1.
John Bercow
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John Simon Bercow is a British politician who has been the Speaker of the House of Commons since June 2009. Prior to his election to Speaker, he was a member of the Conservative Party and he served as a councillor from 1986 to 1990 and unsuccessfully contested parliamentary seats in the 1987 and 1992 general elections. In the 1997 general election, Bercow was elected the MP for Buckingham and he held posts in the shadow cabinets of Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard. In November 2002, he resigned from the cabinet over disputes concerning the Adoption and Children Act. In September 2004, Bercow was sacked after disagreements with Howard, following the resignation of Speaker Michael Martin, Bercow announced his intention to stand for the Speakership election on 22 June 2009 and was successful. He remained Speaker and was re-elected in his constituency at the election on 7 May 2015. He was re-elected as Speaker, unopposed, when the House sat at the start of the new parliament on 18 May 2015, in 2014 Bercow was appointed Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire. Bercow was born to an English Jewish family in Edgware, London and his paternal grandparents were Jews from Romania who arrived in England a century ago. The son of a driver, Bercow attended Frith Manor Primary School in Woodside Park, and Finchley Manorhill. In his youth, Bercow had been ranked Britains No.1 junior tennis player, Bercow graduated with a first-class honours degree in government from the University of Essex in 1985. Professor Anthony King said When he was a student here, he was very right-wing, pretty stroppy, as a young activist, Bercow was a member of the right-wing Conservative Monday Club, becoming secretary of its immigration and repatriation committee. However, at the age of 20 he left the club, in 1981, Bercow had stood as a candidate for the national executive of the Monday Club and called for a programme of assisted repatriation of immigrants. He has since then called his participation in the club utter madness, after graduating from the University of Essex, Bercow was elected as the last national chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students, 1986–87. After a spell in merchant banking, Bercow joined the lobbying firm Rowland Sallingbury Casey in 1988, with fellow Conservative Julian Lewis, Bercow ran an advanced speaking and campaigning course for over 10 years, which trained over 600 Conservatives in campaigning and communication techniques. He has also lectured in the United States to students of the Leadership Institute, in 1986, Bercow was elected as a Conservative councillor in the London Borough of Lambeth, and served for four years. In 1987, he was appointed the youngest deputy leader in the United Kingdom. In 1995, Bercow was appointed as an adviser to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. After Aitkens resignation to fight an action, Bercow served as a special adviser to the Secretary of State for National Heritage
John Bercow
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The Right Honourable John Bercow MP
John Bercow
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Bercow, speaking at the Institute for Government, 2011
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
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
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The House of Commons in the early 19th century by Augustus Pugin and Thomas Rowlandson.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
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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.
3.
Monarch of the United Kingdom
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The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom, its dependencies and its overseas territories. The monarchs title is King or Queen, the current monarch and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, ascended the throne on the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952. The monarch and his or her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic, as the monarchy is constitutional, the monarch is limited to non-partisan functions such as bestowing honours and appointing the Prime Minister. The monarch is, by tradition, commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces, from 1603, when the Scottish monarch King James VI inherited the English throne as James I, both the English and Scottish kingdoms were ruled by a single sovereign. From 1649 to 1660, the tradition of monarchy was broken by the republican Commonwealth of England, the Act of Settlement 1701 excluded Roman Catholics, or those who married Catholics, from succession to the English throne. In 1707, the kingdoms of England and Scotland were merged to create the Kingdom of Great Britain, and in 1801, the British monarch became nominal head of the vast British Empire, which covered a quarter of the worlds surface at its greatest extent in 1921. After the Second World War, the vast majority of British colonies and territories became independent, George VI and his successor, Elizabeth II, adopted the title Head of the Commonwealth as a symbol of the free association of its independent member states. The United Kingdom and fifteen other Commonwealth monarchies that share the person as their monarch are called Commonwealth realms. In the uncodified Constitution of the United Kingdom, the Monarch is the Head of State, oaths of allegiance are made to the Queen and her lawful successors. God Save the Queen is the British national anthem, and the monarch appears on postage stamps, coins, the Monarch takes little direct part in Government. Executive power is exercised by Her Majestys Government, which comprises Ministers, primarily the Prime Minister and the Cabinet and they have the direction of the Armed Forces of the Crown, the Civil Service and other Crown Servants such as the Diplomatic and Secret Services. Judicial power is vested in the Judiciary, who by constitution, the Church of England, of which the Monarch is the head, has its own legislative, judicial and executive structures. Powers independent of government are legally granted to public bodies by statute or Statutory Instrument such as an Order in Council. The Sovereigns role as a monarch is largely limited to non-partisan functions. This role has been recognised since the 19th century, the constitutional writer Walter Bagehot identified the monarchy in 1867 as the dignified part rather than the efficient part of government. Whenever necessary, the Monarch is responsible for appointing a new Prime Minister, the Prime Minister takes office by attending the Monarch in private audience, and after kissing hands that appointment is immediately effective without any other formality or instrument. Since 1945, there have only been two hung parliaments, the first followed the February 1974 general election when Harold Wilson was appointed Prime Minister after Edward Heath resigned following his failure to form a coalition. Although Wilsons Labour Party did not have a majority, they were the largest party, the second followed the May 2010 general election, in which the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats agreed to form the first coalition government since World War II
Monarch of the United Kingdom
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Queen of the United Kingdom
Monarch of the United Kingdom
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Royal coat of arms
Monarch of the United Kingdom
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The English Bill of Rights of 1689 curtailed the monarch's governmental power.
Monarch of the United Kingdom
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The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the Norman Conquest of 1066.
4.
Term of office
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A term of office is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject to re-election. Some jurisdictions exercise term limits, setting a number of terms an individual may hold in a particular office. Being the origin of the Westminster system, aspects of the United Kingdoms system of government are replicated in other countries. The monarch serves as head of state until his or her death or abdication, in the United Kingdom Members of Parliament in the House of Commons are elected for the duration of the parliament. Following dissolution of the Parliament, an election is held which consists of simultaneous elections for all seats. For most MPs this means that their terms of office are identical to the duration of the Parliament, an MP elected in a by-election mid-way through a Parliament, regardless of how long they have occupied the seat, is not exempt from facing re-election at the next general election. The Septennial Act 1715 provided that a Parliament expired seven years after it had been summoned, prior to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 parliaments had no minimum duration. Parliaments could be dissolved early by the monarch at the Prime Ministers request, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 mandated that Parliaments should last their full five years. Early dissolution is possible, but under much more limited circumstances. Hereditary peers and life peers retain membership of the House of Lords for life, Lords Spiritual hold membership of the House of Lords until the end of their time as bishops, though a senior bishop may be made a life peer upon the end of their bishopric. The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are variations on the system of government used at Westminster, the office of the leader of the devolved administrations has no numeric term limit imposed upon it. However, in the case of the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government there are fixed terms for which the legislatures can sit and this is imposed at four years. Elections may be held before this time but only if no administration can be formed, offices of local government other regional elected officials follow similar rules to the national offices discussed above, with persons elected to fixed terms of a few years. Federal judges have different terms in office, however, the majority of the federal judiciary, Article III judges, such as those of the Supreme Court, courts of appeal, and federal district courts, serve for life. The terms of office for officials in state governments according to the provisions of state constitutions. The term for state governors is four years in all states but Vermont and New Hampshire, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported in January 2007 that among state legislatures,44 states had terms of office for the lower house of the state legislature at two years. Five had terms of office at four years,37 states had terms of office for the upper house of the state legislature at four years
Term of office
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Heads of state or Heads of Government
5.
State Opening of Parliament
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The State Opening of Parliament is an event which formally marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It includes a speech from the known as the Queens Speech. The State Opening is an elaborate ceremony showcasing British history, culture and contemporary politics to large crowds and it takes place in the House of Lords chamber, usually in May or June, in front of both Houses of Parliament. The monarch, wearing the Imperial State Crown, reads a speech that has prepared by his or her government outlining its plans for that year. A State Opening may take place at times of the year if an election is held early due to a vote of no confidence in the government. In 1974, when two general elections were held, there were two State Openings, Queen Elizabeth II has opened every session of Parliament since her accession, except in 1959 and 1963 when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward respectively. Those two sessions were opened by Lords Commissioners, headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, empowered by the Queen, the Lord Chancellor read the Queens Speech on those occasions. The State Opening is a ceremony of several parts, First. The Plot of 1605 involved an attempt by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill the Protestant King James I. Since that year, the cellars have been searched, now largely, the peers assemble in the House of Lords wearing their robes. They are joined by representatives of the judiciary and members of the diplomatic corps. The Commons assemble in their own chamber, wearing ordinary day dress, before the monarch departs Buckingham Palace the Treasurer, Comptroller and Vice-Chamberlain of the Queens Household deliver ceremonial white staves to her. The tradition stems from the time of Charles I, who had a relationship with Parliament and was eventually beheaded in 1649 during the Civil War between the monarchy and Parliament. A copy of Charles Is death warrant is displayed in the room used by the Queen as a ceremonial reminder of what can happen to a Monarch who attempts to interfere with Parliament. Before the arrival of the sovereign, the Imperial State Crown is carried to the Palace of Westminster in its own State Coach, from the Victoria Tower, the Crown is passed by the Queens Bargemaster to the Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlains office. It is then carried, along with the Great Sword of State, traditionally, members of the armed forces line the procession route from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster. The Royal Standard is hoisted to replace the Union Flag upon the Sovereigns entrance, Black Rod turns and, under the escort of the Door-keeper of the House of Lords and a police inspector, approaches the doors to the Chamber of the Commons. Since that time, no British monarch has entered the House of Commons when it is sitting, on Black Rods approach, the doors are slammed shut against him, symbolising the rights of parliament and its independence from the monarch
State Opening of Parliament
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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip descend, saluted by footmen, from the Australian State Coach to be greeted by the Lord Great Chamberlain (The 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley) at the State Opening of Parliament on 18 November 2009
State Opening of Parliament
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United Kingdom
State Opening of Parliament
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King Edward VIII surrounded by heralds of the College of Arms on his only State Opening of Parliament, on 3 November 1936
State Opening of Parliament
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Leading 17th century parliamentarian John Hampden is one of the Five Members annually commemorated
6.
Thomas Hungerford (Speaker)
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Hungerford was the son of Walter de Hungerford of Heytesbury, Wiltshire, thrice Member of Parliament for Wiltshire, in 1331/2, 1333/4 and 1336. His mother was Elizabeth FitzJohn, daughter and heiress of Sir Adam FitzJohn of Cherhill in Wiltshire, the Hungerford family had been seated in Wiltshire since at least the twelfth century. He was buried in 1355 in Hungerford Church, where an elaborate monument long existed above his grave, an inscription to his memory is still extant in the church. His second wife was Geva, widow of Adam de Stokke and he served as Member of Parliament for Somerset in 1378,1382,1388, and 1390. He was returned for both constituencies in 1384 and January 1389/90 and he was knighted in February 1375. He was closely associated with John of Gaunt and acted for some time as steward of Gaunts household, owing to Gaunts influence, he was chosen in January 1376/7, in the last of Edward IIIs parliaments, to act as Speaker of the House of Commons. According to the Rolls of Parliament Hungerford avait les paroles pur les communes dAngleterre en cet parliament and he is thus the first person formally mentioned in the Rolls of Parliament as holding the office of speaker. Sir Peter de la Mare preceded him in the post, without the title, in 1380 Hungerford was appointed Forester of Selwood. In about 1384 he aroused the suspicion of King Richard II, who attached him and his portrait was made in a stained-glass window, engraved in Hoares Modern History of Wiltshire, Heytesbury Hundred, p.90. Attribution History of Parliament HUNGERFORD, Sir Thomas, of Farleigh Hungerford, Somerset and Heytesbury, Wilts Lee, Sidney, ed. Hungerford, Thomas
Thomas Hungerford (Speaker)
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House of Commons of England
7.
Politics of the United Kingdom
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The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The highest court is the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the UK political system is a multi-party system. Since the 1920s, the two largest political participation have been the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, before the Labour Party rose in British politics, the Liberal Party was the other major political party along with the Conservatives. A Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government held office from 2010 until 2015, with the partition of Ireland, Northern Ireland received home rule in 1920, though civil unrest meant direct rule was restored in 1972. Support for nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales led to proposals for devolution in the 1970s though only in the 1990s did devolution actually happen. Today, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each possess a legislature and executive, the United Kingdom government remains responsible for non-devolved matters and, in the case of Northern Ireland, co-operates with the government of the Republic of Ireland. It is a matter of dispute as to increased autonomy. A2014 referendum on independence led to a rejection of the proposal, in Northern Ireland, a smaller percentage vote for Irish nationalist parties. The constitution of the United Kingdom is uncodified, being made up of constitutional conventions, statutes and this system of government, known as the Westminster system, has been adopted by other countries, especially those that were formerly parts of the British Empire. The British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, is the chief of state of the United Kingdom, though she takes little direct part in government, the Crown remains the fount in which ultimate executive power over government lies. The head of Her Majestys Government, the minister, also has weekly meetings with the sovereign. In practice, this means that the leader of the party with an absolute majority of seats in the House of Commons is chosen to be the Prime Minister. If no party has a majority, the leader of the largest party is given the first opportunity to form a coalition. The Prime Minister then selects the other Ministers which make up the Government, about twenty of the most senior government ministers make up the Cabinet and approximately 100 ministers in total comprise the government. In accordance with convention, all ministers within the government are either Members of Parliament or peers in the House of Lords. In practice, members of parliament of all parties are strictly controlled by whips who try to ensure they vote according to party policy. If the government has a majority, then they are very unlikely to lose enough votes to be unable to pass legislation. The Prime Minister is the most senior minister in the Cabinet and they are responsible for chairing Cabinet meetings, selecting Cabinet ministers, and formulating government policy
Politics of the United Kingdom
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Parliament meets at the Palace of Westminster
Politics of the United Kingdom
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United Kingdom
Politics of the United Kingdom
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The Scottish Parliament Building in Holyrood, Edinburgh, seat of the Scottish Parliament.
Politics of the United Kingdom
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The debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
8.
Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice
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Erskine May, Parliamentary Practice is a parliamentary authority originally written by British constitutional theorist and Clerk of the House of Commons, Thomas Erskine May. Since its first publication in 1844, the book has frequently been updated with Erskine May editing nine editions of the book in his lifetime, updates have continued into the present day, the 24th edition was published on 30 June 2011. The work has been influential outside the United Kingdom, particularly in countries which use the Westminster system, book I, Constitution, Powers, and Privileges of Parliament. Chapter II, Power and Jurisdiction of Parliament collectively, rights and Power of each of its constituent parts. Chapter III, General view of the Privileges of Parliament, Power of commitment by both Houses for Breaches of Privilege, causes of commitment cannot be inquired into by Courts of Law, nor the prisoners admitted to bail. Acts construed as Breaches of Privilege, different punishments inflicted by the two Houses. Chapter IV, Privilege of Freedom of Speech confirmed by the ancient law of Parliament and by statute, its nature, chapter V, Freedom from Arrest or Molestation, its antiquity, limits, and mode of enforcement. Privilege of not being impleaded in civil actions, of not being liable to be summoned by subpoena or to serve on juries, commitment of Members by Courts of Justice. Privilege of witnesses and others in attendance on Parliament, chapter VI, Jurisdiction of Courts of Law in matters of Privilege. Book II, Practice and Proceedings in Parliament, election and Royal Approbation of the Speaker of the Commons. Queens Speech, and Addresses in answer, places of Peers and Members of the House of Commons. Attendance on the service of Parliament, office of Speaker in both Houses. Questions superseded by Adjournment, or by reading the Orders of the Day, chapter IX, Amendments to Questions, and Amendments to proposed Amendments. Chapter X, The same Question or Bill may not be offered in a Session. Chapter XI, Rules of Debate, Manner and time of speaking, Rules and orders to be observed by Members in speaking, mode of dividing in both Houses. Chapter XIII, Committees of the whole House, General rules of proceeding, Chairman, Motions and Debate, chapter XIV, Appointment, Constitution, Powers and Proceedings of Select Committees in both Houses. Chapter XV, Witnesses, Modes of Summons and Examination, Administration of Oaths, chapter XVI, Communications between the Lords and Commons, Messages and Conferences, Joint Committees, and Committees communicating with each other. Chapter XVII, Communications from the Crown to Parliament, Their forms and character, How acknowledged, Addresses to the Crown, Messages to Members of the Royal Family, chapter XVIII, Proceedings of Parliament in passing Public Bills, Their several stages in both Houses
Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice
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24th edition
Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice
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1st edition
9.
Monarchy of the United Kingdom
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The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom, its dependencies and its overseas territories. The monarchs title is King or Queen, the current monarch and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, ascended the throne on the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952. The monarch and his or her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic, as the monarchy is constitutional, the monarch is limited to non-partisan functions such as bestowing honours and appointing the Prime Minister. The monarch is, by tradition, commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces, from 1603, when the Scottish monarch King James VI inherited the English throne as James I, both the English and Scottish kingdoms were ruled by a single sovereign. From 1649 to 1660, the tradition of monarchy was broken by the republican Commonwealth of England, the Act of Settlement 1701 excluded Roman Catholics, or those who married Catholics, from succession to the English throne. In 1707, the kingdoms of England and Scotland were merged to create the Kingdom of Great Britain, and in 1801, the British monarch became nominal head of the vast British Empire, which covered a quarter of the worlds surface at its greatest extent in 1921. After the Second World War, the vast majority of British colonies and territories became independent, George VI and his successor, Elizabeth II, adopted the title Head of the Commonwealth as a symbol of the free association of its independent member states. The United Kingdom and fifteen other Commonwealth monarchies that share the person as their monarch are called Commonwealth realms. In the uncodified Constitution of the United Kingdom, the Monarch is the Head of State, oaths of allegiance are made to the Queen and her lawful successors. God Save the Queen is the British national anthem, and the monarch appears on postage stamps, coins, the Monarch takes little direct part in Government. Executive power is exercised by Her Majestys Government, which comprises Ministers, primarily the Prime Minister and the Cabinet and they have the direction of the Armed Forces of the Crown, the Civil Service and other Crown Servants such as the Diplomatic and Secret Services. Judicial power is vested in the Judiciary, who by constitution, the Church of England, of which the Monarch is the head, has its own legislative, judicial and executive structures. Powers independent of government are legally granted to public bodies by statute or Statutory Instrument such as an Order in Council. The Sovereigns role as a monarch is largely limited to non-partisan functions. This role has been recognised since the 19th century, the constitutional writer Walter Bagehot identified the monarchy in 1867 as the dignified part rather than the efficient part of government. Whenever necessary, the Monarch is responsible for appointing a new Prime Minister, the Prime Minister takes office by attending the Monarch in private audience, and after kissing hands that appointment is immediately effective without any other formality or instrument. Since 1945, there have only been two hung parliaments, the first followed the February 1974 general election when Harold Wilson was appointed Prime Minister after Edward Heath resigned following his failure to form a coalition. Although Wilsons Labour Party did not have a majority, they were the largest party, the second followed the May 2010 general election, in which the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats agreed to form the first coalition government since World War II
Monarchy of the United Kingdom
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Queen of the United Kingdom
Monarchy of the United Kingdom
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Royal coat of arms
Monarchy of the United Kingdom
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The English Bill of Rights of 1689 curtailed the monarch's governmental power.
Monarchy of the United Kingdom
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The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the Norman Conquest of 1066.
10.
Elizabeth II
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Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the family, however, support for the monarchy remains high. Elizabeth was born at 02,40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather and her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and she was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfathers London house,17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Elizabeths only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, the two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as Crawfie. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music, Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margarets childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family. The book describes Elizabeths love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, others echoed such observations, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant and her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved. During her grandfathers reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, Elizabeths father became king, and she became heir presumptive, if her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession
Elizabeth II
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The Queen in March 2015
Elizabeth II
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Princess Elizabeth aged 3, April 1929
Elizabeth II
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Princess Elizabeth aged 7, painted by Philip de László, 1933
Elizabeth II
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Elizabeth in Auxiliary Territorial Service uniform, April 1945
11.
Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom
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Prerogative powers were formerly exercised by the monarch acting on his or her own initiative. Today the royal prerogative is available in the conduct of the government of the United Kingdom, including foreign affairs, defence, a prominent constitutional theorist, A. V. Case law exists to support both views. A clear distinction has not been necessary in the relevant cases, the royal prerogative originated as the personal power of the monarch. From the 13th century in England, as in France, the monarch was all-powerful, an early attempt to define the royal prerogative was stated by Richard IIs judges in 1387. During the 16th century, this began to recede. Under Henry VIII and his successors, the king was the head of the Protestant English church, the rise of Parliament in this period, however, was problematic. While the monarch was the predominant partner in the English constitution, in Ferrers Case, Henry recognised this, noting that he was far more powerful with the consent of Parliament than without. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the matter of taxation, Sir Thomas Smith, at the same time, Henry and his descendants normally followed the will of the courts, despite the fact they were theoretically not bound by judges. William Holdsworth infers that by asking the legal officers of the crown and judiciary for legal advice and consent. He also contends that the view that the law is supreme over all was the view of all the lawyers and statesmen. It was accepted that while the King had unfettered discretion, he was limited in areas where the courts had imposed conditions on the use of the prerogative, the first dent in this stability came about in 1607, with the Case of Prohibitions. James VI and I claimed that as monarch, he had a right to sit as a judge. Led by Sir Edward Coke, the judiciary rejected this idea, stating that while the monarch was not subject to any individual, he was subject to the law. Until he had gained sufficient knowledge of the law, he had no right to interpret it, which requires long study and experience, before that a man can attain to the cognizance of it. Similarly, in the Case of Proclamations in 1611, Coke held that the monarch could only exercise those prerogatives he already had, with the Glorious Revolution, King James VII and II was replaced by Queen Mary II and her husband King William III. At the same time the Bill of Rights 1689 was drafted and this prerogative was normally exercised at the request of Parliament and the prime minister, either at his or her discretion or following a motion of no confidence. A dissolution is allowable, or necessary, whenever the wishes of the legislature are, or may fairly be presumed to be, the monarch could force the dissolution of Parliament through a refusal of royal assent, this would inevitably lead to a government resigning. By convention, the monarch always assents to bills, the last time the royal assent was not given was in 1704 during the reign of Queen Anne, the royal prerogative to dissolve Parliament was abrogated by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011
Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom
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William Blackstone, who maintained that the royal prerogative was any power that could be exercised by only the monarch
Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom
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British passports and chivalric orders are regulated under the royal prerogative.
Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom
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Sir Edward Coke, who held that the prerogative did not allow the monarch to sit as a judge
Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom
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William IV, the last monarch to arbitrarily dissolve Parliament by using the royal prerogative
12.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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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 the United Kingdom
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Incumbent David Cameron since 11 May 2010
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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Arms of Her Majesty's Government
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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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 the United Kingdom
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Portrait of Sir Robert Walpole, studio of Jean-Baptiste van Loo, 1740. Walpole is considered to have been Britain's first Prime Minister.
13.
Theresa May
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Theresa Mary May is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party, having served as both since July 2016. She has been the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead since 1997, may identifies as a one-nation conservative and has been characterised as a liberal conservative. She is the second female Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader after Margaret Thatcher, the daughter of a vicar, May grew up in Oxfordshire. From 1977 until 1983, she worked for the Bank of England, after unsuccessful attempts to be elected to the House of Commons in 1992 and 1994, she was elected as the MP for Maidenhead in the 1997 general election. She was also Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2002 to 2003, after the formation of a coalition government following the 2010 general election, May was appointed Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, giving up the latter role in 2012. Reappointed after the Conservative victory in the 2015 general election, she went on to become the longest-serving Home Secretary since James Chuter Ede over 60 years previously. She won the first and second ballot of Conservative MPs by a significant margin and was due to face a vote of Conservative Party members in a contest with Andrea Leadsom, leadsoms withdrawal from the election on 11 July led to Mays appointment as party leader the same day. She was appointed Prime Minister on 13 July, as Prime Minister, Mays focus has primarily been on withdrawing the UK from the European Union. Born on 1 October 1956 in Eastbourne, Sussex, May is the child of Zaidee Mary. Her father was a Church of England clergyman who was chaplain of an Eastbourne hospital and he later became vicar of Enstone with Heythrop and finally of St Marys at Wheatley, to the east of Oxford. Mays mother was a supporter of the Conservative Party. May was educated primarily in the sector but with a short spell at an independent Catholic school. She initially attended Heythrop Primary School, a school in Heythrop, followed by St. Julianas Convent School for Girls, a Roman Catholic independent school in Begbroke. At the age of 13, May won a place at the former Holton Park Girls Grammar School, during her time as a pupil, the Oxfordshire education system was reorganised and the school became the new Wheatley Park Comprehensive School. May then attended the University of Oxford where she read geography at St Hughs College, between 1977 and 1983 May worked at the Bank of England, and from 1985 to 1997 as a financial consultant and senior advisor in International Affairs at the Association for Payment Clearing Services. Both Mays parents died during this period, her father in a car accident in 1981, may served as a councillor for Durnsford ward on the London Borough of Merton from 1986 to 1994, where she was Chairman of Education and Deputy Group Leader and Housing Spokesman. May then stood at the 1994 Barking by-election, which was prompted by the death of Labour MP Jo Richardson. The seat had been held by Labour since it was created in 1945 and Labour candidate Margaret Hodge was expected to win easily
Theresa May
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The Right Honourable Theresa May MP
Theresa May
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St Hugh's College, Oxford
Theresa May
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May with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron.
Theresa May
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May speaks at a reception for the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha, 21 September 2010
14.
Her Majesty's Civil Service
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As in other states that employ the Westminster political system, Her Majestys Home Civil Service forms an inseparable part of the British government. The executive decisions of government ministers are implemented by HM Civil Service, Civil servants are employees of the Crown and not of the British parliament. Civil servants also have traditional and statutory responsibilities which to some extent protect them from being used for the political advantage of the party in power. Senior civil servants may be called to account to Parliament, as at the end of March 2016 there were 418,343 civil servants in the Home Civil Service, this is down 3. 6% on the previous year. There are two other administratively separate civil services in the United Kingdom, one is for Northern Ireland, the other is the foreign service. The heads of these services are members of the Permanent Secretaries Management Group, the Offices of State grew in England, and later the United Kingdom. Initially, as in countries, they were little more than secretariats for their leaders. In the 18th century, in response to the growth of the British Empire and economic changes, institutions such as the Office of Works, each had its own system and staff were appointed by purchase or patronage. By the 19th century, it increasingly clear that these arrangements were not working. In 1806, the Honourable East India Company established a college, the purpose of this college was to train administrators, it was established on recommendation of officials in China who had seen the imperial examination system. The civil service, based on similar to the Chinese system, was advocated by a number of Englishmen over the next several decades. The report was well-timed, because bureaucratic chaos in the Crimean War promptly caused a clamour for the change, a Civil Service Commission was accordingly set up in 1855 to oversee open recruitment and end patronage, and most of the other Northcote-Trevelyan recommendations were implemented over some years. This system was endorsed by Commissions chaired by Playfair, Ridley, MacDonnell, Tomlin. The Northcote-Trevelyan model remained essentially stable for a hundred years and this was a tribute to its success in removing corruption, delivering public services, and responding effectively to political change. Following the Second World War, however, demands for change again grew, the times were, moreover, ones of keen respect for technocracy, with the mass mobilisation of war having worked effectively, and the French National Plan apparently delivering economic success. Lord Fultons committee reported in 1968 and his 158 recommendations included the introduction of a unified grading system for all categories of staff, a Civil Service College and a central policy planning unit. The new Department was set up by Prime Minister Harold Wilsons Labour Government in 1968 and named the Civil Service Department, the first Minister was Cabinet Minister Lord Shackleton, also Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal. The first Permanent Secretary was Sir William Armstrong, who moved over from his post as Permanent Secretary at the Treasury, after the 1970 General Election, new Conservative Prime Minister Ted Heath appointed Lord Jellicoe in Lord Shackletons place
Her Majesty's Civil Service
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Buildings
Her Majesty's Civil Service
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Logo of Her Majesty's Civil Service
Her Majesty's Civil Service
15.
Executive agency
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The model was also applied in several other countries. Agencies range from Her Majestys Prison Service to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the annual budget for each agency, allocated by Her Majestys Treasury ranges from a few million pounds for the smallest agencies to £700m for the Court Service. Virtually all government departments have at least one agency, the initial success or otherwise of executive agencies was examined in the Sir Angus Frasers Fraser Report of 1991. Its main goal was to identify good practices had emerged from the new model and spread them to other agencies. The report also recommended further powers be devolved from ministers to chief executives, a whole series of reports and white papers examining governmental delivery were published throughout the 1990s, under both Conservative and Labour governments. During these the agency became the standard model for delivering public services in the United Kingdom. By 1997 76% of civil servants were employed by an agency, the new Labour government in its first such report – the 1998 Next Steps Report endorsed the model introduced by its predecessor. The most recent review made two central conclusions, The agency model has been a success, since 1988 agencies have transformed the landscape of government and the responsive and effectiveness of services delivered by Government. Some agencies have, however, become disconnected from their departments, the gulf between policy and delivery is considered by most to have widened. The latter point is made more forcefully by Government critics. In the United States, the Clinton administration imported the model, in Canada, executive agencies were adopted on a limited basis under the name special operating agencies. Executive agencies were established in Australia, Jamaica, Japan
Executive agency
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United Kingdom
16.
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
House of Lords
House of Lords
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Queen Anne addressing the House of Lords, c. 1708–14, by Peter Tillemans
House of Lords
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An early 19th-century illustration showing the east wall of the House of Lords in the centre.
House of Lords
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The rejection of the People's Budget, proposed by David Lloyd George (above), precipitated a political crisis in 1909.
17.
Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom
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In the United Kingdom, Acts of Parliament are primary legislation passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. These devolved legislatures are able to create legislation regarding all but reserved and excepted matters, however, Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom remain supreme and can overrule the devolved legislatures. By convention, the Parliament of the United Kingdom does not do this without a legislative consent motion, a draft piece of legislation is called a bill, when this is passed by Parliament it becomes an Act and part of statute law. Acts of Parliament are classified as either Public General Acts or Local and Personal Acts, Bills are also classified as public, private, or hybrid. Public General Acts form the largest category of legislation, in principle affecting the general law applying to everyone across the entire United Kingdom. Most Public General Acts proceed through Parliament as a bill, occasionally, however. Private Acts are either local or personal in their effect, applying to a specifically named locality or legal person in a different from all others. Private bills are usually promoted by organisations, like local authorities or private companies, to give themselves powers beyond, or in conflict with, Private bills only change the law as it applies to specific individuals or organisations, rather than the general public. Groups or individuals potentially affected by these changes can petition Parliament against the bill and present their objections to committees of MPs. Other private bills may affect particular companies established by Act of Parliament such as TSB Bank and Transas. Private bills, common in the 19th century, are now rare, as new planning legislation introduced in the 1960s removed the need for many of them, only a few, if any, are passed each year. They are subject to a different procedure from that for public bills, described above, Parliamentary authorities maintain a list of all private bills before parliament. Hybrid bills combine elements of public and private Acts. While they propose to make changes to the law, they also contain provisions applying to specific individuals or bodies. Recent examples include the Crossrail Bill, a bill to build a railway across London from west to east. Once passed, hybrid bills are printed as part of the Public General Acts, Parliamentary authorities maintain a list of all hybrid bills before parliament. It is important not to private bills with private members bills. The only difference from regular public bills is that they are brought forward by a private rather than by the government
Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom
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United Kingdom
18.
Statutory Instrument (UK)
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A statutory instrument is the principal form in which delegated legislation is made in Great Britain. Statutory instruments are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 and they replaced statutory rules and orders, made under the Rules Publication Act 1893, in 1948. Most delegated legislation in Great Britain is made in the form of a statutory instrument, Instruments made by the Scottish Government are now classed separately as Scottish statutory instruments. Minister of the Crown includes the Welsh Ministers and various Acts provide that delegated legislation, a statutory instrument is also used when the Queen in Council or a Minister exercises a power under an Act passed before 1947 which is legislative, rather than executive, in character. Use of an instrument is not required where the parent Act does not specify it. This may be the case where delegated legislation is of limited application. Instead, other provisions may be made for publishing the legislation and this ensures that the public has easy access to the new laws. Numbers are assigned by Her Majestys Stationery Office and are sequential within the year of making, the number provides a means of citing the statutory instrument in addition to the title given by the instrument itself. So, for example, The Income Tax Regulations 2003 are numbered, legal series, relating to fees or procedures in courts in England and Wales. Scottish series, instruments made by the United Kingdom Government which apply to Scotland only, northern Ireland series, Orders in Council made by the United Kingdom Government under its direct rule powers. National Assembly for Wales series, statutory instruments made by the National Assembly for Wales, Statutory instruments will be classified by subject heading in the annual edition printed by Her Majestys Stationery Office. Printed copies of an instrument will generally be on sale within a week of the date it is made. Most statutory instruments are subject to one of two forms of control by Parliament, depending on what is specified in the parent Act, parliaments control is limited to approving, or rejecting, the instrument as laid before it, it cannot amend or change it. Whether or not an instrument is subject to affirmative or negative resolution procedure is dictated by the parent act. The more common form of control is the resolution procedure. A motion to annul an instrument is known as a prayer and uses the following wording. If a resolution to annul an instrument is passed, it will be revoked by the Queen through an Order-in-Council, between the date of the resolution to annul and the date when the Order-in-Council is made, the instrument remains law but ineffective. Anything done under the instrument whilst it was in force remains valid, the last occasion on which a statutory instrument was annulled was on 22 February 2000, when the House of Lords passed a motion to annul the Greater London Authority Elections Rules 2000
Statutory Instrument (UK)
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United Kingdom
19.
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
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The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the supreme court in all matters under English and Welsh law, Northern Ireland law and Scottish civil law. It is the court of last resort and the highest appellate court in the United Kingdom, the Supreme Court was established by Part 3 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and started work on 1 October 2009. Its jurisdiction over devolution matters had previously exercised by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Because of the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, the Supreme Court is much more limited in its powers of review than the constitutional or supreme courts of some other countries. It cannot overturn any primary legislation made by Parliament, however, it can overturn secondary legislation if, for example, that legislation is found to be ultra vires to the powers in primary legislation allowing it to be made. Such a declaration can apply to primary or secondary legislation, the legislation is not overturned by the declaration, and neither Parliament nor the government is required to agree with any such declaration. The current President of the Supreme Court is Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, the Supreme Courts focus is on cases that raise points of law of general public importance. The Supreme Court also determines devolution issues, ordinarily, all twelve justices do not all hear every case. Typically a case is heard by a panel of five justices, the justices are also members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and spend some of their time in that capacity. The creation of a Supreme Court for the United Kingdom was first mooted in a paper published by the Department of Constitutional Affairs in July 2003. Space within the House of Lords was at a constant premium, the main argument against a new Supreme Court was that the previous system had worked well and kept costs down. Reformers expressed concern that this second main example of a mixture of the legislative, judicial, officials who make or execute laws have an interest in court cases that put those laws to the test. When the state invests judicial authority in those officials or even their colleagues, it puts the independence. Lord Phillips said such an outcome was a possibility, but was unlikely, the reforms were controversial and were brought forward with little consultation but were subsequently extensively debated in Parliament. During 2004, a committee of the House of Lords scrutinised the arguments for. The Government estimated the set-up cost of the Supreme Court at £56.9 million, the Supreme Court was established by Part 3 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and started work on 1 October 2009. Its jurisdiction over devolution matters had previously held by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The first case heard by the Supreme Court was HM Treasury v Ahmed, at issue was the extent to which Parliament has, by the United Nations Act 1946, delegated to the executive the power to legislate
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
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The Middlesex Guildhall in London is the location of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
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Badge of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
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Court 1 in the Supreme Court building
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
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Justices
20.
Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond
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Brenda Marjorie Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE PC FBA is an English judge and the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. In 2004, she joined the House of Lords as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and she is the only woman to have been appointed to this position. She served as a Law Lord until 2009 when she, along with the other Law Lords, born in Yorkshire, England in 1945, Baroness Hale is one of three daughters. Both of her parents became headteachers and she was educated in Richmond at the Richmond High School for Girls and later studied at Girton College, Cambridge, where she read law and graduated with a starred first and top of her class. After becoming assistant lecturer in Law at the University of Manchester, she was called to the Bar by Grays Inn in 1969, working part-time as a barrister, Hale spent 18 years mostly in academia, becoming Professor of Law at Manchester in 1986. In 1989, she was appointed Queens Counsel, Hale was appointed a Recorder in 1989, and in 1994 became a judge in the Family Division of the High Court of Justice. Upon her appointment, as is convention, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 1999, Hale followed Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss to become only the woman to be appointed to the Court of Appeal. In June 2013 she was appointed Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to succeed Lord Hope of Craighead, in 1968, Hale married Anthony Hoggett, a fellow law lecturer at Manchester, with whom she had one daughter. The marriage was dissolved in 1992, in which year she married Julian Farrand, former Professor of Law at Manchester, Pensions Ombudsman, Hale is Visitor to Girton College, Cambridge, to which positions she was appointed in 2004. She is a member of the Athenaeum Club, London, from 2004 to the end of 2016 she was Chancellor of the University of Bristol. Hale was awarded a doctorate by the University of Salford. In 2008, she was awarded a doctorate by the University of Reading. In 2011 Hale was awarded a doctorate by the University of Glasgow. On 10 September 2015, she delivered the Caldwell Public Lecture at the University of Melbourne, Australia, on the topic Protecting Human Rights in the UK Courts, What are we doing wrong
Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond
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Baroness Hale in 2008
Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond
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Justices
Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond
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University
21.
Courts of England and Wales
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The United Kingdom does not have a single unified legal system—England and Wales have one system, Scotland another, and Northern Ireland a third. Additionally, the Military Court Service has jurisdiction over all members of the forces of the United Kingdom in relation to offences against military law. The Supreme Court is the highest appeal court in almost all cases in England, before the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 this role was held by the House of Lords. The Supreme Court is also the highest court of appeal for devolution matters, the Privy Council is the highest court of appeal for a small number of Commonwealth countries, colonies and the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. There are a number of smaller jurisdictions, such as appeals from ecclesiastical and professional bodies. The judges who sit on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council are also the members of the Supreme Court, the Senior Courts of England and Wales were originally created by the Judicature Acts as the Supreme Court of Judicature. It was renamed the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 1981 and it consists of the following courts, Court of Appeal High Court of Justice Crown Court The Court of Appeal deals only with appeals from other courts or tribunals. Its decisions are binding on all courts, including itself, apart from the Supreme Court, the High Court of Justice functions both as a civil court of first instance and a criminal and civil appellate court for cases from the subordinate courts. It consists of three divisions, the Queens Bench, the Chancery and the Family divisions, the divisions of the High Court are not separate courts, but have somewhat separate procedures and practices adapted to their purposes. Although particular kinds of cases will be assigned to each depending on their subject matter. However, beginning proceedings in the division may result in a costs penalty. The Crown Court is a court of both original and appellate jurisdiction which in addition handles a limited amount of civil business both at first instance and on appeal. It was established by the Courts Act 1971 and it replaced the assizes whereby High Court judges would periodically travel around the country hearing cases, and quarter sessions which were periodic county courts. The Old Bailey is the name of Londons most famous criminal court. Its official name is the Central Criminal Court, the Crown Court also hears appeals from magistrates courts. The Crown Court is a court in respect of the other work it undertakes, viz. inter alia, appeals from the magistrates’ courts. They hear minor criminal cases, as well as certain licensing appeals, youth courts are run on similar lines to adult magistrates courts but deal with offenders aged between the ages of ten and seventeen inclusive. Youth courts are presided over by a specially trained subset of experienced adult magistrates or a district judge, youth magistrates have a wider catalogue of disposals available to them for dealing with young offenders and often hear more serious cases against youths
Courts of England and Wales
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The Middlesex Guildhall houses the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Courts of England and Wales
Courts of England and Wales
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Crown Court and County Court in Oxford.
22.
Courts of Scotland
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The civil, criminal and heraldic courts of Scotland are responsible for the administration of justice. They are constituted and governed by Scots law, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government, is responsible for the administration of the countrys courts and tribunals systems. The Court of Session is the civil court and the High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court. The specialist system of Childrens Hearings handles the majority of cases involving allegations of criminal conduct involving persons under 16, the Court of the Lord Lyon is the heraldic court and the Scottish Land Court deals with agricultural and crofting issues. Defunct courts include the Court of Exchequer and the Admiralty Court, the United Kingdom does not have a single judicial system — England and Wales have one system, Scotland another, and Northern Ireland a third. The Military Court Service has jurisdiction over all members of the forces of the United Kingdom in relation to offences against military law. The Supreme Court was created on 1 October 2009 by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and it is the highest civil court of appeal for Scotland. It hears appeals from all the courts of the United Kingdom. Until the creation of the Supreme Court, ultimate appeal lay to the House of Lords, the cases may reach the Court as follows, The Attorney-General or other Law Officers may refer a bill from the devolved body to the Supreme Court. The litigants may appeal a case from certain superior courts, appellate courts may refer a case to the Supreme Court. Any court, if a Law Officer so desires, may refer a case to the Supreme Court, Law Officers may refer any issue not related to a bill or case to the Supreme Court. The Court of Session is the civil court. It is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal and sits exclusively in Parliament House in Edinburgh, the court of first instance is known as the Outer House, the court of appeal the Inner House. The Sheriff Appeal Court is a court with a jurisdiction over civil appeals from the Sheriff Courts. The Sheriff Court is the civil court, this sits locally. Any final decision of a Sheriff may be appealed against, there is a right of appeal in civil cases to the Sheriff Appeal Court, and, with permission, to the Court of Session. The High Court of Justiciary is the criminal court. The High Court is both a court of first instance and also a court of appeal, as a court of appeal, it sits only in Edinburgh
Courts of Scotland
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Entrance to the Parliament House, the home of the Supreme Courts of Scotland, in Parliament Square, Edinburgh.
Courts of Scotland
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Parliament Hall inside Parliament House, Edinburgh
Courts of Scotland
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an example of a sheriff court in Kirkcaldy
23.
