge and Walton-le-Dale from South Ribble District, in the late 19th Century the boundaries of the two-member Preston constituency were described as comprising. From the general election of 1950 to the 1983 Preston was divided into the constituencies of Preston North, in time for the 1983 general election, the boundaries on which the current seat is drawn were confirmed. The northern, Fulwood area, was divided between Fylde and Ribble Valley, the ward of Lea is within the constituency of Fylde. The wards of Preston Rural North, Preston Rural East and the Fulwood wards are within the constituency of Wyre, by the end of the review, the newly recommended Preston constituency had the smallest number of voters of an English constituency based on 2006 electorates. Representatives have sat in Parliament for Preston for nearly 800 years, with the suburban, middle class former Fulwood Urban District area within Ribble Valley, the southern portion has awarded MPs with much healthier and secure majorities. Almost all of Prestons representatives from 1915 to 1950, and since its recreation as a constituency in 1983, have been Labour candidates. Between 1918 and 1949, the constituency of Preston was formed by the County Borough of Preston. In 1997, Audrey Wise secured a majority of over 18,000, the collapse of the Conservative vote -10 percentage points down from 1992 - was firmly with the pattern of the Tory fortunes in that year. The death of Audrey Wise in 2000 triggered a by-election, at that Preston by-election, Mark Hendrick, former Member of the European Parliament for the Lancashire Central constituency with Preston at its heart, secured a victory with a 4,400 majority. The surprise of the night was the result of the fledgling Socialist Alliance, in real terms, all three main parties lost support from 1997 - Labour down by over 8,000 votes, Conservatives reduced by over 2,200 and LibDems 2,300 lower
4.
House of Lords
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The House of Lords of the United Kingdom, referred to ceremonially as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster, officially, the full name of the house is, The Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. Unlike the elected House of Commons, all members of the House of Lords are appointed, the membership of the House of Lords is drawn from the peerage and is made up of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. The Lords Spiritual are 26 bishops in the established Church of England, of the Lords Temporal, the majority are life peers who are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. However, they include some hereditary peers including four dukes. Very few of these are female since most hereditary peerages can only be inherited by men, while the House of Commons has a defined 650-seat membership, the number of members in the House of Lords is not fixed. There are currently 805 sitting Lords, the House of Lords is the only upper house of any bicameral parliament to be larger than its respective lower house. The House of Lords scrutinises bills that have approved by the House of Commons. It regularly reviews and amends Bills from the Commons, while it is unable to prevent Bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it can delay Bills and force the Commons to reconsider their decisions. In this capacity, the House of Lords acts as a check on the House of Commons that is independent from the electoral process, Bills can be introduced into either the House of Lords or the House of Commons. Members of the Lords may also take on roles as government ministers, the House of Lords has its own support services, separate from the Commons, including the House of Lords Library. The Queens Speech is delivered in the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament, the House also has a Church of England role, in that Church Measures must be tabled within the House by the Lords Spiritual. This new parliament was, in effect, the continuation of the Parliament of England with the addition of 45 MPs and 16 Peers to represent Scotland, the Parliament of England developed from the Magnum Concilium, the Great Council that advised the King during medieval times. This royal council came to be composed of ecclesiastics, noblemen, the first English Parliament is often considered to be the Model Parliament, which included archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, and representatives of the shires and boroughs of it. The power of Parliament grew slowly, fluctuating as the strength of the monarchy grew or declined, for example, during much of the reign of Edward II, the nobility was supreme, the Crown weak, and the shire and borough representatives entirely powerless. In 1569, the authority of Parliament was for the first time recognised not simply by custom or royal charter, further developments occurred during the reign of Edward IIs successor, Edward III. It was during this Kings reign that Parliament clearly separated into two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The authority of Parliament continued to grow, and, during the fifteenth century
5.
