The 5th Parliament of Great Britain was summoned by

George I of Great Britain George I (George Louis; ; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 and ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698 until his death in 1727. He was the first ...

on 17 January 1715 and assembled on the 17 March 1715. When it was dissolved on 10 March 1722 it had been the first Parliament to be held under the Septennial Act of 1716. The composition of the new

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

represented a massive Whig landslide victory at the election, reversing the pro-Tory landslide of the previous election, with 341 Whigs and 217 Tories.

Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, (2 July 1743) was a British Whig statesman who served continuously in government from 1715 until his death. He sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1698 and 1728, and was then raised ...

, the Whig member for

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, was installed as

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

. George I's administration was largely composed of Whigs, being the party which had wholeheartedly supported his accession, and which now enjoyed the full support of the Commons.

Viscount Townshend Marquess Townshend is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain held by the Townshend family of Raynham Hall in Norfolk. The title was created in 1787 for George Townshend, 4th Viscount Townshend. History The Townshend family descends from Ro ...

Secretary of State for the Northern Department The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Northern Department became the Foreign Office. History Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of St ...

and chief ministerial spokesman in the Lords, emerged as the King’s chief minister. The leader of the Whig ministry in the House of Commons was James Stanhope,

Secretary of State for the Southern Department The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department became the Home Office. History Before 1782, the responsibilities of ...

. However, during the first session Stanhope was eclipsed by

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

, the

Paymaster-general His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP. History The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...

and brother-in-law of Viscount Townshend. In October 1715 Walpole was promoted to the post of

First Lord of the Treasury The first lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is by convention also the prime minister. This office is not equivalent to the ...

. The dominance of Townsend and Walpole caused discontent within the party and by early 1717 both had been forced out of their positions. Townsend was replaced by Lord Sunderland, who was also Lord President of the Council and who in March 1718 became First Lord of the Treasury, effectively consolidating his position to that of a Prime Minister. For the next three years George I's ministry would be led jointly by Lord Sunderland and James Stanhope, with Townshend and Walpole in opposition. However by 1721, with Sunderland now in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, Stanhope dead and the crisis caused by the

South Sea Bubble South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

, both Townshend and Walpole had been able to get back into power, Townshend as Secretary of State and Walpole as First Lord of the Treasury in place of Sunderland. Before the first session closed, the

Septennial Act The Septennial Act 1715 (1 Geo 1 St 2 c 38), sometimes called the Septennial Act 1716, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. It was passed in May 1716. It increased the maximum length of a parliament (and hence the maximum period between ...

was passed, lengthening the life of Parliaments to seven years. An attempt to restrict the royal prerogative to create peers was defeated in 1719.

Notable Acts of the Parliament

Riot Act The Riot Act (1 Geo.1 St.2 c.5), sometimes called the Riot Act 1714 or the Riot Act 1715, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which authorised local authorities to declare any group of 12 or more people to be unlawfully assembled and o ...

1714 *

Queen Anne's Bounty Act 1714 The Queen Anne’s Bounty Act 1714 (c 19) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. It was one of the Queen Anne's Bounty Acts 1706 to 1870.The Short Titles Act 1896 The Short Titles Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict c 14) is an Acts of Parliament ...

Schism Act 1714 The Schism Act or Established Church Act (13 Ann., c. 7) was a never-enforced 1714 Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which was repealed in 1718. The Act stipulated that anyone who wished to ''keep'' (manage or own) a public or private school ...

Security of the Sovereign Act 1714 The Security of the Sovereign Act 1714 ( 1 Geo. 1. St. 2. c. 13) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. The Act required all civil and military officers; members of colleges; teachers; preachers; and lawyers to take the oaths of allegia ...

* Attainder of Duke of Ormonde Act 1714 * Building of Churches, London and Westminster Act 1714 *

Septennial Act 1715 The Septennial Act 1715 (1 Geo 1 St 2 c 38), sometimes called the Septennial Act 1716, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. It was passed in May 1716. It increased the maximum length of a parliament (and hence the maximum period between ...

* Papists Act 1715 * Bank of England Act 1716 *

Queen Anne's Bounty Act 1716 The Queen Anne’s Bounty Act 1714 (c 19) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. It was one of the Queen Anne's Bounty Acts 1706 to 1870.The Short Titles Act 1896 The Short Titles Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict c 14) is an Acts of Parliament ...

* Papists Act 1716 *

Transportation Act 1717 The Piracy Act 1717 (4 Geo 1 c 11), sometimes called the Transportation Act 1717 (1718 in New Style), was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain that established a regulated, bonded system to transport criminals to colonies in North Ameri ...

Indemnity Act 1717 The Indemnity Act 1717 (4 Geo. I c. 15), also referred to as the Act of Grace and Free Pardon, is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. The Act was passed by both houses of parliament in July 1717, the last enactment of the session. Ph ...

Religious Worship Act 1718 The Religious Worship Act 1718 ( 5 Geo. 1. c. 4) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. It repealed the Schism Act 1714.Mark A. Thomson, ''A Constitutional History of England. 1642 to 1801'' (London: Methuen, 1938), p. 276, n. 1. Notes ...

* Corporations Act 1718 * Adulteration of Coffee Act 1718 * Dependency of Ireland on Great Britain Act 1719 * Royal Exchange and London Assurance Corporation Act 1719 (aka Bubble Act)

Sources

External links

* {{s-end Parliament of Great Britain 1715 establishments in Great Britain

Notable Acts of the Parliament

See also

Sources

External links