Devolution in the United Kingdom
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Devolution differs from federalism in that the devolved powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government, thus the state remains, de jure, a unitary state. Legislation creating devolved parliaments or assemblies can be repealed or amended by central government in the way as any statute. The issue of Irish home rule was the dominant political question of British politics at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. In contrast to this, demands for home rule called for autonomy for Ireland within the United Kingdom and this issue was first introduced by the Irish Parliamentary Party led by Isaac Butt, William Shaw and Charles Stewart Parnell. Over the course of four decades, four Irish Home Rule Bills were introduced into the British Parliament, following intense opposition in Ulster and the departure of Unionists from Gladstones Liberal Party, the bill was defeated in the House of Commons. The Second Home Rule Bill was introduced in 1893 by Prime Minister Gladstone, the Third Home Rule Bill was introduced in 1912 by Prime Minister H. H. Asquith based on an agreement with the Irish Parliamentary Party. After a prolonged parliamentary struggle was passed under the provisions of the Parliament Act of 1911, again, this bill was fiercely opposed by Ulster Unionists who raised the Ulster Volunteers and signed the Ulster Covenant to oppose the bill, thereby raising the spectre of civil war. The act received royal assent shortly after the outbreak of World War I, attempts at implementation failed in 1916 and 1917 and the subsequent Irish War of Independence resulted in it never coming into force. The Fourth Home Rule Bill was introduced in 1920 by Prime Minister David Lloyd George and it divided Ireland into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, which each had their own parliament and judiciary but which also shared some common institutions. The Act was implemented in Northern Ireland, where it served as the basis of government until its suspension in 1972 following the outbreak of the Troubles, Home Rule came into effect for Northern Ireland in 1921 under the Fourth Home Rule Act. The Parliament of Northern Ireland established under that act was prorogued on 30 March 1972 owing to the destabilisation of Northern Ireland upon the onset of the Troubles in late 1960s. This followed escalating violence by state and paramilitary organisations following the suppression of civil rights demands by Northern Ireland Catholics, the Northern Ireland Parliament was abolished by the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973, which received royal assent on 19 July 1973. A Northern Ireland Assembly was elected on 28 June 1973 and following the Sunningdale Agreement and this collapsed on 28 May 1974, due to the Ulster Workers Council strike. The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention and second Northern Ireland Assembly were unsuccessful at restoring devolution, more progress was made after the ceasefires by the Provisional IRA in 1994 and 1997. The 1998 Belfast Agreement, resulted in the creation of a new Northern Ireland Assembly, a British-Irish Council covering the whole British Isles and a British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference were also established. The Executive was restored on 8 May 2007, several policing and justice powers were transferred to the Assembly on 12 April 2010. The fifth Assembly convened in May 2016. That assembly dissolved on 26 January 2017, ever since the Parliament of Scotland adjourned in 1707 as a result of the Acts of Union, individuals and organisations had advocated the return of a Scottish Parliament. The drive for home rule first took shape in the 19th century
Devolution in the United Kingdom
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Stormont Parliament Building, home of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Devolution in the United Kingdom
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United Kingdom
Devolution in the United Kingdom
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Scottish Parliament Building, Edinburgh
Devolution in the United Kingdom
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The Senedd, home to the National Assembly for Wales
24.
Northern Ireland Executive
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The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the executive is referred to in the legislation as the Executive Committee of the Assembly and is an example of a consociationalist government. The Northern Ireland Executive consists of the First Minister and deputy First Minister and various ministers with individual portfolios, the main Assembly parties appoint most ministers in the executive, except for the Minister of Justice who is elected by a cross-community vote. It is one of three devolved governments in the United Kingdom, the others being the Scottish and Welsh Governments, with the exception of justice, the number of ministries to which each party is entitled is determined by the DHondt system. In effect, major parties cannot be excluded from participation in government, the form of government is therefore known as mandatory coalition as opposed to voluntary coalition where parties negotiate an agreement to share power. The Executive cannot function if either of the two largest parties refuse to part, as these parties are allocated the First Minister. However, other parties are not required to enter the Executive even if they are entitled to do so, instead, devolution took place on 12 April 2010. Under DHondt, the SDLP would have been entitled to the ministerial seat on the revised Executive created by the devolution of policing. Accordingly, both the UUP and SDLP protested that Alliance was not entitled, under the rules of the Good Friday Agreement, to fill the portfolio, however, Alliance leader David Ford was elected Minister with the support of the DUP and Sinn Féin. On 26 August 2015, the UUP announced it would withdraw from the Executive and form an opposition after all, on 25 May 2016 a new executive was announced. For the first time in the history, parties that were entitled to ministries chose instead to go into opposition following a recent bill providing parties with this choice. This meant that the executive was formed only by the two parties, the DUP and Sinn Féin, and thus giving them more seats in the Executive. The Executive is co-chaired by the First Minister and deputy First Minister, Executive meetings are normally held fortnightly, compared to weekly meetings of the British Cabinet and Irish Government. The Ministerial Code allows any three ministers to request a cross-community vote, the quorum for voting is seven ministers. At present, the Executive consists of six unionist, five nationalist, the current system of devolution has succeeded long periods of direct rule, when the Northern Ireland Civil Service had a considerable influence on government policy. The legislation which established new departments in 1999 affirmed that the functions of a department shall at all times be exercised subject to the direction, Ministerial powers can be conferred by an Act of the Assembly and ministers can also exercise executive powers which are vested in the Crown. Ministerial decisions can be challenged by a petition of 30 Northern Ireland Assembly members and this action can be taken for alleged breaches of the Ministerial Code and on matters of public importance. The Speaker of the Assembly must consult political party leaders in the Assembly before deciding whether the subject is a matter of public importance, successful petitions will then be considered by the Executive
Northern Ireland Executive
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Stormont Castle, seat of the Executive
Northern Ireland Executive
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Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Executive
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Dundonald House, home to various government agencies
25.
Northern Ireland Assembly
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The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sits at Parliament Buildings at Stormont in Belfast, the Assembly is one of two mutually inter-dependent institutions created under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the other being the North/South Ministerial Council with the Republic of Ireland. The Agreement aimed at bringing an end to Northern Irelands violent 30-year Troubles, the Assembly is a unicameral, democratically elected body comprising 90 members known as Members of the Legislative Assembly, or MLAs. Members are elected under the single transferable vote form of proportional representation, the Assembly has been suspended on several occasions, the longest suspension being from 14 October 2002 until 7 May 2007. When the Assembly was suspended, its powers reverted to the Northern Ireland Office, powers in relation to policing and justice were transferred to the Assembly on 12 April 2010. The third assembly was dissolved on 24 March 2011 in preparation for the elections to be held on Thursday 5 May 2011 and this was the first assembly since the Good Friday Agreement to complete a full term. This was followed by a fourth term. After the May 2016 elections, the Assembly convened for a fifth term and that assembly dissolved on 26 January 2017, and a fresh election for a reduced Assembly was held on 2 March 2017. The Parliament was suspended on 30 March 1972 and formally abolished in 1973 under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973, shortly after this first parliament was abolished, attempts began to restore devolution on a new basis that would see power shared between Irish nationalists and unionists. To this end a new parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, was established in 1973, however, this body was brought down by the Ulster Workers Council strike and was abolished in 1974. It received little support from Irish nationalists and was dissolved in 1986. The current incarnation of the Northern Ireland Assembly was first elected on 25 June 1998, however, it only existed in shadow form until 2 December 1999 when full powers were devolved to the Assembly. On 8 December 2005, three Belfast men at the centre of the alleged IRA spying incident were acquitted of all charges, the prosecution offered no evidence in the public interest. Afterwards Denis Donaldson, one of those arrested, said that the charges should never have been brought as the action was political. On 17 December 2005, Donaldson publicly confirmed that he had been a spy for British intelligence since the early 1980s, mr Donaldson was killed on 4 April 2006 by the Real IRA. Eileen Bell was appointed by the Secretary of State Peter Hain to be the Speaker of the Assembly, with Francie Molloy, the Northern Ireland Act 2006 repealed the Northern Ireland Act 2006 and thus disbanded the Assembly. The Northern Ireland Act 2006 provided for a Transitional Assembly to take part in preparations for the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland, a person who was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly was also a member of the Transitional Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
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Northern Ireland Assembly Norlin Airlan Assemblie Tionól Thuaisceart Éireann
Northern Ireland Assembly
26.
Scottish Parliament
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The Scottish Parliament, is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the city, Edinburgh. The most recent general election to the Parliament was held on 5 May 2016, as a consequence, both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England ceased to exist, and the Parliament of Great Britain, which sat at Westminster in London was formed. The Act delineates the legislative competence of the Parliament – the areas in which it can make laws – by explicitly specifying powers that are reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Scottish Parliament has the power to legislate in all areas that are not explicitly reserved to Westminster, the British Parliament retains the ability to amend the terms of reference of the Scottish Parliament, and can extend or reduce the areas in which it can make laws. The first meeting of the new Parliament took place on 12 May 1999, initial Scottish proposals in the negotiation over the Union suggested a devolved Parliament be retained in Scotland, but this was not accepted by the English negotiators. Suggestions for a devolved Parliament were made before 1914, but were shelved due to the outbreak of the First World War, one of the principal objectives of the commission was to examine ways of enabling more self-government for Scotland, within the unitary state of the United Kingdom. Kilbrandon published his report in 1973 recommending the establishment of a directly elected Scottish Assembly to legislate for the majority of domestic Scottish affairs, the party argued that the revenues from the oil were not benefitting Scotland as much as they should. The combined effect of events led to Prime Minister Wilson committing his government to some form of devolved legislature in 1974. However, it was not until 1978 that final legislative proposals for a Scottish Assembly were passed by the United Kingdom Parliament, publishing its blueprint for devolution in 1995, the Convention provided much of the basis for the structure of the Parliament. Devolution continued to be part of the platform of the Labour Party which, in May 1997, an election was held on 6 May 1999, and on 1 July of that year power was transferred from Westminster to the new Parliament. Since September 2004, the home of the Scottish Parliament has been a new Scottish Parliament Building. The Scottish Parliament building was designed by Spanish architect Enric Miralles in partnership with local Edinburgh Architecture firm RMJM which was led by Design Principal Tony Kettle. Some of the features of the complex include leaf-shaped buildings. Throughout the building there are many repeated motifs, such as based on Raeburns Skating Minister. Crow-stepped gables and the upturned boat skylights of the Garden Lobby, Queen Elizabeth II opened the new building on 9 October 2004. In March 2006, one of the Holyrood buildings roof beams slipped out of its support and was left dangling above the back benches during a debate, the debating chamber was subsequently closed, and MSPs moved to The Hub for one week, whilst inspections were carried out. During repairs, all business was conducted in the Parliaments committee room two
Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
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The public entrance of the Scottish Parliament building, opened in October 2004
Scottish Parliament
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Queen Elizabeth II at the opening of the Scottish Parliament on July 1, 1999 alongside then First Minister of Scotland Donald Dewar and then Presiding Officer Lord Steel of Aikwood
27.
Welsh Government
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The Welsh Government is the executive of the devolved National Assembly for Wales. The government consists of cabinet secretaries, who attend meetings, and ministers who do not. It is led by the first minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the National Assembly, the government is responsible for tabling policy in devolved areas for consideration by the assembly and implementing policy that has been approved by it. As initially established, the Welsh Government had no independent executive powers in law, following separation, the Welsh ministers exercise functions in their own right. Further transfers of functions from the British government can be made directly to the Welsh ministers by an Order in Council approved by the British parliament. Separation was designed to clarify the roles of the assembly. The result mirrored much more closely the relationship between the British government and British parliament and that between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament. This separation between the two bodies took effect on the appointment of the First Minister by Queen Elizabeth II following the election on 3 May 2007. Separation was meant to clarify the roles of the assembly. The role of the government is to make decisions, develop and implement policy, exercise executive functions, Assembly measures can now go further than the subordinate legislation which the assembly had the power to make prior to 2007. The assemblys functions, including that of making subordinate legislation, in the main, a third body was also established under the 2006 Act from May 2007, called the National Assembly for Wales Commission. It employs the staff supporting the new National Assembly for Wales, the 2006 Act made new provision for the appointment of Welsh ministers. The First Minister is nominated by the Assembly and then appointed by Her Majesty the Queen, the First Minister then appoints the Welsh Ministers and the Deputy Welsh Ministers, with the approval of Her Majesty. The Act created a new post of Counsel General for Wales, the Counsel General is appointed by the Queen, on the nomination of the First Minister, whose recommendation must be agreed by the National Assembly. The Counsel General may be, but does not have to be, the Act permits a maximum of 12 Welsh Ministers, which includes Deputy Welsh Ministers, but excludes the First Minister and the Counsel General. Accordingly, the size of the Welsh Government is 14. Subject to limitations prescribed by the Government of Wales Act 2006, the government is composed of cabinet secretaries and ministers. The counsel general attends cabinet meetings, the current government is formed by Welsh Labour and also the sole Liberal Democrats Assembly Member, Kirsty Williams
Welsh Government
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The old Crown Building in Cathays Park – original home of the Welsh Office.
Welsh Government
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Logo of the Welsh Government
Welsh Government
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The New Crown Building is today home to many of the Welsh Government's civil servants.
Welsh Government
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Tŷ Hywel houses the offices of the cabinet.
28.
National Assembly for Wales
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The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, the Assembly was created by the Government of Wales Act 1998, which followed a referendum in 1997. The Assembly had no powers to initiate primary legislation until limited law-making powers were gained through the Government of Wales Act 2006, the council had 27 members nominated by local authorities in Wales, the University of Wales, National Eisteddfod Council and the Welsh Tourist Board. A post of Minister of Welsh Affairs was created in 1951 and the post of Secretary of State for Wales, the establishment of the Welsh Office effectively created the basis for the territorial governance of Wales. The Royal Commission on the Constitution was set up in 1969 by Harold Wilsons Labour Government to investigate the possibility of devolution for Scotland and Wales. Its recommendations formed the basis of the 1974 White Paper Democracy and Devolution, proposals for Scotland and Wales, however, voters rejected the proposals by a majority of four to one in a referendum held in 1979. After the 1997 general election, the new Labour Government argued that an Assembly would be more accountable than the Welsh Office. For eleven years prior to 1997 Wales had been represented in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom by a Secretary of State who did not represent a Welsh constituency at Westminster. A second referendum was held on 18 September 1997 in which approved the creation of the National Assembly for Wales by a majority of 559,419 votes. The following year the Government of Wales Act was passed by the United Kingdom parliament, the Richard Commission reported in March 2004. It recommended that the National Assembly should have powers to legislate in certain areas and it also recommended changing the electoral system to the single transferable vote which would produce greater proportionality. In so doing, the Government rejected many of the cross party Richard Commissions recommendations and this has attracted criticism from opposition parties and others. The Government of Wales Act 2006 received Royal Assent on 25 July 2006 and it conferred on the Assembly legislative powers similar to other devolved legislatures through the ability to pass Assembly Measures concerning matters that are devolved. Requests for further legislative powers made through legislative competence requests were subject to the veto of the Secretary of State for Wales, the Act reformed the assembly to a parliamentary-type structure, establishing the Welsh Government as an entity separate from, but accountable to the National Assembly. It enables the Assembly to legislate within its devolved fields, the Act also reforms the Assemblys electoral system. It prevents individuals from standing as candidates in both constituency and regional seats and this aspect of the act was subject to a great deal of criticism, most notably from the Electoral Commission. Plaid Cymru, the Official Opposition in the National Assembly from 1999–2007, many commentators have also criticised the Labour Partys allegedly partisan attempt to alter the electoral system. By preventing regional Assembly Members from standing in constituency seats the party has accused of changing the rules to protect constituency representatives
National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
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National Assembly for Wales Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru
National Assembly for Wales
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The Senedd, home to the National Assembly for Wales
29.
Local government in England
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The pattern of local government in England is complex, with the distribution of functions varying according to the local arrangements. England has, since 1994 been subdivided into nine regions, below the region level and excluding London, England has two different patterns of local government in use. These councils are elected in separate elections, some areas have only one level of local government. Most of Greater London is governed by London borough councils, the City of London and the Isles of Scilly are sui generis authorities, pre-dating recent reforms of local government. There are 57 single tier authorities,55 unitary authorities The City of London Corporation The Council of the Isles of Scilly There are 34 upper tier authorities, the Inner Temple and Middle Temple are also local authorities for some purposes. Below the district level, a district may be divided into civil parishes. Typical activities undertaken by a parish council include allotments, parks, public clocks and they also have a consultative role in planning. Local councils tend not to exist in metropolitan areas but there is nothing to stop their establishment, for example, Birmingham has a parish, New Frankley. Parishes have not existed in Greater London since 1965, but from 2007 they could legally be created, in addition, among the rural parishes, two share a joint parish council and two have no council but are governed by an annual parish meeting. The current arrangement of local government in England is the result of a range of measures which have their origins in the municipal reform of the 19th century. During the 20th century, the structure of government was reformed and rationalised, with local government areas becoming fewer and larger. The way local authorities are funded has also been subject to periodic, Councils have historically had no split between executive and legislature. Functions are vested in the council itself, and then exercised usually by committees or subcommittees of the council, the post of leader was recognised, and leaders typically chair several important committees, but had no special authority. The chair of the council itself is a position with no real power. This pattern was based on that established for municipal boroughs by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, There was a small exception to this whereby smaller district councils can adopt a modified committee system. In 2012, principle councils began returning to Committee systems, under the Localism Act 2011, There are now 16 directly elected mayors, in districts where a referendum was in favour of them. Several of the mayors originally elected were independents, since May 2002, only a handful of referendums have been held, and they have mostly been negative, with only a few exceptions. The decision to have elected mayors in Hartlepool and Stoke-on-Trent were subsequently reversed when further referendums were held
Local government in England
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England
30.
Local government in Scotland
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Local government in Scotland is organised through 32 unitary authorities designated as Councils which consist of councillors elected every five years by registered voters in each of the council areas. Councils receive the majority of their funding from the Scottish Government, AEF consists of three parts, Revenue Support Grants, Non-Domestic Rates, and Income and Specific Grants. Councils obtain additional income through the Council Tax, that the council itself sets, Scottish councils co-operate through, and are represented collectively by, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. The history of Scottish local government mainly surrounds involves the counties of Scotland, the counties have their origins in the sheriffdoms or shires over which a sheriff exercised jurisdiction. Malcolm III appears to have introduced sheriffs as part of a policy of replacing native Celtic forms of government with Anglo Saxon and this was continued by his sons Edgar, Alexander I and in particular David I. David completed the division of the country into sheriffdoms by the conversion of existing thanedoms, from the seventeenth century the shires started to be used for local administration apart from judicial functions. In 1667 Commissioners of Supply were appointed in each sheriffdom to collect the land tax, the commissioners eventually assumed other duties in the county. In 1858 police forces were established in each county under the Police Act 1857, as a result of the dual system of local government, burghs often had a high degree of autonomy. Between 1890 and 1975 local government in Scotland was organised with county councils and this system was further refined by the passing of the Local Government Act 1947. The only exceptions to this were the three Island Councils, Western Isles, Shetland and Orkney which had the powers of Regions. The Conservative government of John Major decided to abolish this system, the changes took effect in 1996 with shadow councillors elected in 1995 to oversee the smooth transition of control. The power vested in local authorities is administered by elected councillors, there are currently 1,222, each paid a part-time salary for the undertaking of their duties. In total, there are 32 unitary authorities, the largest being the City of Glasgow with more than 600,000 inhabitants, councillors are subject to a Code of Conduct instituted by the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. Act 2000 and enforced by the Standards Commission for Scotland, if a person believes that a councillor has broken the code of conduct they make a complaint to the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland. The Commissioner makes a determination on whether there is a need for an investigation, each council elects a Convener and Depute Convener to chair meetings of the Council and to act as a figurehead for the area. Most councils use the term Provost, the office of Provost or Convener is roughly equivalent to that of a Mayor in other parts of the United Kingdom. Traditionally these roles are ceremonial and have no significant administrative functions, Lord Provosts in the four city councils have the additional duty of acting as Lord Lieutenant for their respective city. The Leader of the Council is elected as the leader of the largest political grouping of councillors, the Leader of the Council has no executive or administrative powers designated by statute, but the position is salaried
Local government in Scotland
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Scotland
31.
Elections in the United Kingdom
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Within each of those categories, there may be by-elections as well as general elections. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday, the Electoral Commission sets standards for and issues guidelines to Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers, and is responsible for nationwide electoral administration. The total number of names in the United Kingdom appearing in Electoral Registers published on 1 December 2010 and based on a qualifying date of 15 October 2010 was 45,844,691. In Scotland, anyone who will be aged 16 or over on polling day can register to vote as the age for voting in Scottish local elections and elections to the Scottish Parliament is 16. However, voters in Scotland under 18 are not entitled to vote in European Elections or UK General Elections, a person can still register at his/her ordinary address if he/she will be away temporarily. A person who has two homes may be able to register to vote at both addresses as long as they are not in the electoral area. Remand prisoners, voluntary patients in hospitals and people without a fixed place of residence can register to vote by making a declaration of local connection. Members of HM Forces and their family members have the option of registering as a service voter. British citizens residing outside the United Kingdom can register as an overseas voter provided that they were on the Electoral Register in the UK within the previous 15 years, the 15 years period begins when they no longer appeared in the electoral register, not the date they moved abroad. Overseas voters can vote in European Parliamentary and UK Parliamentary elections in the constituency of their last registered UK address. British citizens who are away overseas temporarily do not need to register as overseas electors, Crown servants and British Council employees employed in a post outside the UK can register by making a Crown Servant declaration, allowing them to vote in all UK elections. The right of Commonwealth and Irish citizens to vote is a legacy of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which limited the vote to British subjects. At that time, British subjects included the people of Ireland — then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland — and all other parts of the British Empire. Though most of Ireland and the majority of the colonies became independent nations, in theory, members of the Royal Family who are not members of the House of Lords are eligible to vote, although in practice they do not exercise that right. In Great Britain, most electors are enrolled during the course of the annual canvass, canvass forms are sent to all households, and must be returned, otherwise a fine of £1000 can be imposed. Between December and early August, the registration procedure applies instead. Applications must be submitted individually using registration forms available from local Electoral Registration Officers or the Electoral Commissions website, application forms can be returned to the local Electoral Registration Officer by post, by fax or by e-mail as a scanned attachment. As of June 2014, as part of the Governments Digital By Default policy, voters in England, special category electors do not register through the annual canvass procedure
Elections in the United Kingdom
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A pre-election husting at the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency, England.