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
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Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield KG PC was a British statesman, man of letters, and wit. He was born in London to Philip Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Chesterfield, and Lady Elizabeth Savile, and known as Lord Stanhope until the death of his father, in 1726. In the course of his tour of Europe, the death of Queen Anne and the accession of King George I opened a political career for Stanhope. In 1715, Philip Dormer Stanhope entered the House of Commons as Lord Stanhope of Shelford, later, when the impeachment of James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde came before the House, he used the occasion to put to proof his old rhetorical studies. From Paris, he sent the government valuable information about the Jacobite plot, and in 1716 he returned to Britain, resumed his seat, in that year, King George I quarreled with his son, the Prince of Wales. In 1723, a vote for the government got him the place of Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners, in January 1725, on the revival of the Order of the Bath, the red ribbon was offered to him, but Chesterfield declined the honour. Upon assuming his seat in the House of Lords, Lord Chesterfield the orator met with acceptance, what had been ineffective in the House of Commons, was suddenly appreciated by educated men. In 1728, he was sent to the Hague as ambassador, in 1732, there was born to him, by Mlle Madelina Elizabeth du Bouchet, the son, Philip, for whose advice and instruction at Westminster School Chesterfield wrote the Letters to his Son. He was the British envoy in Den Haag when the second Treaty of Vienna was signed, in 1732, ill health and a reduced personal fortune cast a shadow over Chesterfields resignation as ambassador, so he returned to Britain. Moreover, Chesterfields cook, Vincent la Chapelle, accepted a post at the court of William IV of Orange, a few months rest enabled him to resume his seat in the Lords, of which he was one of the acknowledged leaders. He supported the ministry, but his allegiance was not the blind fealty that Walpole exacted of his followers, the Excise Bill, the great premiers favourite measure, was vehemently opposed by him in the Lords and by his three brothers in the Commons. Walpole bent before the storm and abandoned the measure, but Chesterfield was summarily dismissed from his stewardship, for the next two years, he led the opposition in the Upper House, leaving no stone unturned to effect Walpoles downfall. During this time, he resided in Grosvenor Square and got involved in the creation of a new London charity called the Foundling Hospital for which he was a founding governor, in 1741, he signed the protest for Walpoles dismissal and went abroad on account of his health. He visited Voltaire at Brussels and spent some time in Paris, in 1742 Walpole fell, and Carteret was his real but not his nominal successor. Although Walpoles administration had been largely by Chesterfields efforts, the new ministry did not count Chesterfield either in its ranks or among its supporters. He remained in opposition, distinguishing himself by the bitterness of his attacks on George II. In 1743 a new journal, Old England, or, the Constitutional Journal appeared, Chesterfield wrote under the name of Jeffrey Broadbottom. A number of pamphlets, in some of which Chesterfield had the help of Edmund Waller and his energetic campaign against George II and his government won the gratitude of the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough, who left him £20,000 as a mark of her appreciation
6.
Earl of Derby
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Earl of Derby is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby under a creation of 1139 and it continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end of the reign of Henry III and died in 1279. Most of the Ferrers property and, by a creation in 1337, the title merged in the Crown upon Henry IVs accession to the throne. It was created again for the Stanley family in 1485, Lord Derbys subsidiary titles are Baron Stanley of Bickerstaffe in the County Palatine of Lancaster, and Baron Stanley of Preston, in the County Palatine of Lancaster. The courtesy title of the heir apparent is Lord Stanley and they were at times one of the richest landowning families in England. The family seat is Knowsley Hall, near Liverpool, Merseyside, Ferrières in Normandy, the hometown of the de Ferrers family, was an important centre for iron and takes it name from the iron ore mines used during the Gallo-Roman period. Lord of Longueville, Normandy, and a Domesday Commissioner, he built Tutbury Castle, the Ferrers, lords of the barony of Ferrières in Normandy, were accompanied to England by three other families who were their underlords in France, the Curzons, the Baskervilles and the Levetts. Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Ferrières was created Earl of Derby by King Stephen in 1138 for his valiant conduct at the Battle of Northallerton and he was married to Hawise de Vitre and died in 1139. His son Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby became the earl and was married to Margaret Peverel. He founded Darley Abbey and Merevale Abbey and his son William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby was married to Sybil de Braose. He rebelled against King Henry II and was imprisoned at Caen and he died in the Crusades at the Siege of Acre. He was succeeded by his son William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby who married Agnes de Kevelioc, daughter of Hugh de Kevelioc, through one line the descent of the Earls of Derby eventually gave rise to the Earls Ferrers. Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, was the only peer of the realm to be hanged for murder, another familial line takes in the Baron Ferrers of Chartley descent. The large estates which were taken from Robert in 1266 were given by Henry III to his son, Edmund Crouchback, John of Gaunt’s son and successor was Henry Bolingbroke, who acceded to the throne as Henry IV in 1399. The title Earl of Derby merged into the Crown, the Stanley family was descended from Ligulf of Aldithley, who was also the ancestor of the Audleys. One of his descendants married an heiress whose marriage portion included Stoneley, Sir Thomas Stanley served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and represented Lancashire in the House of Commons. In 1456 he was summoned to the House of Lords as Lord Stanley and his eldest son Thomas Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley, married Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of King Henry VII, and also Eleanor Nevill. The title of Earl of Derby was conferred on him in 1485 by his stepson Henry VII after the Battle of Bosworth Field where Thomas decided not to support King Richard III
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