The 2nd Parliament of Great Britain was the first British Parliament to actually be elected, as the

1st Parliament of Great Britain The first Parliament of Great Britain, Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain was established in 1707 after the merger of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. It was in fact the 4th and last session of the 2nd Parliament of Que ...

had been drawn from the former

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

and

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

. The Parliament was summoned by

Anne, Queen of Great Britain Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 8 March 1702 until 1 May 1707. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, the kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as ...

on 26 April 1708. The members of the House of Commons of Great Britain were elected between 30 April 1708 and 7 July 1708 and summoned to meet on 8 July 1708. Under the

Triennial Act The Triennial Act 1641 (16 Cha. I c. 1), also known as the Dissolution Act, was an Act passed on 15 February 1641,Borough/Burgh constituencies, CC -

County constituencies In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constitue ...

, UC -

University constituencies A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents the members of one or more universities rather than residents of a geographical area. These may or may not involve plural voting, in which voters a ...

, Total C - Total constituencies, BMP - Borough/Burgh Members of Parliament, CMP - County Members of Parliament, UMP - University Members of Parliament.'' Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type and country Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country Party Composition: An estimate of the approximate Party composition was Whig 291 and

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

222.

Speaker and Ministries

On 16 November 1708, Sir Richard Onslow, Bt (1654-1717), MP (Whig) for Surrey since 1689, was elected the second

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the House of Commons of Great Britain. This Parliament was held before the office of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

had formally come into existence. However the

Lord High Treasurer The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in ...

(or when that office was in commission the

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 ...

) was the most powerful and important minister of the Crown. The

at that time (in office in England and then Great Britain since 8 May 1702) was Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin. Godolphin was a Tory, but the Ministry, as last reconstructed in February 1708, included both Tory and Whig members. The factions supporting the Ministry (the 'Court Party') were the Churchill Tories (followers of

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...

), Court Tory and Whig supporters of any Ministers the Queen cared to appoint, the Walpole-Townshend Whigs and Junto Whigs. They were opposed by the 'Country Party'. The main task of the Ministry was to support Marlborough's armies in continental Europe during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

and Godolphin's financial expertise was essential to that task. Queen Anne initiated a complete change of Ministry in August 1710. To an extent unusual in the period Godolphin and his friends were all removed from office. A new Ministry was constructed composed of Court Party supporters and Tory groups led by Robert Harley,

Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, (March 1642 – 2 May 1711) was an English statesman and writer. He was originally a supporter of James II but later supported the Glorious Revolution in 1688. He held high office under Queen Anne, daugh ...

and Henry St John. Harley, the ambitious member for Radnor Boroughs, had become associated with the Tories since Godolphin and Marlborough had forced his resignation from the government in 1708. On 10 August 1710, the office of Lord High Treasurer was put in commission. John Poulett, 1st Earl Poulett became First Lord of the Treasury and Robert Harley the Chancellor of the Exchequer (and Second Lord of the Treasury). Soon after taking office the new Ministers arranged for Parliament to be dissolved.

Notable Acts passed by the Parliament

* Advowsons Act 1708 * Bank of England Act 1708 * Commissions of Sewers Act 1708 *

Diplomatic Privileges Act 1708 The Diplomatic Privileges Act 1708 (7 Ann c 12) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. It is also known as the Act of Anne or the Statute of Anne. It should not be confused with the Copyright Act 1710, also known as the Statute of Anne. ...

Foreign Protestants Naturalization Act 1708 The Foreign Protestants Naturalization Act 1708 (7 Anne c. 5), sometimes referred to as the Foreign and Protestants Naturalization Act 1708, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. The act was passed on 23 March 1709, which was still cons ...

* Middlesex Registry Act 1708 * Parochial Libraries Act 1708 * Smithfield Market, etc. Act 1708 * Treason Act 1708 * Bank of England Act 1709 * Circuit Courts (Scotland) Act 1709 * Copyright Act 1709 * Eddystone Lighthouse Act 1709 * Landlord and Tenant Act 1709 * Militia Act 1709 * Quarantine Act 1710 * Lotteries Act 1710 * Post Office (Revenues) Act 1710

Sources

*(Election dates in 1708) - ''British Electoral Facts 1832-1999'', compiled and edited by Colin Rallings & Michael Thrasher (Ashgate 2000). *(The change of Ministry in 1710) - ''His Majesty's Opposition 1714-1830'' by Archibald S. Foord (Clarendon Press 1964) {{s-end Parliament of Great Britain 1708 establishments in Great Britain 1710 disestablishments in Great Britain

Speaker and Ministries

Notable Acts passed by the Parliament

See also

Sources