Elections in the United Kingdom
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United Kingdom
32.
List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies
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There are 650 constituencies in the United Kingdom, each electing a single Member of Parliament to the House of Commons every five years. Voting last took place in all 650 of those constituencies at the United Kingdom general election on 7 May 2015, in addition there is the constituency of the Speaker, which by tradition does not belong to any party. The number of seats rose from 646 at the 2005 general election after proposals made by the commissions for England, Wales. Constituencies in Scotland remained unchanged, as the Boundary Commission for Scotland had completed a review just before the 2005 general election, for the 2013 review this was primarily the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011. The Sainte-Laguë formula method is used to form groups of seats split between the four parts of the United Kingdom and the English Regions, the electorate figures given in the second column of the tables below are those used by the commissions during their reviews. These electorate figures date from the start of the review in each country, England, February 2000, Scotland, June 2001, Wales, December 2002, and Northern Ireland, May 2003. Of the 650 seats listed below,533 are in England,59 in Scotland,40 in Wales and 18 in Northern Ireland, Scotland – No changes from 2005 election. Wales – Number of seats unchanged, three seats were abolished and three were created, Aberconwy, Arfon, and Dwyfor Meirionnydd, Northern Ireland – No extra or fewer seats allocated. England, North Yorkshire, Hampshire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Norfolk, Essex, Lancashire, Northamptonshire, isle of Wight maintained its status as one constituency, the largest by electorate. The City of York was divided into two seats, neither overlapping part of North Yorkshire, North London, Birmingham and the metropolitan counties of Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Tyne and Wear and South Yorkshire lost a seat each. Herefordshire and Worcestershire, to reflect their full reinstatement as separate counties, were considered in separate reviews, bath, Bristol and Somerset underwent arguably the most significant changes to reflect the abolition of Avon. Updated electorate figures from December 2010 have been added for the English, lists of electoral districts by nation Boundary Commission for N. I. Fifth Periodical Report – Parliamentary Constituencies of Northern Ireland
List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies
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United Kingdom
33.
United Kingdom general election, 2015
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The United Kingdom general election of 2015 on 7 May 2015 elected the 56th Parliament of the United Kingdom. Each of the 650 parliamentary constituencies elected one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons and it was the first general election at the end of a fixed-term Parliament. Local elections took place in most of England on the same day, polls and commentators had predicted the outcome would be too close to call and would result in a second hung parliament similar to the 2010 election. Opinion polls were eventually proven to have underestimated the Conservative vote as they won an outright majority. Having governed in coalition with the Liberal Democrats since 2010, the Conservatives won 330 seats and 36. 9% of the vote, the British Polling Council began an inquiry into the substantial variance between opinion polls and the actual result. The Labour Party, led by Ed Miliband, saw an increase in its vote share to 30. 4%. This was its lowest seat tally since the 1987 election, senior Labour shadow cabinet members, notably Ed Balls, Douglas Alexander, and Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy, were defeated. The UK Independence Party came third in terms of votes with 12. 6%, the Green Party won its highest-ever share of the vote with 3. 8%, and held Brighton Pavilion with an increased majority, though did not win any additional seats. Labours Miliband and Murphy resigned, as did Clegg, Farage claimed that his resignation was rejected by his party, and he remained in post. In Northern Ireland, the Ulster Unionist Party returned to the Commons with two MPs after an absence, while the Alliance Party lost its only seat despite an increase in total vote share. That renegotiation was followed by an in-out referendum a year later in June 2016, as a result, it is likely that this was the last general election to be held in the UK during its membership of the EU. There were local elections on the day in most of England. No other elections were scheduled to take place in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, all British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens over the age of 18 on the date of the election were permitted to vote. In general elections, voting takes place in all constituencies of the United Kingdom to elect members of parliament to seats in the House of Commons. Each parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom elects one MP to the House of Commons using the first-past-the-post system, if one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form the Government. If the election results in no party having a majority. In this case, the options for forming the Government are either a minority government or a coalition government, the next boundary review is now set to take place in 2018, thus the 2015 general election was contested using the same constituencies and boundaries as in 2010. Of the 650 constituencies,533 are in England,59 in Scotland,40 in Wales and 18 in Northern Ireland, in addition, the 2011 Act mandated a referendum in 2011 on changing from the current first-past-the-post system to an alternative vote system for elections to the Commons
United Kingdom general election, 2015
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All 650 seats in the House of Commons 326 seats needed for a majority
United Kingdom general election, 2015
United Kingdom general election, 2015
United Kingdom general election, 2015
34.
Referendums in the United Kingdom
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Referendums in the United Kingdom are by tradition extremely rare due to the principle of parliamentary sovereignty. As of 2017, only three referendums have been held which have covered the whole of the United Kingdom, in 1975,2011 and most recently in 2016. The 2011 AV referendum on the proposal to use the alternative system in parliamentary elections is the only UK-wide referendum that has been held on a domestic issue. The referendum was held as a result of the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement which was drawn up after the 2010 general election, there have also been numerous referendums held by local authorities on issues such as temperance and directly elected mayors. Major referendums have been rare in the UK, and have always been on major constitutional issues, before Tony Blairs Labour government came to power in 1997, only four such referendums had been held. In March 1975 Margaret Thatcher also quoted Clement Attlee that referendums are “a device of dictators and demagogues” as Napoleon, Mussolini, there are two types of referendum that have been held by the UK Government, pre-legislative and post-legislative. To date the previous three UK-wide referendums in 1975,2011 and 2016 were all post-legislative. For any UK-wide referendum to be held legislation has to be passed by the UK Parliament for each vote to take place, however, unlike a general election there is no legal requirement for HM Government not to take any official position in any such vote. In the 2011 referendum no official position was taken as the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government was split on the issue, however, reversing legislation approved by referendum would be unprecedented. Finally, under the Local Government Act 1972, there is a provision under which non-binding local referendums on any issue can be called by groups of voters. This power exists only for parish councils, and not larger authorities, six local voters may call a meeting, and if ten voters or a third of the meeting agree, the council must carry out a referendum in 14–25 days. The referendum is merely advisory, but if there is a substantial majority, the Labour Government of 1997-2010 held five referendums on devolution, four of which received a yes majority. Despite the number of referendums that was held during this period no UK-wide referendum was held, one concerning the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was cancelled, given the French and Dutch rejections of the treaty. Another, on whether the UK should adopt the euro, was never held, the Labour manifesto for the 1997 general election stated We are committed to a referendum on the voting system for the House of Commons. Despite the research carried out by the Jenkins Commission in 1998 suggesting an AV+ system for Westminster elections, after the inconclusive 2010 General Election the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives formed a coalition. As part of the agreement, both parties formally committed to holding a referendum on changes to the electoral system. The referendum was held on 5 May 2011 and was defeated, since the Government of Wales Act 2006 became law, there can be referendums in Wales asking the people whether the National Assembly for Wales should be given greater law-making powers. The Welsh Labour Party - Plaid Cymru Coalition Government in the Welsh Assembly held such a referendum in 2011, the Scottish Government held a referendum on Scottish independence on 18 September 2014
Referendums in the United Kingdom
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United Kingdom
35.
Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
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The diplomatic foreign relations of the United Kingdom are conducted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, headed by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. The Prime Minister and numerous other agencies play a role in setting policy, and many institutions and businesses have a voice, since the vote, policymakers have begun pursuing new trade agreements with other global partners. British foreign relations were largely inherited from the Kingdom of Englands place in the prior to the unification of Great Britain into a single United Kingdom. British foreign policy focused on achieving a balance of power within Europe. This was a reason behind the British wars against Napoleon. The chief enemy of the British, from the Hundred Years War until the defeat of Napoleon was France, a favoured diplomatic strategy was subsidising the armies of continental allies, such as Prussia, thereby turning Londons enormous financial power to military advantage. Britain relied heavily on its Royal Navy for security, seeking to keep it the most powerful fleet afloat with a complement of bases across the globe. Britain was a giant that was less of a dominant diplomatic force in the 1920s than before. It often had to give way to the United States, which exercised its financial superiority. The main themes of British foreign policy include a role at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and he was partly successful, but Britain soon had to moderate French policy toward Germany, as in the Locarno Treaties. Britain was an member of the new League of Nations. Disarmament was high on the agenda, and Britain played a role following the United States in the Washington Naval Conference of 1921 in working toward naval disarmament of the major powers. By 1933 disarmament had collapsed and the issue became rearming for a war against Germany, Britain was much less successful in negotiating with United States regarding the large loans. Britain supported the American solution through the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan, the Great Depression starting in 1929 put enormous pressure on the British economy. Britain move toward imperial preference, which meant low tariffs among the Commonwealth of Nations, the flow of money from New York dried up, and the system of reparations and payment of debt died in 1931. In domestic British politics, the emerging Labour Party had a distinctive and its leaders believed that peace was impossible because of capitalism, secret diplomacy, and the trade in armaments. That is it stressed material factors that ignored the psychological memories of the Great War, and the emotional tensions regarding nationalism. Nevertheless, party leader Ramsay MacDonald spent much of his attention on European policies, vivid memories of the horrors and deaths of the World War inclined many Britons—and their leaders in all parties—to pacifism in the interwar era
Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
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The Yang di-Pertuan Agong in a carriage with Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom on the state visit to London, 1974.
Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
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United Kingdom
Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
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United States President Barack Obama talks to British Prime Minister David Cameron on the South Lawn of the White House, 20 July 2010
36.
United Kingdom and the United Nations
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The United Kingdom is a founding member of the United Nations and one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council. As the fifth largest provider of financial contributions to the United Nations, the UK provided 5 percent of the UN budget in 2015, and 6.7 percent of the peacekeeping budget. British English is one of the six languages of the United Nations. Permanent Missions of the United Kingdom to the United Nations are maintained in New York City, Geneva and these diplomatic missions represent the UK during negotiations and ensure Britains interests and views are taken into account by UN bodies and other member states. This was the first of six conferences that led up to the founding of the United Nations, during the visit, the name United Nations was suggested by Roosevelt to Churchill to refer to the Allies of World War II. Roosevelt proposed it as an alternative to Associated Powers, a term the U. S. used in the First World War. Churchill accepted the idea noting the phase was used by Lord Byron in the poem Childe Harolds Pilgrimage, the name appeared in the Declaration by the United Nations, which was drafted by Roosevelt and Churchill with Roosevelts aide Harry Hopkins while meeting at the White House in December 1941. The phrase Four Policemen was coined to refer to the four major Allied countries, the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, the term United Nations was first officially used when 26 governments signed this Declaration in January 1942. Winston Churchill urged Roosevelt to restore France to its status of a major Power after the liberation of Paris in August 1944, the heads of the delegations of the sponsoring countries took turns as chairman of the plenary meetings beginning with Anthony Eden of Britain. The first meetings of the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council took place in London beginning on 6 January 1946, the General Assembly met in Westminster Central Hall, and the Security Council met at Church House, Westminster. The United Kingdom has used its Security Council veto power on 32 occasions, the first occurrence was in October 1956 when the United Kingdom and France vetoed a letter from the US to the president of the Security Council concerning Palestine. The most recent was in December 1989 when the United Kingdom, France, along with France, the United Kingdom used its veto power to veto a draft resolution aimed at resolving the Suez Canal crisis in 1956. The United Kingdom has stated its support for modernisation of the United Nations, according to a formal statement made jointly by the United Kingdom and France in 2008, Reform of the UNSC, both its enlargement and the improvement of its working methods, must therefore succeed. We reaffirm the support of our two countries for the candidacies of Germany, Brazil, India and Japan for permanent membership and we will work with all our partners to define the parameters of such a reform. UNSC reform requires a commitment from the member states at the highest level. We will work in this direction in the months with a view to achieving effective reform. Under the United Nations Command, the United Kingdom participated in the Korean War from 1950-53, since then, the UK has contributed to a number of United Nations peacekeeping missions. In the 1990s, British Armed Forces were part of the United Nations Protection Force from 1992–1995 that intervened in the Bosnian War, the 2000 British military intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War supported the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone
United Kingdom and the United Nations
37.
Politics of the European Union
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The Politics of the European Union are different from other organisations and states due to the unique nature of the European Union. These areas are primarily under the control of the EUs member states although an amount of structured co-operation and coordination takes place in these areas. For the EU to take actions in these areas, all Member States must give their consent. The principle of subsidiarity does not apply to areas of exclusive competence, the common institutions mix the intergovernmental and supranational aspects of the EU. The EU treaties declare the EU to be based on representative democracy, the Parliament, together with the Council, form the legislative arm of the EU. The Council is composed of governments, thus representing the intergovernmental nature of the EU. Laws are proposed by the European Commission which is appointed by and accountable to the Parliament, although direct elections take place every five years, there are no cohesive political parties in the national sense. Instead, there are alliances of ideologically associated parties who sit, the two largest parties are the European Peoples Party and the Party of European Socialists with the former forming the largest group in Parliament since 1999. The latter is stronger in northern Europe, especially the United Kingdom, legitimation of the European Union rests on the Treaty System. After World War Two, Europe sought to end conflict permanently between France and Germany, in the spirit of the Marshall Plan, those two nations signed the Treaty of Paris in 1951, establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. Since then, the Treaty of Paris, which focused on price setting, the legal basis for the European Community now rests on two treaties, The Treaty for the European Union of 1958, and The Treaty of Maastricht of 1992. The various additions and modifications of treaties has led to a patchwork of policy and planning, the pastiche of treaties, and not a single actualising charter of government, form the constitutional basis of the European Union. This ambiguity is a cause of democratic deficit. The EU itself is a personality and a set of governing institutions empowered by the treaties. However sovereignty is not invested in those institutions, it is pooled with ultimate sovereignty resting with the national governments, yet in those areas where the EU has been granted competencies, it does have the power to pass binding and direct laws upon its members. The competencies of the European Union stem from the original Coal and Steel Community, the original competencies were regulatory in nature, restricted to matters of maintaining a healthy business environment. Rulings were confined to laws covering trade, currency, and competition, increases in the number of EU competencies result from a process known as functional spillover. Functional spillover resulted in, first, the integration of banking and insurance industries to manage finance, the size of the bureaucracies increased, requiring modifications to the treaty system as the scope of competencies integrated more and more functions
Politics of the European Union
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High Representative Federica Mogherini
Politics of the European Union
38.
Commonwealth of Nations
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The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as simply the Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of 52 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire. The Commonwealth dates back to the century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which established the states as free. The symbol of free association is Queen Elizabeth II who is the Head of the Commonwealth. The Queen is also the monarch of 16 members of the Commonwealth, the other Commonwealth members have different heads of state,31 members are republics and five are monarchies with a different monarch. Member states have no obligation to one another. Instead, they are united by language, history, culture and their values of democracy, free speech, human rights. These values are enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter and promoted by the quadrennial Commonwealth Games, the Commonwealth covers more than 29,958,050 km2, 20% of the worlds land area, and spans all six inhabited continents. She declared, So, it marks the beginning of that free association of independent states which is now known as the Commonwealth of Nations. As long ago as 1884, however, Lord Rosebery, while visiting Australia, had described the changing British Empire—as some of its colonies became more independent—as a Commonwealth of Nations. Conferences of British and colonial prime ministers occurred periodically from the first one in 1887, the Commonwealth developed from the imperial conferences. Newfoundland never did, as on 16 February 1934, with the consent of its parliament, Newfoundland later joined Canada as its 10th province in 1949. Australia and New Zealand ratified the Statute in 1942 and 1947 respectively, after World War II ended, the British Empire was gradually dismantled. Most of its components have become independent countries, whether Commonwealth realms or republics, there remain the 14 British overseas territories still held by the United Kingdom. In April 1949, following the London Declaration, the word British was dropped from the title of the Commonwealth to reflect its changing nature, burma and Aden are the only states that were British colonies at the time of the war not to have joined the Commonwealth upon independence. Hoped for success was reinforced by such achievements as climbing Mount Everest in 1953, breaking the four minute mile in 1954, however, the humiliation of the Suez Crisis of 1956 badly hurt morale of Britain and the Commonwealth as a whole. More broadly, there was the loss of a role of the British Empire. That role was no longer militarily or financially feasible, as Britains withdrawal from Greece in 1947 painfully demonstrated, Britain itself was now just one part of the NATO military alliance in which the Commonwealth had no role apart from Canada
Commonwealth of Nations
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Flag
Commonwealth of Nations
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The prime ministers of five members at the 1944 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference. (L-R) Mackenzie King (Canada); Jan Smuts (South Africa); Winston Churchill (United Kingdom); Peter Fraser (New Zealand); John Curtin (Australia)
Commonwealth of Nations
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Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
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Marlborough House, London, the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth's principal intergovernmental institution
39.
Speaker (politics)
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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)
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Marshal's chair in the Sejm, lower chamber of the Polish Parliament
Speaker (politics)
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Parliament of Albania
Speaker (politics)
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Palace of the Croatian parliament
40.
United Kingdom general election, 2010
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The United Kingdom general election of 2010 was held on Thursday,6 May 2010, with 45,597,461 registered voters entitled to vote to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom under the first-past-the-post system, none of the parties achieved the 326 seats needed for an overall majority. The Conservative Party, led by David Cameron, won the largest number of votes and seats and this resulted in a hung parliament where no party was able to command a majority in the House of Commons. This was only the general election since World War II to return a hung parliament. The coalition government that was formed was the first coalition in British history to eventuate directly from an election outcome. The hung parliament came in spite of the Conservatives managing a higher share of the vote than the previous Labour government had done in 2005 that had a comfortable majority, Coalition talks began immediately between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats and lasted for five days. There was an attempt to put together a Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition. To facilitate this Gordon Brown announced on the evening of Monday 10 May that he would resign as Labour Party leader. Realising that a deal with the Conservatives was in reach, the day on Tuesday 11 May, Brown announced his resignation as Prime Minister. This was accepted by Queen Elizabeth II, who then invited David Cameron to form a government in her name and become Prime Minister, none of the three main party leaders had previously led a general election campaign, a situation which had not occurred since the 1979 election. During the campaign, the three party leaders engaged in a series of televised debates, the first such debates in a British general election campaign. The Liberal Democrats achieved a breakthrough in opinion polls after the first debate, nonetheless on polling day their share of the vote increased by only 1% over the previous general election, and they suffered a net loss of five seats. This was still the Liberal Democrats largest popular vote since the partys creation, the share of votes for parties other than Labour or the Conservatives was 35%, the largest since the 1918 general election. In terms of votes it was the most three-cornered election since 1923, the Green Party of England and Wales won its first ever seat in the Commons, and the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland also gained its first elected member. The General Election saw a 5. 1% national swing from Labour to the Conservatives, the result in one constituency, Oldham East and Saddleworth, was subsequently declared void on petition because of illegal practices during the campaign, the first such instance since 1910. The election took place on 6 May in 649 constituencies across the United Kingdom, under the first-past-the-post system, voting in the Thirsk and Malton constituency was postponed for three weeks because of the death of a candidate. The governing Labour Party had campaigned to secure a consecutive term in office. The Conservative Party sought to gain a dominant position in British politics after losses in the 1990s, the Liberal Democrats hoped to make gains from both sides and hoped to hold the balance of power in a hung parliament
United Kingdom general election, 2010
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All 650 seats in the House of Commons 326 seats needed for a majority
United Kingdom general election, 2010
United Kingdom general election, 2010
United Kingdom general election, 2010
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An election sign in a residential property.
41.
Peter de Montfort
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Peter de Montfort of Beaudesert Castle was an English magnate, soldier and diplomat. He is the first person recorded as having presided over Parliament as a parlour or prolocutor and he was one of those elected by the barons to represent them during the constitutional crisis with Henry III in 1258. He was later a supporter of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. Both he and Simon de Montfort were slain at the Battle of Evesham on 4 August 1265, Peter de Montfort was the son of Thurstan de Montfort by a daughter of William I de Cantilupe of Aston Cantilupe, Warwickshire, Steward of the Household to King John. It is thought to have been Peter de Montfort who walled the inner bailey in stone, in 1236 he made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella in the company of another of his uncles, William II de Cantilupe. In 1242 he attended Henry III on an expedition to Poitou, at some earlier date, he took part in a prohibited tournament at Cambridge, as a result of which the King took his lands from him, they were restored in 1245. Beaudesert was only nine miles from Kenilworth, which from 1244 on was the base of Simon de Montfort, according to Carpenter, it was likely this proximity which drew Montfort into the Earls circle. He attested a number of the Earls charters, and in the autumn of 1248 was in his retinue while the Earl was Seneschal in Gascony. He had returned to England by 1251, when he was given custody of Horston Castle in Derbyshire, in April 1258 he and Simon de Montfort were among the seven magnates who revolted against Henry III. He and the Earl were also among the magnates who drew up plans for reform. In the autumn of 1259 he was with the King and Queen when they travelled to France to arrange a peace with Louis IX, in the same year he was named an executor of Simon de Montforts will. He took part with other barons in attacking Worcester, which fell on 28 February 1263 after several assaults, a temporary peace between the King and the barons was arranged in July of that year, and Montfort was given charge of Corfe Castle and Shirburn Castle. Simon de Montfort had left England after Henry IIIs return to power, in March 1264 civil war again broke out, and Peter de Montfort sided with Simon de Montfort against the King. On 5 April the castle was retaken by the King, and Peter de Montfort and his sons were taken prisoner and they were released after Simon de Montforts victory at the Battle of Lewes. During the subsequent dominance of Simon de Montfort, Peter de Montfort became one of a nine-member council forced upon the King in June 1264, thereafter he played a principal role in the government of the county. On 11 September he was appointed one of the envoys who negotiated the reformation of the English government in the presence of Louis IX of France, on 16 November he and his heirs were granted the manor of Garthorpe, Leicestershire. On 20 December he was granted custody of Whittington Castle and Hereford Castle and he accompanied Simon de Montfort when the latter journeyed into Wales, and was joint keeper of the royal seal during that time. He was with Simon de Montfort in his campaign, and was slain with him at the Battle of Evesham on 4 August 1265
Peter de Montfort
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Depiction of death of Simon de Montfort at Evesham, at which battle Peter de Montfort was also slain
Peter de Montfort
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Arms of Peter de Montfort: Bendy of eight or and azure, as shown on the Dering Roll (1270/80)
42.
John of Gaunt
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John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third of five surviving sons of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He was called John of Gaunt because he was born in Ghent, when he became unpopular later in life, scurrilous rumours and lampoons circulated that he was actually the son of a Ghent butcher, perhaps because Edward III was not present at the birth. This story always drove him to fury, due to some generous land grants, John was one of the richest men in his era. John of Gaunts legitimate male heirs, the Lancasters, include Kings Henry IV, Henry V and his other legitimate descendants include his daughters Queen Philippa of Portugal and Elizabeth, Duchess of Exeter, and Queen Catherine of Castile. John fathered five children outside marriage, one early in life by a lady-in-waiting to his mother, the children of Katherine Swynford, surnamed Beaufort, were legitimised by royal and papal decrees after John and Katherine married in 1396. Through his daughter Philippa, he was grandfather of King Edward of Portugal, through John II of Castiles great-granddaughter Joanna the Mad, John of Gaunt is also an ancestor of the Habsburg rulers who would reign in Spain and much of central Europe. When John of Gaunt died in 1399, his estates and titles were declared forfeit to the crown, since King Richard II had named Henry a traitor, Henry Bolingbroke returned from exile to reclaim his inheritance and depose Richard. Bolingbroke then reigned as King Henry IV of England, the first of the descendants of John of Gaunt to hold the throne of England, John was the fourth son of King Edward III of England. His first wife, Blanche of Lancaster, was also his third cousin and they married in 1359 at Reading Abbey as a part of the efforts of Edward III to arrange matches for his sons with wealthy heiresses. He also became the 14th Baron of Halton and 11th Lord of Bowland, John inherited the rest of the Lancaster property when Blanches sister Maud, Countess of Leicester, died without issue on 10 April 1362. John received the title Duke of Lancaster from his father on 13 November 1362, by then well established, he owned at least thirty castles and estates across England and France and maintained a household comparable in scale and organisation to that of a monarch. He owned land in almost every county in England, a patrimony that produced a net income of between £8,000 and £10,000 a year, however, Johns ascendancy to political power coincided with widespread resentment of his influence. Although he fought in the Battle of Nájera, for example, when Edward III died in 1377 and Johns ten-year-old nephew succeeded as Richard II of England, Johns influence strengthened. However, mistrust remained, and some suspected him of wanting to seize the throne himself, John took pains to ensure that he never became associated with the opposition to Richards kingship. As de facto ruler during Richards minority, he made unwise decisions on taxation that led to the Peasants Revolt in 1381, when the rebels destroyed his home in London, the Savoy Palace. Unlike some of Richards unpopular advisors, John was away from London at the time of the uprising and thus avoided the direct wrath of the rebels. In 1386 John left England to seek the throne of Castile, claimed in Jure uxoris by right of his wife, Constance of Castile. However, crisis ensued almost immediately in his absence, and in 1387 King Richards misrule brought England to the brink of civil war
John of Gaunt
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A retrospective portrait commissioned in c.1593 by Sir Edward Hoby for Queenborough Castle, Kent, probably modelled on Gaunt's tomb effigy.
John of Gaunt
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Kenilworth Castle, a massive fortress extensively modernised and given a new Great Hall by John of Gaunt after 1350
John of Gaunt
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1640 drawing of tombs of Katherine Swynford and daughter Joan Beaufort
John of Gaunt
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The tomb of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster in St. Paul's Cathedral, as represented in an etching of 1658 by Wenceslaus Hollar. The etching includes a number of inaccuracies, for example in not showing the couple with joined hands.
43.
John Cheyne (speaker)
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Sir John Cheyne or Cheney was a Member of Parliament and briefly the initial Speaker of the House of Commons of England in the Parliament of October 1399, summoned by the newly acclaimed Henry IV. In 1372 he married Margaret, daughter of William, Lord Deincourt and he becamee an esquire in the kings household and was knighted in 1378. He took part in a number of missions and became MP for Gloucestershire in 1390,1393,1394 and 1399. The revolution of 1399 made for strange bedfellows, although Cheyne is never called a Lollard by contemporaries, he was a core member of a connection of knights held to be promoters of, or at least sympathetic to, that emerging sect. His testament did reflect some of that sects attitudes but embedded in a deal of orthodoxy. Under Henry IV he continued to be employed on diplomatic missions and he acquired property in Beckford, Gloucestershire as his principal estate. He died in 1414 and was buried in Beckford churchyard and he had been married a second time to Margaret, daughter and heir of Sir Edward Lovetot of Southoe, Huntingdonshire with whom he had a son, John
John Cheyne (speaker)
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House of Commons of England
44.
Archbishop of Canterbury
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The current archbishop is Justin Welby. His enthronement took place at Canterbury Cathedral on 21 March 2013, Welby is the 105th in a line which goes back more than 1400 years to Augustine of Canterbury, the Apostle to the English, sent from Rome in the year 597. From the time of Augustine in the 6th until the 16th century, during the English Reformation the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. In the Middle Ages there was variation in the methods of nomination of the Archbishop of Canterbury. At various times the choice was made by the canons of Canterbury Cathedral, today the archbishop fills four main roles, He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, which covers the eastern parts of the County of Kent. Founded in 597, it is the oldest see in the English church and he is the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Canterbury, which covers the southern two-thirds of England. He is the primate and chief religious figure of the Church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury plays a part in national ceremonies such as coronations, due to his high public profile. As spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop, although without legal authority outside England, is recognised by convention as primus inter pares of all Anglican primates worldwide, since 1867 he has convened more or less decennial meetings of worldwide Anglican bishops, the Lambeth Conferences. In the last two of these functions he has an important ecumenical and interfaith role, speaking on behalf of Anglicans in England, the archbishops main residence is Lambeth Palace in the London Borough of Lambeth. He also has lodgings in the Old Palace, Canterbury, located beside Canterbury Cathedral, as holder of one of the five great sees, the Archbishop of Canterbury is ex officio one of the Lords Spiritual of the House of Lords. He is one of the men in England and the highest ranking non-royal in the United Kingdoms order of precedence. Since Henry VIII broke with Rome, the Archbishops of Canterbury have been selected by the English monarch, today the choice is made in the name of the monarch by the prime minister, from a shortlist of two selected by an ad-hoc committee called the Crown Nominations Commission. Since the 20th century, the appointment of Archbishops of Canterbury conventionally alternates between more moderate Anglo-Catholics and Evangelicals, the current archbishop, Justin Welby, the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury, was enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral on 4 February 2013. As archbishop he signs himself as + Justin Cantuar and his predecessor, Rowan Williams, 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, was enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral on 27 February 2003. Immediately prior to his appointment to Canterbury, Williams was the Bishop of Monmouth, on 18 March 2012, Williams announced he would be stepping down as Archbishop of Canterbury at the end of 2012 to become Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. In addition to his office, the archbishop also holds a number of positions, for example, he is Joint President of the Council of Christians. Some positions he formally holds ex officio and others virtually so, geoffrey Fisher, 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, was the first since 1397 to visit Rome, where he held private talks with Pope John XXIII in 1960
Archbishop of Canterbury
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The Archbishop of Canterbury's official London residence is Lambeth Palace, photographed looking east across the River Thames.
Archbishop of Canterbury
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Arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury: Azure, an archiepiscopal cross in pale or surmounted by a pall proper charged with four crosses patée fitchée sable
45.
Thomas Arundel
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Thomas Arundel was Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397 and from 1399 until his death, an outspoken opponent of the Lollards. Arundel was born, probably in Etchingham, Sussex, England, a younger son of Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel and Eleanor of Lancaster. His elder brother was John FitzAlan, 1st Baron Arundel, on 3 April 1388, Arundel was elevated to the position of Archbishop of York at a time when Richard II was, in effect, suspended from rule. Given Elys wealth and ease, this promotion was clearly as much to do with status, Arundel served twice as Lord Chancellor, during the reign of King Richard II, first from 1386 to 1389, and again from 1391 to 1396. Throughout his life Arundel was more trustful than was good for him, besides, as was to prove the case at Canterbury too, he was also a very good spotter of administrative talent. On 25 September 1396, Arundel was made Archbishop of Canterbury, the kings nomination seemed to wish him nothing but success. Yet, within a year, he was exiled by the king during Richards fierce counter-attack against his enemies of ten years earlier, although not soul-mates, they invaded England together and forced Richard to yield the crown to Bolingbroke as Henry IV. The new regime secured the reversal of several of Richards acts, Arundel returned to his primacy, while Walden—with the support of Arundel—was eventually translated to the important see of London. As the king collapsed into ill-health from 1405, Arundel returned to the forefront of government, at one point, he even took the sick king into Lambeth Palace itself for care. In 1405–06 he had to deal with the crisis with the papacy provoked by the decision to execute Richard Scrope. Formally, under Henry IV, Arundel served twice as Lord Chancellor, first in 1399, when Henry IVs son succeeded as Henry V, Arundels influence at court decreased. Arundel was a vehement opponent of the Lollards, the followers of John Wycliffe and it empowered the bishops to arrest, imprison, and examine offenders and to hand over to the secular authorities such as had relapsed or refused to abjure. The condemned were to be burnt in a place before the people. This act was probably pushed through by the authoritative Arundel and its passing was immediately followed by the burning of William Sawtrey, curate of St Margarets, Lynn. He had previously abjured but had relapsed, and he now refused to declare his belief in transubstantiation or to recognise the authority of the Church, in 1410, a body of Oxford censors condemned 267 propositions collected out of Wycliffes writings. These different measures seem to have been successful at least as far as the clergy were concerned, the death penalty was seldom carried out. Until 1410, no further Lollards were executed, the 1414 Oldcastle Revolt saw a minority of the seventy or so who were hanged also burned. Thereafter, executions were again few until the Tudor period, Arundel had a stroke which left him unable to speak shortly afterwards
Thomas Arundel
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Arundel preaching [citation needed]
Thomas Arundel
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Thomas Arundel served twice as Lord Chancellor (1399 & 1407–1410) under Henry IV.
46.
Roger Hunt (speaker)
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Roger Hunt was an English MP and Speaker of the House of Commons. He was of obscure origins, but acquired the manor of Molesworth in Huntingdonshire and acquired a circle of friends such as Sir John Tiptoft and John Mowbray. About 1402, he leased a London house, perhaps while training as a lawyer at Lincolns Inn, and became royal attorney for the common pleas, under Tiptofts patronage, from 1408 to 1410. In 1407, he was returned as knight of the shire for Huntingdonshire, on three occasions he chose to represent Bedfordshire, where he had interests at Chawston, instead of Huntingdonshire. He was elected Speaker of the House in 1420 and again in 1433, following his parliamentary career he was appointed High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire for 1433 and 1434. He was appointed second baron of the exchequer in 1439 until 1447 and he had married Margery, whose surname was probably Bullock, they had a son, Roger, who succeeded to his fathers estates in July 1456. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Archbold. Hunt, Roger of Chawston, Beds and Molesworth, Hunts, the History of Parliament, the House of Commons 1386-1421
Roger Hunt (speaker)
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House of Commons of England
47.
Thomas More
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Sir Thomas More, venerated by Roman Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was also a councillor to Henry VIII, and Lord High Chancellor of England from October 1529 to 16 May 1532 and he also wrote Utopia, published in 1516, about the political system of an imaginary ideal island nation. More opposed the Protestant Reformation, in particular the theology of Martin Luther, More also opposed the Kings separation from the Catholic Church, refusing to acknowledge Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England and the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. After refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy, he was convicted of treason, of his execution, he was reported to have said, I die the Kings good servant, but Gods first. Pope Pius XI canonised More in 1935 as a martyr, Pope John Paul II in 2000 declared him the heavenly Patron of Statesmen and Politicians. Since 1980, the Church of England has remembered More liturgically as a Reformation martyr, the Soviet Union honoured him for the Communist attitude toward property rights expressed in Utopia. From 1490 to 1492, More served John Morton, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor of England, Morton enthusiastically supported the New Learning, and thought highly of the young More. Believing that More had great potential, Morton nominated him for a place at the University of Oxford, More began his studies at Oxford in 1492, and received a classical education. Studying under Thomas Linacre and William Grocyn, he became proficient in both Latin and Greek, More left Oxford after only two years—at his fathers insistence—to begin legal training in London at New Inn, one of the Inns of Chancery. In 1496, More became a student at Lincolns Inn, one of the Inns of Court, where he remained until 1502, according to his friend, theologian Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, More once seriously contemplated abandoning his legal career to become a monk. Between 1503 and 1504 More lived near the Carthusian monastery outside the walls of London, although he deeply admired their piety, More ultimately decided to remain a layman, standing for election to Parliament in 1504 and marrying the following year. In spite of his choice to pursue a career, More continued ascetic practices for the rest of his life, such as wearing a hair shirt next to his skin. A tradition of the Third Order of Saint Francis honours More as a member of that Order on their calendar of saints, More married Jane Colt in 1505. She was five years younger than her husband, quiet and good-natured, Erasmus reported that More wanted to give his young wife a better education than she had previously received at home, and tutored her in music and literature. The couple had four children before Jane died in 1511, Margaret, Elizabeth, Cicely, going against friends advice and common custom, within thirty days More had married one of the many eligible women among his wide circle of friends. He certainly expected a mother to care of his little children and, as the view of his time considered marriage as an economic union, he chose a rich widow. More was not viewed as being in haste to remarry for the gratification of sexual pleasure, as Alice was older than he, and their marriage was possibly not consummated. The speed of the marriage was so unusual that More had to get a dispensation of the banns, Alice More lacked Janes docility, Mores friend Andrew Ammonius derided Alice as a hook-nosed harpy
Thomas More
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Sir Thomas More, by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1527
Thomas More
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Medallion of Thomas More
Thomas More
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Rowland Lockey after Hans Holbein the Younger, The Family of Sir Thomas More, c. 1594
Thomas More
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Study for a portrait of Thomas More's family, c. 1527, by Hans Holbein the Younger
48.
English Civil War
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The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists over, principally, the manner of Englands government. The war ended with the Parliamentarian victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651, the monopoly of the Church of England on Christian worship in England ended with the victors consolidating the established Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. The term English Civil War appears most often in the singular form, the war in all these countries are known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Unlike other civil wars in England, which focused on who should rule, this war was more concerned with the manner in which the kingdoms of England, Scotland, the two sides had their geographical strongholds, such that minority elements were silenced or fled. The strongholds of the royalty included the countryside, the shires, on the other hand, all the cathedral cities sided with Parliament. All the industrial centers, the ports, and the advanced regions of southern and eastern England typically were parliamentary strongholds. Lacey Baldwin Smith says, the words populist, rich, at times there would be two groups of three lines allowing one group to reload while the other group arranged themselves and fired. Mixed in among the musketeers were pikemen carrying pikes that were between 12 feet and 18 feet long, whose purpose was to protect the musketeers from cavalry charges. The Royalist cavaliers skill and speed on horseback led to early victories. While the Parliamentarian cavalry were slower than the cavaliers, they were better disciplined. The Royalists had a tendency to chase down individual targets after the initial charge leaving their forces scattered and tired, Cromwells cavalry, on the other hand, trained to operate as a single unit, which led to many decisive victories. The English Civil War broke out fewer than forty years after the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, in spite of this, James personal extravagance meant he was perennially short of money and had to resort to extra-Parliamentary sources of income. Charles hoped to unite the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland into a new single kingdom, many English Parliamentarians had suspicions regarding such a move because they feared that setting up a new kingdom might destroy the old English traditions which had bound the English monarchy. As Charles shared his fathers position on the power of the crown, at the time, the Parliament of England did not have a large permanent role in the English system of government. Instead, Parliament functioned as an advisory committee and was summoned only if. Once summoned, a continued existence was at the kings pleasure. Yet in spite of this role, Parliament had, over the preceding centuries. Without question, for a monarch, Parliaments most indispensable power was its ability to tax revenues far in excess of all other sources of revenue at the Crowns disposal
English Civil War
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The victory of the Parliamentarian New Model Army over the Royalist Army at the Battle of Naseby on 14 June 1645 marked the decisive turning point in the English Civil War.
English Civil War
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Charles I, painted by Van Dyck
English Civil War
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Henrietta Maria, painted by Peter Lely, 1660
English Civil War
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Session of the Long Parliament
49.
Charles I of England
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Charles I was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles was the son of King James VI of Scotland, but after his father inherited the English throne in 1603, he moved to England. He became heir apparent to the English, Irish, and Scottish thrones on the death of his brother, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. Two years later, he married the Bourbon princess Henrietta Maria of France instead, after his succession, Charles quarrelled with the Parliament of England, which sought to curb his royal prerogative. Charles believed in the right of kings and thought he could govern according to his own conscience. Many of his subjects opposed his policies, in particular the levying of taxes without parliamentary consent and he supported high church ecclesiastics, such as Richard Montagu and William Laud, and failed to aid Protestant forces successfully during the Thirty Years War. From 1642, Charles fought the armies of the English and Scottish parliaments in the English Civil War, after his defeat in 1645, he surrendered to a Scottish force that eventually handed him over to the English Parliament. Charles refused to accept his captors demands for a constitutional monarchy, re-imprisoned on the Isle of Wight, Charles forged an alliance with Scotland, but by the end of 1648 Oliver Cromwells New Model Army had consolidated its control over England. Charles was tried, convicted, and executed for treason in January 1649. The monarchy was abolished and a called the Commonwealth of England was declared. The monarchy was restored to Charless son, Charles II, in 1660, the second son of King James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark, Charles was born in Dunfermline Palace, Fife, on 19 November 1600. James VI was the first cousin twice removed of Queen Elizabeth I of England, in mid-July 1604, Charles left Dunfermline for England where he was to spend most of the rest of his life. His speech development was slow, and he retained a stammer, or hesitant speech. In January 1605, Charles was created Duke of York, as is customary in the case of the English sovereigns second son, Thomas Murray, a Presbyterian Scot, was appointed as a tutor. Charles learnt the usual subjects of classics, languages, mathematics, in 1611, he was made a Knight of the Garter. Eventually, Charles apparently conquered his physical infirmity, which might have been caused by rickets and he became an adept horseman and marksman, and took up fencing. Even so, his public profile remained low in contrast to that of his stronger and taller elder brother, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. However, in early November 1612, Henry died at the age of 18 of what is suspected to have been typhoid, Charles, who turned 12 two weeks later, became heir apparent
Charles I of England
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Portrait from the studio of Anthony van Dyck, 1636
Charles I of England
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Engraving by Simon de Passe of Charles and his parents, King James and Queen Anne, c. 1612
Charles I of England
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Portrait by Robert Peake, c. 1610
Charles I of England
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Portrait of Charles as Prince of Wales after Daniel Mytens, c. 1623
50.
Five members
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When rumours reached the court that they were also planning to impeach the Queen for alleged involvement in Catholic plots, Charles decided to arrest them for treason. The counterclaim was that the King had an Irish army set to reduce the kingdom, the Speaker of the House during the Long Parliament was William Lenthall. On Tuesday,4 January 1642, the King entered the House of Commons to seize the Five Members, and sat in the speakers chair. Lenthall fell on his knees and replied, May it please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in place but as the House is pleased to direct me. However, he consented to appear as a witness against Thomas Scot in the wave of prosecutions of the regicides in 1660 which followed the Restoration of the Monarchy. The action of the king was the catalyst for the Civil War, the beheading of the king, after his failure to capture the Five Members and fearing for his familys lives, King Charles left London for Oxford. Most of the royalist members of Parliament joined him there, where they formed the Oxford Parliament, the Long Parliament continued to sit during and beyond the Civil War without its royalist members, because of the Dissolution Act. The power of the system was further undermined in the second half of the fourteenth century in the Black Death. Her 1588 Tilbury speech shows the relationship between monarch and people of the day, a ruler somewhat constrained by the will of the people. Thus it was that Speaker Lenthalls reply to the King implemented the effect of the Triennial Act, at his approach the doors to the Commons Chamber are slammed in his face, symbolising the rights of parliament and its independence from the monarch. He bangs forcefully with the end of his ceremonial staff three times on the doors which are then opened to him. This is a show of the refusal by the Commons ever again to be entered by force by the monarch or one of their servants when the House is sitting, simkin, John, Five Members, Spartacus Educational, retrieved May 2013
Five members
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Lenthall kneels to Charles during the attempted arrest of the Five Members, painting by Charles West Cope in the Houses of Parliament
51.
William III of England
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It is a coincidence that his regnal number was the same for both Orange and England. As King of Scotland, he is known as William II and he is informally known by sections of the population in Northern Ireland and Scotland as King Billy. William inherited the principality of Orange from his father, William II and his mother Mary, Princess Royal, was the daughter of King Charles I of England. In 1677, he married his fifteen-year-old first cousin, Mary, a Protestant, William participated in several wars against the powerful Catholic king of France, Louis XIV, in coalition with Protestant and Catholic powers in Europe. Many Protestants heralded him as a champion of their faith, in 1685, his Catholic father-in-law, James, Duke of York, became king of England, Ireland and Scotland. Jamess reign was unpopular with the Protestant majority in Britain, William, supported by a group of influential British political and religious leaders, invaded England in what became known as the Glorious Revolution. On 5 November 1688, he landed at the southern English port of Brixham, James was deposed and William and Mary became joint sovereigns in his place. They reigned together until her death on 28 December 1694, after which William ruled as sole monarch, Williams reputation as a staunch Protestant enabled him to take the British crowns when many were fearful of a revival of Catholicism under James. Williams victory at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 is still commemorated by the Orange Order and his reign in Britain marked the beginning of the transition from the personal rule of the Stuarts to the more Parliament-centred rule of the House of Hanover. William III was born in The Hague in the Dutch Republic on 4 November 1650, baptised William Henry, he was the only child of stadtholder William II, Prince of Orange, and Mary, Princess Royal. Mary was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland, eight days before William was born, his father died of smallpox, thus William was the Sovereign Prince of Orange from the moment of his birth. Immediately, a conflict ensued between his mother the Princess Royal and William IIs mother, Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, over the name to be given to the infant. Mary wanted to name him Charles after her brother, but her mother-in-law insisted on giving him the name William or Willem to bolster his prospects of becoming stadtholder. William II had appointed his wife as his sons guardian in his will, however, Williams mother showed little personal interest in her son, sometimes being absent for years, and had always deliberately kept herself apart from Dutch society. Williams education was first laid in the hands of several Dutch governesses, some of English descent, including Walburg Howard, from April 1656, the prince received daily instruction in the Reformed religion from the Calvinist preacher Cornelis Trigland, a follower of the Contra-Remonstrant theologian Gisbertus Voetius. The ideal education for William was described in Discours sur la nourriture de S. H. Monseigneur le Prince dOrange, in these lessons, the prince was taught that he was predestined to become an instrument of Divine Providence, fulfilling the historical destiny of the House of Orange. From early 1659, William spent seven years at the University of Leiden for a formal education, under the guidance of ethics professor Hendrik Bornius. While residing in the Prinsenhof at Delft, William had a personal retinue including Hans Willem Bentinck, and a new governor, Frederick Nassau de Zuylenstein
William III of England
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William III by Sir Godfrey Kneller
William III of England
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William's parents, William II of Orange and Mary Stuart, Princess Royal
William III of England
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The young prince portrayed in a flower garland painting by Jan Davidsz de Heem filled with symbols of the House of Orange
William III of England
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Johan de Witt took over William's education in 1666.
52.
Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer
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Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, KG was a British politician and statesman of the late Stuart and early Georgian periods. He began his career as a Whig, before defecting to a new Tory Ministry and he was raised to the peerage as an earl in 1711. Between 1711 and 1714 he served as Lord High Treasurer, effectively Queen Annes chief minister and he has been called a Prime Minister, though it is generally accepted that the position was first held by Sir Robert Walpole in 1721. Harleys government agreed to the Treaty of Utrecht with France in 1713, in 1714 he fell from favour following the accession of the first monarch of the House of Hanover, George I and was for a time imprisoned in the Tower of London by his political enemies. He was also a literary figure and served as a patron of both the October Club and the Scriblerus Club. Harley Street is sometimes said to be named after him, although it was his son Edward Harley who actually developed the area. He was educated at Shilton, near Burford, in Oxfordshire, in a school which produced at the same time a Lord High Treasurer, a Lord High Chancellor. Harley then spent some time at Fouberts Academy, but disliked it and he entered the Inner Temple on 18 March 1682, but was never called to the bar. The principles of Whiggism and Nonconformism were taught him at an early age and his father was wrongly imprisoned for suspected support for the Monmouth rebellion in 1685 and Harley wrote that we are not a little rejoiced at Monmouths defeat. By 1688 Harley was acting as his fathers agent in promoting support for William, Prince of Orange, Harley was sent to report to William, meeting him at Henley. Harley obtained a commission as a major of foot in Herefordshire. He sat for Tregony for one parliament, after which, in 1690, he was elected by the constituency of New Radnor, which he represented until his elevation to the peerage in 1711. From an early age, Harley paid particular attention to the conduct of business, taking special care over the study of the forms. He also helped to defeat a Tory amendment to the Bill of Rights that would have enabled James IIs son James Francis Edward Stuart to inherit the crown if he converted to Protestantism. He therefore proposed a motion that future appointments of English foot regiments should be manned by Englishmen, in December 1690 he was elected to the Commission of Public Accounts to examine, take and state the accounts of the realm since Williams accession, as expenditure had ballooned. Harley supported a Bill to exclude from the Commons holders of government office, in taking part in the debates, Harley wrote, I hope we have shown the parts of honest men and lovers of our country. He also supported the Triennial Bill to limit the life of a Parliament to three years. In 1696 Harley advocated the founding of a Land Bank that would serve the agriculture interest as the Bank of England served the monied interest
Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer
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The Right Honourable The Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer KG
Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer
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Robert Harley by Jonathan Richardson, c. 1710.
Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer
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Oxford (right), together with his friend and ally Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke and a portrait of Francis Atterbury. Engraving after a painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller.
Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer
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Harley pictured carrying the white staff of the Lord High Treasurer. Portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller.
53.
Arthur Onslow
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Arthur Onslow PC was an English politician. He set a record for length of service when repeatedly elected to serve as Speaker of the House of Commons, Onslow was born in Kensington, the elder son of Foot Onslow and his wife Susannah née Anlaby. He was educated at The Royal Grammar School, Guildford and Winchester College and matriculated at Wadham College, Oxford in 1708 and he was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1713, but had no great practice in law. When George I came to the throne, Onslows uncle Sir Richard Onslow was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, when Richard left office in 1715, Arthur obtained a place as receiver general of the Post Office. He became Recorder of Guildford in 1719, as his Post Office position was not compatible with a parliamentary seat, he passed it on to his younger brother Richard when he entered Parliament in 1720 for Guildford. On 8 October 1720, Onslow married Anne Bridges, daughter of John Bridges of Thames Ditton, Surrey, and the niece and coheir of Henry Bridges of Imber Court. After his father-in-law died in the mid-1720s, Onslow came into the estate, which had increased through the addition of the holding of Anns sister, Rose. Inheriting estates from his wifes family considerably improved Onslows financial position, Onslow made Imber Court in Thames Ditton his principal seat. Onslow and Anne had two children, George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow Anne Onslow In February 1720, Onslow had been returned as Whig Member of Parliament for Guildford at a by-election and he represented that borough until Parliament was dissolved in 1727. During this period, he was known to have declared against a proposal to levy Roman Catholics in 1722, in 1726, he was one of the Commons managers for the trial of Macclesfield for corruption. On 23 January 1728, Onslow was unanimously elected Speaker of the House of Commons and he would be unanimously re-elected Speaker in 1735,1741,1747 and 1754, setting a record for length of service in that office. On 25 July 1728, he was sworn of the Privy Council, the following year, on 13 May 1729, he was made Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal to Queen Caroline, who was godmother to his son George in 1731. Onslows speakership was distinguished by his integrity in a corrupt. His great achievement as Speaker was to assert the independence, authority, while he continued to participate in ordinary political activity, speaking and voting in committee, he did not hesitate to oppose Government policy when necessary. Onslow saw his role to be the protection and defense of Parliament in the established by the Glorious Revolution. He insisted on rigidly observing parliamentary forms and procedure, which he viewed as a protection to independent MPs, but his devotion to precedent led him to condemn the reporting of parliamentary debates as breach of privilege. On 20 April 1734, Onslow received the office of Treasurer of the Navy. In 1742, after casting his vote on a political issue
Arthur Onslow
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The Right Honourable Arthur Onslow
54.
Betty Boothroyd
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Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, OM, PC is a British politician, who served as a Labour Member of Parliament for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 1992. From 1992 to 2000, she served as Speaker of the House of Commons and she was the first, and to date only, female Speaker of the House of Commons. She sits, by tradition, as a Crossbench peer in the House of Lords, Boothroyd was born in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, in 1929, the only child of Ben Archibald Boothroyd and his second wife Mary, née Butterfield, both textile workers. She was educated at schools and went on to study at Dewsbury College of Commerce. In the 1940s, she worked as a dancer, as a member of the Tiller Girls dancing troupe, during the late 1950s, she worked as secretary to Labour MPs Barbara Castle and Geoffrey de Freitas. In 1960, she travelled to the United States to see the Kennedy campaign and she subsequently began work in Washington as a legislative assistant for an American Congressman, Silvio Conte, between 1960 and 1962. When she returned to London she continued her work as secretary, in 1965, she was elected to a seat on Hammersmith Borough Council, in Gibbs Green ward, where she remained until 1968. In 1974, she was appointed an assistant Government Whip and she was a Member of the European Parliament from 1975–1977, in 1979, she became a member of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, until 1981, and of the Speakers Panel of Chairmen, until 1987. She was also a member of the Labour Party National Executive Committee from 1981–87 and she became a Deputy Speaker in 1987. In 1992 she was elected Speaker, being the first woman ever to hold the position, there was some debate as to whether or not Boothroyd should wear the traditional Speakers wig upon her election. She chose not to but also stated that any subsequent Speakers would be free to choose to wear the wig, in 1993, the Government won a vote on the Social Chapter of the Maastricht Treaty due to her casting vote. However, it was discovered that her casting vote was not required, as the votes had been miscounted. She was keen to get people interested in politics. On 12 July 2000, she announced in a statement to the House of Commons that she would resign as Speaker after the summer recess, both former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and John Major described her as an outstanding Speaker. Blair added that she was something of a national institution and she resigned as Speaker and as an MP on 23 October 2000. Boothroyd was chancellor of the Open University from 1994 until October 2006 and has donated some of her papers to the Universitys archives. She is an Honorary Fellow of St Hughs College, Oxford, in March 1995, she was awarded an Honorary Degree from the Open University as Doctor of the University. Boothroyd has also given an Award of Doctor of Civil Law honoris causa by City University London
Betty Boothroyd
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The Right Honourable The Baroness Boothroyd OM PC
55.
Motion and amendment (election)
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A motion and amendment election method decides the result of the election by following standard rules for adopting other proposals. The steps are, A substantive motion is proposed that individual A is elected, if none are received then move to step 4. If an amendment is proposed that the motion be changed by deleting A, if the amendment is carried then the substantive motion becomes individual B is elected. In either case the process returns to step 2, with no more proposed amendments, the substantive motion is put to the vote. If it is carried then the election is complete, if not then the process returns to step 1, or stops without a result. This was the used for the election of the Speaker of the British House of Commons until 2001. If there is a Condorcet winner and people according to their preferences. If there is not a Condorcet winner then any person in the motion will be a member of the Smith set. However, there is no guarantee that a motion will pass at the end, imagine that Tennessee is having an election on the location of its capital. The population of Tennessee is concentrated around its four major cities, for this example, suppose that the entire electorate lives in these four cities and that everyone wants to live as near to the capital as possible. Amendment proposed Delete Memphis and insert Nashville, passed 58% to 42% so motion becomes Nashville shall be the capital of Tennessee. Amendment proposed Delete Nashville and insert Chattanooga, rejected 68% to 32% so motion remains Nashville shall be the capital of Tennessee. Amendment proposed Delete Nashville and insert Knoxville, rejected 68% to 32% so motion remains Nashville shall be the capital of Tennessee. Vote on motion Nashville shall be the capital of Tennessee, outcome uncertain, as it depends on whether supporters of other cities are willing to accept Nashville rather than failing to make a decision at this stage. It is also prone to tactical voting, the result may also depend on the order in which candidates are considered. In the example above, if supporters of Knoxville pretended to prefer Memphis over Nashville or Chattanooga, the voting would have been, Motion proposed Memphis shall be the capital of Tennessee. Amendment proposed Delete Memphis and insert Nashville, rejected 59% to 41% so motion remains Memphis shall be the capital of Tennessee. Amendment proposed Delete Memphis and insert Chattanooga, rejected 59% to 41% so motion remains Memphis shall be the capital of Tennessee
Motion and amendment (election)
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)
56.
Secret ballot
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The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voters choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous, forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation and potential vote buying. The system is one means of achieving the goal of political privacy, Secret ballots are used in conjunction with many different voting systems. The most basic form of secret ballot uses blank pieces of paper, without revealing the votes to anyone, the voter would fold the ballot paper and place it in a sealed box, which is emptied later for counting. An aspect of secret voting is the provision of a booth to enable the voter to write on the ballot paper without others being able to see what is being written. Today, printed ballot papers are provided, with the names of the candidates or questions. Provisions are made at the place for the voters to record their preferences in secret. The ballots are designed to eliminate bias and to prevent anyone from linking voter to ballot, a problem of privacy arises with moves to improve efficiency of voting by the introduction of postal voting and electronic voting. Some countries permit proxy voting, which some argue is inconsistent with voting privacy, in ancient Greece, secret ballots were used in several situations, like ostracism, and also to remain hidden from people seeking favors. In ancient Rome, the laws regulating elections were known as Tabellariae Leges. Today the practice of casting secret ballots is so commonplace that most voters would not consider any other method might be used. Other methods which had used and which are still used in some places. Other public voting methods include raising a hand to indicate a vote, article 31 of the Constitution of the Year III of the revolution states that All elections are to be held by secret ballot. The same goes with the constitution of 1848, voters could hand-write the name of their candidate on their ballot at home or receive one in a distribution in the street. The ballot is folded in order to prevent other people from reading its content, louis-Napoléon Bonaparte attempted to abolish the secret ballot for the 1851 plebiscite with an electoral decree requesting electors to write down yes or no under the eyes of everyone. But he faced an opposition and finally changed his mind. According to the web site of the Assemblée nationale, the voting booth was permanently adopted only in 1913. The demand for a ballot was one of the six points of Chartism. The London School Board election of 1870 was the first large-scale election by secret ballot in Britain, the original ballot box, sealed in wax with a liquorice stamp, is held at Pontefract museum
Secret ballot
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Luis Guillermo Solís, President of Costa Rica, votes behind a privacy screen
Secret ballot
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The Polling by William Hogarth (1755). Before the secret ballot was introduced, voter intimidation was commonplace.
Secret ballot
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A British ballot paper from 1880
Secret ballot
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New York polling place circa 1900, showing voting booths on the left.
57.
Lords Commissioners
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These include the opening and prorogation of Parliament, the confirmation of a newly elected Speaker of the House of Commons and the granting of Royal Assent. The Lords Commissioners are collectively known as the Royal Commission, the Royal Commission includes at least three—and usually five—Lords Commissioners. The Lord Chancellor serves as the most senior Lord Commissioner and traditionally presides over the Royal Commission, in this case, the Leader of the House of Lords performs the duties of the Lord Chancellor, with the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords serving as a Lord Commissioner. The one exception to this procedure was during the appointment in 2009 of John Bercow as Commons Speaker, on this occasion, Straw, as Lord Chancellor, performed this function personally and the Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman, did not serve as a Lord Commissioner. The Lords Commissioners enter the chamber of the House of Lords at the appointed time, the Lord Chancellor or Leader of the House of Lords, as the most senior Lord Commissioner, commands the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod to summon the House of Commons. Representatives of the House of Commons arrive at the Bar of the House of Lords, and bow thrice, after each bow, male Lords Commissioners doff their hats to the Members of Parliament while female Lords Commissioners bow their heads in return. The Reading Clerk of the House of Lords then reads the Monarchs Commission, after the appropriate business has been transacted, the Commons again bow thrice and depart
Lords Commissioners
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United Kingdom
58.
Arthur Wellesley Peel, 1st Viscount Peel
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Arthur Wellesley Peel, 1st Viscount Peel, PC was a British Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1895. He was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1884 until 1895 when he was raised to the peerage and he was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford. Peel was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for Warwick in the 1865 general election, from 1868 to 1873 he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law Board, and then became Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade. In 1873–1874 he was secretary to the Treasury, and in 1880 he became Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs in the second Gladstone government. On the retirement of Sir Henry Brand, Peel was elected Speaker of the House of Commons on 26 February 1884, in the 1885 general election, Peel was elected for Warwick and Leamington. Though now officially impartial, Peel left the Liberal Party over the issue of Home Rule, Peel was also an important ally of Charles Bradlaugh in Bradlaughs campaigns to have the oath of allegiance changed to permit non-Christians, agnostics and atheists to serve in the House of Commons. Peel retired at the 1895 general election and was created Viscount Peel, in 1896 he was chairman of a Royal Commission into the licensing laws. The Peel Report recommended that the number of licensed houses should be greatly reduced and this report was a valuable weapon in the hands of reformers. Peel married Adelaide, daughter of William Stratford Dugdale, in 1862, lord Peel remained a widower until his death in October 1912, aged 83. He was succeeded by his eldest son William Wellesley Peel, who was created Earl Peel in 1929. Peels second son the Hon. Arthur George Villiers Peel was a politician and author, peel′s middle daughter the Hon. Agnes Mary Peel married the Unionist politician Charles Sydney Goldman. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Peel, Arthur Wellesley Peel
Arthur Wellesley Peel, 1st Viscount Peel
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The Right Honourable The Viscount Peel PC
59.
William Court Gully, 1st Viscount Selby
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William Court Gully, 1st Viscount Selby PC, KC was a British lawyer and Liberal politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1895 and 1905, Gully was the son of Dr James Manby Gully of Malvern, a successful physician who became involved in the mysterious death of Charles Bravo in April 1876. His grandfather was Daniel Gully, a Jamaican coffee planter and he was educated at University College School, London and then Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was president of the Union. He was called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1860, went the northern circuit, in 1880 and 1883 Gully unsuccessfully contested Whitehaven as a Liberal, but was elected for Carlisle in 1886, and continued to represent that constituency until his elevation to the peerage. In April 1895 he was elected Speaker by a majority of votes over Sir Matthew White Ridley. The choice of Gully was a surprise to Lord Roseberys cabinet, Rosebery did not want a Unionist as the new Speaker of the House of Commons, but rejected the two alternatives of Richard Haldane and Sir Frank Lockwood. Rosebery faced hostility in his cabinet from Sir William Vernon Harcourt and from the opposition, Harcourt viewed this as purely a matter for the House of Commons. To Rosebery it became a cabinet crisis. Finally in disgust Harcourt placed the onus of the decision on Rosebery, eventually the backbenchers of the Commons who knew Gully propelled him - most likely because he was close to Sir William Herschell. Harcourt was forced to produce the name to the House of Commons, the Conservatives were not happy about his selection, and would greet his appearance in the House with cries of Bravo, Gully. In 1905 he resigned and was raised to the peerage with the title of Viscount Selby, of the City of Carlisle and he died in November 1909, aged 74, and was succeeded by his son, James. Lord Selby married, in 1865, Elizabeth Selby, daughter of Thomas Selby, Hon. Florence Julia Gully, who married 1892 Sir William Guy Granet. Hon. Mary Honorah Rhoda Gully, who married 1894 Sir Adrian Donald Wilde Pollock, Hon. Elizabeth Kate Shelley Gully, who married first 1902 Captain Carleton Salkeld, and secondly Hon. Edward Brabazon Meade. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. Rosebery, A Biography of Archibald Primrose, Fifth Earl of Rosebery, new York, The Macmillan Company,1963,1964, p. 371-373. Leigh Rayments Historical List of MPs Ruddick, James, death at the Priory, Sex, Love, and Murder in Victorian England. New York, Atlantic Monthly Press,2001, hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by William Gully, 1st Viscount Selby
William Court Gully, 1st Viscount Selby
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The Right Honourable The Viscount Selby QC PC
William Court Gully, 1st Viscount Selby
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" Mr Speaker " as caricatured by Spy (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, September 1896
60.
Horace Maybray King, Baron Maybray-King
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Horace Maybray King, Baron Maybray-King, PC was a British politician who served as a Labour Member of Parliament from 1950 until 1970 before becoming a life peer. Following the death of Harry Hylton-Foster in September 1965, King and he was the first person from the Labour Party ever to hold this position. Horace King was born in Grangetown near Middlesbrough and his father John William King was an insurance salesman and Methodist local preacher. He was educated at Stockton Secondary School, Stockton-on-Tees, from 1912 to 1917, horace attended Kings College London and graduated with a first-class bachelors degree in English. Upon graduating in 1922 King worked as a teacher in Tauntons school in Southampton and he became head of the English department in 1927. He left in 1947 to become headteacher of Regents Park Secondary School, while working as a teacher, King studied part-time for his Ph. D. His thesis was on the Folios of Shakespeare and he received his doctorate from Kings College London in 1940. He had been excused from service during World War II due to a duodenal ulcer. He and his family - first wife Victoria Florence and daughter Margaret -, among the many pupils was 15-year-old Benny Hill. He also raised funds by organising concerts to buy Spitfires and send aid to Russia and he is believed to have instigated fund raising in Hampshire by letters he wrote to the Hampshire Chronicle in July and August 1940. His Spitfire Song was recorded by Joe Loss and his Orchestra and he and a teacher colleague also were the first to translate Lili Marlene but were too slow to get their version to the song-publishing market. King first stood as a Labour party candidate in the 1945 general election, Labour won with a massive landslide, but King was unsuccessful in his attempt to take the ultra-safe Conservative seat of New Forest and Christchurch. The following year he was elected to Hampshire County Council, on which he served until 1965 with only a single three-year break and his wife, Victoria Florence King, was also politically active - a town councillor and Mayor of Southampton in coronation year,1953. In the 1950 general election, King successfully fought the newly created Southampton Test seat and he successfully defended the seat in the 1951 election, which had been called after Labours 1950 majority had proved unworkable. However, at the 1955 election, King switched his candidacy to the far safer neighbouring seat of Southampton Itchen, during his time in Parliament he established links with the USA and Canada and lectured there on the British Constitution and Parliament. During one lecture trip in Georgia he and Dr Martin Luther King appeared on a local TV station together under the billing of The Two Dr Kings. He was instrumental in gaining UK support for the UNESCO project of the raising of the temples at Abu Simbel after the flooding of the Nile by the Aswan dam and he promoted bills on corneal grafts and attempted to raise awareness in the 1960s of autism. A keen European, he served in the Council of Europe, when Harold Wilson was elected as the first Labour Prime Minister for 13 years in 1964, King was selected as the Chairman of Ways and Means and the Deputy Speaker
Horace Maybray King, Baron Maybray-King
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King in Bonn, 1966
61.
Selwyn Lloyd
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John Selwyn Brooke Lloyd, Baron Selwyn-Lloyd, CH, CBE, TD, PC, QC, DL, known for most of his career as Selwyn Lloyd, was a British politician. Elected to Parliament in 1945, he held office from 1951. He continued as Foreign Secretary under the premiership of Harold Macmillan until July 1960, in July 1962 Macmillan sacked him from the Cabinet, making him the highest-profile casualty in the reshuffle known as the Night of the Long Knives. He returned to office under Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home as Leader of the House of Commons, Lloyd was born on 28 July 1904 at Red Bank in West Kirby, now in Merseyside, but then in the county of Cheshire. His father John Wesley Lloyd was a surgeon of Welsh descent. He was educated at the Leas School and he was particularly interested in military history as a boy, a fact to which he later attributed his successful military career. He won a scholarship to Fettes College in 1918, at Fettes, he became embroiled in a homosexual scandal as a junior boy. He was nicknamed “Jezebel” after his initials, but was deemed to be the innocent party, in October 1923 he went up, as a scholar, to Magdalene College, Cambridge, where A. C. Benson was Master. There he was a friend of the future Archbishop Michael Ramsey, Lloyd acquired the nickname “Peter” at this time. Lloyd played rugby and was disappointed not to get a Blue, in October 1924 his sister Eileen sailed to India to marry and work as a doctor. She died there the following January, aged 25, Lloyd was an active Liberal as a young man, and in March 1925 he entertained H. H. Asquith at Magdalene after a Liberal Party meeting at the Cambridge Guildhall. He became President of the Cambridge University Liberal Club, Lloyd was also an active debater in the Cambridge Union Society, where his sparring-partners included Rab Butler, Patrick Devlin, Hugh Foot, Alan King-Hamilton and Geoffrey Lloyd. Lloyd lost his scholarship in June 1925, after obtaining a second-class in Classics and he then switched to study History, in which he also obtained a Second. During the General Strike of May 1926 Lloyd, who earlier that year had begun eating dinners at Grays Inn with a view to qualifying as a barrister, volunteered as a Special Constable. He later became critical of the Conservative Government’s clampdown on trade unions, Lloyd George had become Liberal leader and was injecting money and ideas into the Liberal Party, and was keen to attract promising young candidates. Selwyn Lloyd was a frequent speaker for the Liberal Party from 1926 onwards, in 1926 he toyed, not entirely seriously, with the idea of joining the Labour Party. In Michaelmas Term 1926 Lloyd and Devlin persuaded Walter Citrine to join Lloyd in opposing the motion that “The power of unions has increased, is increasing. They had invited the miners leader A. J, cook, to the consternation of the town authorities, but in the event he was unable to attend
Selwyn Lloyd
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The Right Honourable The Lord Selwyn-Lloyd CH CBE TD PC
62.
John Boyd-Carpenter
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John Archibald Boyd-Carpenter, Baron Boyd-Carpenter, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician. He was the son of Conservative politician Sir Archibald Boyd-Carpenter MP and he was educated at Stowe School, Buckinghamshire, and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was President of the Oxford Union in 1930. He graduated with a BA in History, and a Diploma in Economics in 1931 and he was Harmsworth Law Scholar at the Middle Temple in 1933 and called to Bar the next year, and practised in the London and South-East Circuit. Boyd-Carpenter joined the Scots Guards in 1940 and held staff appointments, including with the Allied Military Government in Italy. Boyd-Carpenter contested the Limehouse district for the London County Council in 1934 and he was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for Kingston-upon-Thames in 1945, holding the seat until 1972. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1954, following the Conservative defeat in 1964, he served as Opposition Front Bench Spokesman on Housing, Local Government and Land, 1964–66, and as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee from 1964-70. He later held a number of Party and business appointments and he was appointed a life peer on 1 May 1972, as Baron Boyd-Carpenter, of Crux Easton in the County of Southampton. Boyd-Carpenter was married to Peggy in 1937, boyd-Carpenters son, Thomas Boyd-Carpenter, was himself knighted following his military and public service careers. One of his two daughters, Sarah Hogg, Baroness Hogg, married Douglas Hogg, 3rd Viscount Hailsham,2 June 1908, d.11 July 1998. Burkes Peerage BP2003 volume 1, page 471, Burkes Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition,3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U. S. A. Burkes Peerage Ltd,2003, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Two entries, 1) Oxford Biography Index Number 101070217 http, //www. oxforddnb. com/index/101070217/John-Boyd-Carpenter 2) Who Was Who http, //www. ukwhoswho
John Boyd-Carpenter
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Brooke
63.
Alan Haselhurst
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He was Chairman of Ways and Means from 14 May 1997 to 8 June 2010, and later Chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association between 2011-14. He is currently the oldest Conservative MP and he was elected President of the Oxford University Conservative Association in 1958 and, for two years, served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Oxford Union from 1959. Before his election to Parliament, he worked in management in the chemicals industry and he was the Chairman of the Manchester Youth and Community Service from 1974 until being returned to Parliament. Haselhurst worked as an agent for Robin Balniel, Conservative MP for Hertford. Being elected in 1964, he served for two years as the Chairman of the National Young Conservatives. He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1970 general election for the Lancashire seat of Middleton and Prestwich, however, Haselhurst lost the seat at the next February 1974 general election to Labour by just 517 votes. The Conservative MP for the Essex seat of Saffron Walden, Sir Peter Kirk, died on 17 April 1977, Haselhurst won the seat with a majority of 12,437 and has been returned as the constituencys MP ever since. He served on the European Legislation Select Committee for fifteen years from 1982 and he was invited to ask the first question in Margaret Thatchers final Prime Ministers Questions on 27 November 1990. Following the 1997 general election, he was elected Chairman of Ways and Means, remaining in that post under successive Speakers Betty Boothroyd, Michael Martin, Haselhurst was a contender to succeed Michael Martin after Martins resignation as Commons Speaker on 19 May 2009. Haselhurst was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum and he was elected Chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Associations Executive committee, serving until October 2014, overseeing parliamentary procedure throughout the Commonwealth. Alan Haselhurst married Angela Margaret Bailey on 16 April 1977, and he is a very vocal supporter of community-based projects and was for a time a Director of Turning Point, a charity working with socially excluded young people, for five years from 1981. A noted Europhile, he is regarded as a one-nation Conservative and he was knighted in 1995 and sworn of the Privy Council in 1999. Saffron Walden Profile, dodonline. co. uk, accessed 21 October 2015
Alan Haselhurst
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The Right Honourable Sir Alan Haselhurst MP
64.
Crossbencher
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A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and in the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and opposition benches, where crossbenchers sit in the chamber, Crossbench members of the British House of Lords are not aligned to any particular party. Until 2009, these included the Law Lords appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876, in addition, former Speakers of the House of Commons and former Lord Speakers of the House of Lords, who by convention are not aligned with any party, also sit as Crossbenchers. Although non-affiliated members, and members of parties, sometimes physically sit on the crossbenches. An increasing number of Crossbenchers have been created peers for non-political reasons, since its establishment in May 2000, the House of Lords Appointments Commission has nominated a total of 67 non-party-political life peers who joined the House of Lords as Crossbenchers. From April 2007 to 2009, the number of Crossbenchers was higher than the number of Conservatives in the Lords for the first time. Although the Lords Spiritual also have no party affiliation, they are not considered Crossbenchers and do not sit on the crossbenches, the current convenor is David Hope, Baron Hope of Craighead, who took the office in September 2015. While convenors are not part of the channels, they have been included in their discussions in recent years. Unlike the United Kingdom, in Australia the term is applied to those parties, the last few federal elections have seen an increase in the size and power of the crossbench in both houses of Parliament. The resulting 76–74 margin entitled Labor to form a minority government, derryn Hinch won a seat, while Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm, Family Firsts Bob Day, and Jacqui Lambie retained their seats. The number of crossbenchers increased by two to a record 20, the Liberal/National Coalition government required at least nine additional votes to reach a Senate majority. The term crossbencher generally is not used for the Canadian Parliament or any of the provincial or territorial legislatures, instead, any party that is not the governing party is an opposition party, with the largest of these designated the official opposition. All opposition parties other than the opposition are called third parties. Third parties and independents sit on the side of the chamber. Parties require a number of seats to have official party status for procedural purposes. Although parties without official party status behave like political parties, their members are treated as individual members, third parties have been common in Canadian legislatures since the 1920s. In particular, legislatures often contain members of an ideological party, beginning in 2016, the Independent Senators Group was formed in the Senate of Canada, fulfilling a similar purpose as Crossbenchers. The ISG was created partly as a response to Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus decision to appoint more non-partisan Senators, similar to Crossbenchers in the UK, the group has chosen a leader, and does not use a whipping system
Crossbencher
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The crossbench is shown centrally in the foreground.
65.
Edward FitzRoy
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The Right Honourable Edward Algernon FitzRoy, DL was a British Conservative politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1928 until his death. As a boy, he served as a Page of Honour to Queen Victoria, a member of Northamptonshire County Council from 1896 to 1921, FitzRoy first entered Parliament in 1900 General election as Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire South. He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Northamptonshire in 1901 and he was re-elected during the January 1910 General Election for Northamptonshire South. He held the seat in the December 1910 General Election, in the 1918 General Election, he was elected for the seat of Daventry. He held the seat in the 1922 General Election, the 1923 General Election, the 1924 General Election, the 1929 General Election, and he served as Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, briefly during 1923 and from 1924 to 1928. He was made a Privy Councillor in February 1924 and he was elected Speaker of the House of Commons on 20 June 1928. In 1931, he was awarded a Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Cambridge, in 1935, there was considerable controversy when the Labour Party decided to stand a candidate against him in the general election. Fitzroy died aged 73 in Westminster in 1943, FitzRoy was the second son of the 3rd Baron Southampton. He was a descendant of Charles I, through ancestor Anne Warren, the daughter of Admiral Peter Warren he is a descendant of the Schuyler family, the Van Cortlandt family, and the Delancey family, all from British North America. FitzRoy married Muriel on 19 November 1891, upon his death she was given a Viscountcy, the customary retirement honour for Speakers, as Viscountess Daventry. Leigh Rayments Historical List of MPs Hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by Edward FitzRoy
Edward FitzRoy
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Captain The Right Honourable Edward FitzRoy DL
66.
Social Democratic Party (UK)
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The Social Democratic Party was a centrist political party in the United Kingdom. The SDP was founded on 26 March 1981 by four senior Labour Party moderates, dubbed the Gang of Four, Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams, who issued the Limehouse Declaration. The four left the Labour Party as a result of the January 1981 Wembley conference which committed the party to unilateral nuclear disarmament, for the 1983 and 1987 General Elections, the SDP formed a political and electoral alliance with the Liberal Party, the SDP–Liberal Alliance. The party merged with the Liberal Party in 1988 to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, now the Liberal Democrats, although a minority left to form a continuing SDP led by David Owen. In some areas, the Militant tendency were held to be systematically targeting weak local party branches in safe areas in order to have their own candidates selected. In Tavernes case, he had been fighting efforts by the Lincoln Constituency Labour Party to deselect him largely over his support for British membership of the European Communities. In October 1972 he resigned his seat to force a by-election in which he fought as a Democratic Labour candidate against the party candidate. Taverne won by a large margin. He founded the short lived Campaign for Social Democracy thereafter, and wrote a book about events surrounding the by-election called The Future of the Left – Lincoln, but the CFSD failed to gain nationwide support, and Taverne lost the seat at the October 1974 General Election. Some independent Social Democrats contested the October 1974 and 1979 General Elections, Tavernes Lincoln by-election campaign was also helped to a lesser degree by problems with the Conservative and Unionist Party candidate, Conservative Monday Club chairman Jonathan Guinness. Many original members of the future Social Democratic Party had been members of The Manifesto Group within the Labour Party and they argued that a new type of political force was needed to challenge the Conservative Party. They were also opposed to unilateral nuclear disarmament, an increasingly popular policy amongst members of the party. He bluntly told those assembled to vote for him and answered their questions uninformatively, at the end, one asked him why they should vote for him, and Healey answered You have nowhere else to go. Healeys arrogance convinced many that their days as members of the Labour Party were now over, ivor Crewe and Anthony King found five defectors who claimed to have voted for Foot in order to saddle Labour with an unelectable leader and make life easier in their new party. One defector, Mike Thomas, said he was tempted to send a telegraph to Healey reading Have found somewhere else to go, one notable Manifesto Group exception was its secretary, future Defence Secretary George Robertson, who was the only officer to remain. The constitution set out the establishment of a Council for Social Democracy which was, in effect, each area party was entitled to elect delegates to the CSD. A number of internal groups flourished within the new party, the most notable of which was the Tawney Society, twenty-eight Labour MPs eventually joined the new party, along with one member of the Conservative Party, Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler, MP for North West Norfolk. Williams and Jenkins were not at the time MPs, but were elected to the Commons in by-elections at Crosby, much of the partys initial membership came from the Social Democratic Alliance
Social Democratic Party (UK)
67.
Scottish National Party
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The Scottish National Party is a Scottish nationalist and social-democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence and its leader, Nicola Sturgeon, is the current First Minister of Scotland. With the advent of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, the SNP became the second largest party, serving two terms as the opposition. The SNP came to power in the 2007 Scottish general election, forming a minority government, before going on to win the 2011 election, after which it formed Scotlands first majority government. The SNP is the largest political party in Scotland in terms of membership, reaching over 120,000 members in July 2016, currently the party has 63 MSPs,54 MPs and approximately 400 local councillors. The SNP also currently has 2 MEPs in the European Parliament, the SNP is a member of the European Free Alliance. The party does not have any members of the House of Lords, the SNP was formed in 1934 through the merger of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party, with Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham as its first president. Young was imprisoned for refusing to be conscripted, the SNP first won a parliamentary seat at the Motherwell by-election in 1945, but Robert McIntyre MP lost the seat at the general election three months later. They next won a seat in 1967, when Winnie Ewing was the winner of a by-election in the previously safe Labour seat of Hamilton. This brought the SNP to national prominence, leading to the establishment of the Kilbrandon Commission, the SNP hit a high point in the October 1974 general election, polling almost a third of all votes in Scotland and returning 11 MPs to Westminster. This success was not surpassed until the 2015 general election, however, the party experienced a large drop in its support at the 1979 General election, followed by a further drop at the 1983 election. In May 2011, the SNP won a majority in the Scottish Parliament with 69 seats. The No vote prevailed in a campaign, prompting the resignation of First Minister Alex Salmond. Forty-five percent of Scottish voters cast their ballots for independence, with the Yes side receiving less support than late polling predicted. The SNP rebounded from the loss in the referendum at the UK general election in May 2015, led by Salmonds successor as first minister. The party went from holding six seats in the House of Commons to 56, all but three of the fifty nine constituencies in the country elected an SNP candidate. BBC News described the result as a Scots landslide. The party gained an additional 1. 1% of the vote from the 2011 election
Scottish National Party
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Nicola Sturgeon, Leader of the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
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Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba
68.
Damian Green
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Damian Howard Green PC MP is a British politician who has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for Ashford since 1997 and Work and Pensions Secretary since July 2016. Green was born in Barry, Wales and studied PPE at Balliol College, before entering politics, Green worked as a journalist for the BBC, Channel 4 and The Times. Green entered Parliament in the 1997 election by winning the seat of Ashford and he served in several shadow ministerial positions, including Transport Secretary and Immigration Minister. Green came to prominence in November 2008 after being arrested and having his parliamentary office raided by police. He was the Minister of State for Police and Criminal Justice until 14 July 2014 and he was appointed as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by Prime Minister Theresa May in July 2016. Damian Green was born in Barry, Wales and he grew up in Reading, Berkshire and was educated at Reading School and then at Balliol College, Oxford where he was awarded a BA degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in 1977. He was President of the Oxford Union in 1977 and was the vice-chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students from 1980 until 1982, during his time at Oxford, Green broke a wrist after a group of fellow students ambushed him and threw him into the River Cherwell. Reportedly the group included fellow Dominic Grieve, who was later to serve alongside Green as a Cabinet Minister, in 1978 he was appointed by BBC Radio as a financial journalist, before joining Channel 4 News as a business producer in 1982. He joined The Times for a year in 1984 as the news editor before returning to television journalism. He became the City editor and also a presenter on Channel 4s Business Daily television programme in 1987 until he left television to join Prime Minister John Majors Policy Unit in 1992. Green had acted as a speechwriter for Major since 1988. He left 10 Downing Street in 1994 to run his own public affairs consultancy and he stood against Labours Ken Livingstone in Brent East at the 1992 general election, but lost by 5,971 votes. He was elected to the House of Commons for the Kent seat of Ashford at the 1997 general election following the retirement of Tory MP Keith Speed, Green held the seat with a majority of 5,345 and has remained the constituencys MP. He made his speech on 20 May 1997. He spoke on the environment from 1999 and was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet by Iain Duncan Smith in 2001 as the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, in 2003, Michael Howard gave him the position of Shadow Secretary of State for Transport. In September 2004, he left the frontbench altogether of his own accord and joined the home affairs select committee and he returned to the frontbench under the leadership of David Cameron in 2005 as a spokesman on home affairs and shadow minister for immigration. Green is Chairman of Parliamentary Mainstream, a president of the Tory Reform Group and is a vice chairman of the John Smith Memorial Trust. He is a television journalist and adviser to John Major who entered Parliament in 1997
Damian Green
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The Right Honourable Damian Green MP
Damian Green
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Green speaking at a Policy Exchange meeting in 2013
Damian Green
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Green speaking to the media on a trip to Manchester
69.
Division (vote)
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In parliamentary procedure, a division of the assembly, division of the house, or simply division is a method for taking a better estimate of a vote than a voice vote. Typically, a division is taken when the result of a vote is challenged or when a two-thirds vote is required. A division is called a rising vote, where members stand up from their seats. According to Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised, the numbers for, however, they may be counted by order of the chairman or by order of the assembly through majority vote. The assembly may also have a rule that the division is counted, historically, and often still today, members are literally divided into physically separate groups. This was the used in the Roman Senate, and occasionally in Athenian democracy. Westminster system parliament chambers have separate division lobbies for the Ayes and Noes to facilitate physical division, in several assemblies, a division bell is rung throughout the building when a division is happening, in order to alert members not present in the chamber. In the Australian House of Representatives divisions follow a similar to that of the United Kingdom. For instance, a Member in the Chamber when the tellers are appointed must vote, furthermore, members must vote in accordance to their voice votes. The voice vote is held as in the British House of Commons, if a Member objects, then the division bells are rung throughout the Parliamentary estate. If the division is still on, the count and record the names of the Members. The Speaker announces the result, but does not vote unless there is an equality of votes, in the Australian Senate, a procedure similar to that of the House of Representatives is followed. The voice vote is taken, and, if two Senators object, a division is held, Senators take seats in the right or left of the Chamber as in the House, and the President of the Senate appoints one teller for each side to record the votes. The President may vote by stating to the Senate the side on which he intends to vote, if the result of the division is an equality of votes, then the motion is in all cases disagreed to. The procedure used in the House of Commons of Canada is similar to that in the British House of Commons, the Speaker reads the question aloud, and then asks, Is it the pleasure of the house to adopt the motion. If anyone dissents, the Speaker then states all those in favour of the motion will please say yea, after the cries of yea, the Speaker says all those opposed will please say nay, and all members opposed to the question cry out nay all at once. The Speaker then announces his opinion of the outcome of the vote, if five or more MPs challenge the Speakers opinion, a formal division follows. A formal division is invoked by the Speaker asking to call in the members, bells are rung throughout the Parliament Buildings for either 15 or 30 minutes to allow all present MPs time to enter the chamber and take their seats
Division (vote)
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An important vote: the House of Lords voting for the Parliament Act 1911. From the Drawing by S. Begg
70.
Golden Jubilee
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A golden jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 50th anniversary. The golden jubilee is a ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the accession of the king. The first Golden Jubilee of Thailand was the celebration of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, King Rama IX celebrated his golden jubilee on 9 June 1996, having acceded to the throne in 1946 which makes him Thailands longest-reigning monarch and the longest-living monarch today. The largest faceted diamond in the world, known as the Golden Jubilee Diamond, was purchased as a gift for the King on the 50th anniversary of his coronation by Thai businessmen, currently, the diamond is located in the Royal Thai Palace as part of the crown jewels. In 1996, Banharn Silpa-archa, the Prime Minister, and the Thai people celebrated the King with a large celebration, the symbol of the golden jubilee of King Bhumibol Adulyadej was designed by Wiyada Charoensuk, who won the contest for the design. The golden jubilee of George III of the United Kingdom was celebrated on 25th October 1809, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her golden jubilee in 2002, having ascended the throne in 1952. In 1887 the United Kingdom and the British Empire celebrated Queen Victorias golden jubilee, Victoria marked 20 June 1887—the fiftieth anniversary of her accession—with a banquet, to which fifty European kings and princes were invited. Although she could not have been aware of it, there was a plan by Irish Republicans to blow up Westminster Abbey while the Queen attended a service of thanksgiving and this assassination attempt, when it was discovered, became known as the Jubilee Plot. At the time, Victoria was a popular monarch. Emperor Wu of Han dynasty Kangxi Emperor of Qing dynasty Qianlong Emperor of Qing dynasty Yeongjo of Joseon In Japan, Emperor Hirohito, celebrated his golden jubilee on 10 November 1976. Showa Memorial Park was established as part of a project to commemorate his golden jubilee, for the year 2015, the Singapore50 initiative is launched in Singapore to celebrate 50 years of independence from Malaysia. The logo is meant to identify with the SG50 celebrations, national Day Parade ceremonies for that year are themed Majulah Singapura - Our Golden Jubilee. In Bavaria, Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria celebrated his jubilee as Elector Palatine in 1792. In Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Grand Duke Karl August celebrated his golden jubilee in 1826, in Austria-Hungary, Emperor Franz Josef celebrated his golden jubilee in 1898. In Baden, Grand Duke Frederick I celebrated his golden jubilee in 1906, in Liechtenstein, Prince Johann II celebrated his golden jubilee in 1908. In Greece, King George I was assassinated mere weeks before his golden jubilee was due to be celebrated in 1913, in Montenegro, Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš celebrated his golden jubilee in 1914. In Norway, King Haakon VII celebrated his golden jubilee in 1955, in Burundi, King Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng celebrated his golden jubilee in 1965. In Ethiopia, Emperor Haile Selassie celebrated his jubilee, dating from when he became regent
Golden Jubilee
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The Singapore50 logo representing the golden jubilee celebrations.
71.
Writ of election
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A writ of election is a writ issued ordering the holding of an election. In Commonwealth countries writs are the mechanism by which general elections are called and are issued by the head of state or their representative. In the United States, it is commonly used to call a special election for a political office. In the United Kingdom, a writ is the way of holding an election for the House of Commons. When the government wants to or is required to dissolve Parliament and they are then formally issued by the monarch. Where a single seat becomes vacant, a writ is issued to trigger the by-election for that seat. In Canada, a writ is the way of holding an election for the House of Commons. When the government wants to or is required to dissolve Parliament and they are then formally issued by the Governor-General. Where a single seat becomes vacant, a writ is issued to trigger the by-election for that seat. State governors also issue the writs for elections in the state legislatures, the writs are issued to the relevant Electoral Officer or Returning Officer, as the case may be, who returns them after the election has been held within a fixed period. In the United States, this writ is issued mainly by state governors for filling vacancies in the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, or the states own legislatures
Writ of election
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Election writ issued by the Provost Marshall to freeholders of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, 1759
72.
Boundary commissions (United Kingdom)
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The Speaker of the House of Commons is ex officio chairman of each of the boundary commissions. The Speaker however does not play any part in proceedings, with a boundary commission having a Justice being appointed as Deputy Chairman Commissioner. The commissions are currently established under the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, most recently amended by the Parliamentary Voting System and they were first established as permanent bodies under the House of Commons Act 1944. The 1944 Act was amended in 1947 and then replaced by the House of Commons Act 1949, the 1949 Act was amended in 1958 and 1979 and replaced by the 1986 Act, changes in legislation from 1944 to 1986 were generally incremental in nature. The 2011 Act under the Con-LibDem coalition government made substantial changes to the legislation governing constituency boundary reviews, the Sixth Review would have resulted in 600 constituencies for the United Kingdom Parliament, a reduction from the 650 constituencies in existence at the General Election of 2010. The number of constituencies in each of the four home nations is calculated in proportion to the using a formula set out by legislation. For the Sixth Review, the formula specified 502 constituencies in England,16 constituencies in Northern Ireland,52 constituencies in Scotland, each Commission is required by law to conduct subsequent reviews of all constituencies in its respective part of the United Kingdom at least every five years. The boundary commissions are required to apply a set series of rules when devising constituencies, firstly, each proposed constituency has to comply with two numerical limits, the electorate of each constituency must be within 5% of the United Kingdom electoral quota. The area of a constituency must be no more than 13,000 square kilometres and it is evident that the other factors can to an extent be mutually contradictory, and therefore each commission has discretion on how it applies them. In so doing, each commission aims for a consistent approach within a review and it has been normal practice for local government electoral wards to be used as building blocks for constituencies, although there is no legislative requirement to do so. The law specifies that the electorate used during a review is the electorate at the time of the start of the review. Customarily, each conducted a complete review of all constituencies in its part of the United Kingdom every eight to twelve years. In between these general reviews, the commissions were able to conduct reviews of part of their area of responsibility. The interim reviews usually did not yield drastic changes in boundaries, the most recent general review in Scotland was given effect in 2005, and the resulting constituencies were used in the May 2005 general election. Under the previous rules, the number of constituencies in Great Britain had to not be greater or less than 613. The City of London was not to be partitioned and was to be included in a seat that referred to it by name, the Orkney and Shetland Islands were not to be combined with any other areas. Northern Ireland had to have 16-18 constituencies, at the 2010 general election there were 533 constituencies in England,40 constituencies in Wales,59 constituencies in Scotland and 18 constituencies in Northern Ireland providing a total of 650. The boundary commissions are also responsible for reviews of boundaries for devolved parliaments, the procedure for reviews of constituencies and regions for the Scottish Parliament is set down by the Scotland Act 1998
Boundary commissions (United Kingdom)
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HMG coat of arms
73.
Archbishop
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In Christianity, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In some cases, like the Lutheran Church of Sweden, it is the denomination leader title, an archbishop may be granted the title, or ordained as chief pastor of a metropolitan see or another episcopal see to which the title of archbishop is attached. Episcopal sees are generally arranged in groups in which the bishop who is the ordinary of one of them has certain powers and he is known as the metropolitan archbishop of that see. As well as the more numerous metropolitan sees, there are 77 Roman Catholic sees that have archiepiscopal rank. In some cases, such a see is the one in a country, such as Luxembourg or Monaco. In others, the title of archdiocese is for reasons attributed to a see that was once of greater importance. Some of these archdioceses are suffragans of a metropolitan archdiocese, an example is the Archdiocese of Avignon, which is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Marseille, Another such example is the Archdiocese of Trnava, Slovakia. Others are immediately subject to the Holy See and not to any metropolitan archdiocese and these are usually aggregated to an ecclesiastical province. An example is the Archdiocese of Hobart in Australia, associated with the Metropolitan ecclesiastical province of Melbourne, the ordinary of such an archdiocese is an archbishop, however, especially in the Anglican Communion, not all archbishops dioceses are called archdioceses. Since then, the title of Coadjutor Archbishop of the see is considered sufficient, the rank of archbishop is conferred on some bishops who are not ordinaries of an archdiocese. They hold the rank not because of the see that they head, the bishop transferred is then known as the Archbishop-Bishop of his new see. An example is Gianfranco Gardin, appointed Archbishop-Bishop of Treviso on 21 December 2009, the title borne by the successor of such an archbishop-bishop is merely that of Bishop of the see, unless he also is granted the personal title of Archbishop. The distinction between metropolitan sees and non-metropolitan archiepiscopal sees exists for titular sees as well as for residential ones, the Annuario Pontificio marks titular sees of the former class with the abbreviation Metr. and the others with Arciv. Many of the sees to which nuncios and heads of departments of the Roman Curia who are not cardinals are assigned are not of archiepiscopal rank. In that case the person who is appointed to such a position is given the title of archbishop. They are usually referred to as Archbishop of the see, not as its Archbishop-Bishop, until 1970, such archbishops were transferred to a titular see. There can be several Archbishops Emeriti of the see, the 2008 Annuario Pontificio listed three living Archbishops Emeriti of Taipei. There is no Archbishop Emeritus of a see, an archbishop who holds a titular see keeps it until death or until transferred to another see
Archbishop
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St. John Chrysostom Archbishop of Constantinople (398—404)
Archbishop
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Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece (1998–2008)
74.
Church of England
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The Church of England is the state church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior cleric, although the monarch is the supreme governor, the Church of England is also the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It dates its establishment as a church to the 6th-century Gregorian mission to Kent led by Augustine of Canterbury. The English church renounced papal authority when Henry VIII sought to secure an annulment from Catherine of Aragon in the 1530s, the English Reformation accelerated under Edward VIs regents before a brief restoration of papal authority under Queen Mary I and King Philip. This is expressed in its emphasis on the teachings of the early Church Fathers, as formalised in the Apostles, Nicene, in the earlier phase of the English Reformation there were both Catholic martyrs and radical Protestant martyrs. The later phases saw the Penal Laws punish Roman Catholic and nonconforming Protestants, in the 17th century, political and religious disputes raised the Puritan and Presbyterian faction to control of the church, but this ended with the Restoration. Papal recognition of George III in 1766 led to religious tolerance. Since the English Reformation, the Church of England has used a liturgy in English, the church contains several doctrinal strands, the main three known as Anglo-Catholic, Evangelical and Broad Church. Tensions between theological conservatives and progressives find expression in debates over the ordination of women and homosexuality, the church includes both liberal and conservative clergy and members. The governing structure of the church is based on dioceses, each presided over by a bishop, within each diocese are local parishes. The General Synod of the Church of England is the body for the church and comprises bishops, other clergy. Its measures must be approved by both Houses of Parliament, according to tradition, Christianity arrived in Britain in the 1st or 2nd century, during which time southern Britain became part of the Roman Empire. The earliest historical evidence of Christianity among the native Britons is found in the writings of such early Christian Fathers as Tertullian, three Romano-British bishops, including Restitutus, are known to have been present at the Council of Arles in 314. Others attended the Council of Sardica in 347 and that of Ariminum in 360, Britain was the home of Pelagius, who opposed Augustine of Hippos doctrine of original sin. Consequently, in 597, Pope Gregory I sent the prior of the Abbey of St Andrews from Rome to evangelise the Angles and this event is known as the Gregorian mission and is the date the Church of England generally marks as the beginning of its formal history. A later archbishop, the Greek Theodore of Tarsus, also contributed to the organisation of Christianity in England, the Church of England has been in continuous existence since the days of St Augustine, with the Archbishop of Canterbury as its episcopal head. Despite the various disruptions of the Reformation and the English Civil War, while some Celtic Christian practices were changed at the Synod of Whitby, the Christian Church in the British Isles was under papal authority from earliest times. The Synod of Whitby established the Roman date for Easter and the Roman style of monastic tonsure in Britain and this meeting of the ecclesiastics with Roman customs with local bishops was summoned in 664 at Saint Hildas double monastery of Streonshalh, later called Whitby Abbey
Church of England
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Hereford is one of the church's 43 cathedrals; many have histories stretching back centuries
Church of England
Church of England
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Stained glass window in Rochester Cathedral, Kent
Church of England
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Richard Hooker (1554–1600), one of the most influential figures in shaping Anglican theology and self-identity
75.
Church of Ireland
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The Church of Ireland is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on a basis and is the second-largest Christian church on the island after the Catholic Church in Ireland. Like other Anglican churches, it has retained elements of pre-Reformation practice, notably its episcopal polity, nevertheless, in theological and liturgical matters, it incorporates many principles of the Reformation, particularly those espoused during the English Reformation. The church self identifies as being both Catholic and Reformed, within the church, differences exist between those members who are more Catholic-leaning and those who are more Protestant-leaning. For historical and cultural reasons, the Church of Ireland is generally identified as a Protestant church, the Church of Ireland is the second-largest in the Republic of Ireland, with around 130,000 members, and the third-largest in Northern Ireland, with around 260,000 members. The Church of Ireland describes itself as part of the Irish Church which was influenced by the Reformation. However, the Church of Ireland is also Protestant, or Reformed, since it opposes doctrines and ways of worshiping that it considers contrary to scripture and which led to the Reformation. When the Church of England broke communion with the Holy See, all, the church then became the established church of Ireland, assuming possession of most church property. This church-state link was vigorously applied when the Normans came to Ireland in the 12th century, Bishops were required to do homage to the king for their lands, just like earls and barons, who were vassals of the crown. It was therefore accepted, both during and after the Reformation, that the crown should continue to exercise authority over the church. In this way, church property that existed at the time of the Reformation, in Ireland, the substantial majority of the population continued to adhere to Roman Catholicism, despite the political and economic advantages of membership in the state church. Legitimacy for the Norman invasion of Ireland was derived from a Papal Bull of 1155 – Laudabiliter, the bull gave King Henry II of England authority to invade Ireland ostensibly as a means of reforming the church in Ireland more directly under the control of the Holy See. The authorisation from the Holy See was based upon the Donation of Constantine which made every Christian island in the western Roman Empire the property of the Papacy. The Church of Ireland is the second largest church in Ireland, the Church of Ireland began as a reformed church independent of the Catholic Church in 1536 when the Irish Parliament declared King Henry VIII to be the Supreme Head of the Church on earth. He would not legally become king of Ireland until 1541, adrian granted Henry II the Lordship of Ireland, thus, Henrys assumption of the title of King had less to do with dispossessing the native Irish kings than with confronting the Pope. The reformation commenced mainly in Dublin under the auspices of George Browne during Henrys reign, when the Church of England was reformed under King Edward VI of England, so too was the Church of Ireland. All but two of the Irish bishops appointed by Queen Mary accepted the Elizabethan Settlement, although the vast majority of priests, the Church of Ireland claims Apostolic succession because of the unbroken continuity of the episcopal hierarchy, however, this is disputed by the Roman Catholic Church. In this way, they were able to conform to the established church whilst at the same time continuing to worship. in the traditional
Church of Ireland
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St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh
Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
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Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
Church of Ireland
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St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
76.
Ceremonial mace
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A ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the officials authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the mace used as a weapon. Processions often feature maces, as on parliamentary or formal academic occasions, the ceremonial mace was used as a symbol of authority of military commanders. By the 14th century, these sergeants maces had started to become increasingly decorative, as a weapon, the mace fell out of use with the disappearance of heavy armor. The history of the civic mace begins around the middle of the 13th century, the oldest civic mace in England is that of Hedon. However, the sergeants of London later gained this privilege, as did later those of York, Norwich, records exist of maces covered with silver in use at Exeter in 1387–1388, Norwich bought two in 1435, and Launceston others in 1467 and 1468. Several other cities and towns subsequently acquired silver maces, and the 16th century saw almost universal use, early in the 15th century the flanged end of the mace was carried uppermost, with the small button bearing the royal arms in the base. The Guildford mace provides one of the finest of the fifteen specimens of the 15th century, craftsmen often pierced and decorated the flanged ends of the maces of this period beautifully. These flanges gradually became smaller, and by the 16th or early 17th century had developed into pretty projecting scroll-brackets and other ornaments, the next development in the embellishment of the shaft was the reappearance of these small scroll-brackets on the top, immediately under the head of the mace. They disappear altogether from the foot in the last half of the 17th century, the silver mace-heads were mostly plain, with a cresting of leaves or flowers in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the reign of James I of England they began to be engraved and decorated with heraldic devices, as the custom of having sergeants maces began to die out about 1650, the large maces borne before the mayor or bailiffs came into general use. Thomas Maundy functioned as the maker of maces during the English Commonwealth. He made the mace for the House of Commons in 1649 and this mace is still in use today, though without the original head. The original head, which was not engraved with symbols, was replaced by one with regal symbols at the time of the Restoration of the monarchy. Oliver Cromwell referred to the House of Commons mace as a fools bauble when he dissolved the Rump Parliament in 1653, There are 10 large silver-gilt maces of the sergeants-at-arms kept as part of the Crown Jewels in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. Two date from the reign of Charles II, two from the reign of James II, three from William and Marys reign, and one from Queen Annes reign, all these are of a type almost universally adopted, with slight variations, at the Restoration. Each mace weighs an average of 10 kilograms, in the Houses of Parliament, two ceremonial maces represent the monarchs authority. The monarch is referred to as the part of Parliament and signs into law the Bills which are voted on
Ceremonial mace
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A court official holds the mace of the Lord President of the Court of Session, Scotland, during a Doors Open Day. This mace is also known as the Old Exchequer Mace. Made in London in 1667, of silver coated with 24 carat gold, and weighing 17 pounds, it carries the monogram C.R. for the then monarch Charles II.
Ceremonial mace
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Mughal ceremonial mace (or "chob"), wood overlaid with mother-of-pearl; copper handle, c. 1600
Ceremonial mace
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Head of a French ceremonial mace, 18th century
Ceremonial mace
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Ceremonial Mace, 1694-5, Mark of Benjamin Pyne Victoria and Albert Museum, London
77.
Westminster Abbey
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It is one of the United Kingdoms most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs. Between 1540 and 1556, the abbey had the status of a cathedral, since 1560, however, the building is no longer an abbey nor a cathedral, having instead the status of a Church of England Royal Peculiar—a church responsible directly to the sovereign. The building itself is the abbey church. According to a tradition first reported by Sulcard in about 1080, a church was founded at the site in the 7th century, at the time of Mellitus, construction of the present church began in 1245, on the orders of King Henry III. Since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, all coronations of English and British monarchs have held in Westminster Abbey. There have been at least 16 royal weddings at the abbey since 1100, two were of reigning monarchs, although, before 1919, there had been none for some 500 years. The first reports of the abbey are based on a tradition claiming that a young fisherman called Aldrich on the River Thames saw a vision of Saint Peter near the site. This seems to be quoted to justify the gifts of salmon from Thames fishermen that the abbey received in later years, in the present was, the Fishmongers Company still gives a salmon every year. The proven origins are that in the 960s or early 970s, Saint Dunstan, assisted by King Edgar, between 1042 and 1052, King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St Peters Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was the first church in England built in the Romanesque style, the building was completed around 1090 and was consecrated on 28 December 1065, only a week before Edwards death on 5 January 1066. A week later, he was buried in the church, and, nine years later and his successor, Harold II, was probably crowned in the abbey, although the first documented coronation is that of William the Conqueror later the same year. The only extant depiction of Edwards abbey, together with the adjacent Palace of Westminster, is in the Bayeux Tapestry, construction of the present church was begun in 1245 by Henry III who selected the site for his burial. The abbot and monks, in proximity to the royal Palace of Westminster, the abbot often was employed on royal service and in due course took his place in the House of Lords as of right. The abbey built shops and dwellings on the west side, encroaching upon the sanctuary, the abbey became the coronation site of Norman kings. The Confessors shrine subsequently played a part in his canonisation. The work continued between 1245 and 1517 and was finished by the architect Henry Yevele in the reign of Richard II. Henry III also commissioned the unique Cosmati pavement in front of the High Altar, Henry VII added a Perpendicular style chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1503. Much of the came from Caen, in France, the Isle of Portland
Westminster Abbey
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Western façade
Westminster Abbey
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Flag of Westminster Abbey, featuring the Tudor arms between Tudor Roses above the supposed arms of Edward the Confessor
Westminster Abbey
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St Peter's Abbey at the time of Edward's funeral, depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry
Westminster Abbey
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Layout plan dated 1894
78.
Haggerston
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Haggerston is an area of East London and as part of Shoreditch is also often considered part of London’s East End. In 1965, the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch became part of the new London Borough of Hackney, there is an electoral ward called Haggerston within the borough. In the 1990s a number of the areas more rundown housing estates were refurbished, in 2010 Haggerston Railway station re-opened, a little to the north of the original station. The new station straddles the boundary of Haggerston\Shoreditch, which leaves Kingsland Road at Arbutus Street, runs along Albion Drive. The area has the 9th highest crime rate in Hackney, Haggerston is first recorded in the Domesday Book as Hergotestane, possibly of Viking origin, and an outlying hamlet of Shoreditch. The proximity to Hoxton and Shoreditch has made the popular with students and workers in the creative industries. In recent years, escalating property prices have driven commercial art galleries further into east London, for the same reason, Haggerston has been attracting tech start ups over Silicon Roundabout in Old Street, with some people calling the area Hackerston. A shortage of school places has made the area less attractive to families. Many Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian people have formed communities in Haggerston, outside the area, the most visible sign of this is the profusion of Southeast Asian restaurants on nearby Kingsland Road in Shoreditch and on Mare Street in Hackney. There is also a notable Russian community focused on bars and cafés along Kingsland Road, besides the Regents Canal, Haggerston Park, on the site of a demolished gasworks on Hackney Road, provides much-needed open space in the area. Also in the area is the Hackney City Farm, the Regent Estate provides the Regent Estate Pensioners Club/Hall and the Regent Estate Community Centre/Hall which together provide community services and spaces for hire. The Regent Estate Pensioners Hall is also used as a polling station, the Grade II listed Haggerston Pool, designed by Alfred Cross and opened in 1904, was closed in 2000. In June 2009, after a community campaign, a £5m grant was announced from the Department for Children, Schools and Families to refurbish. The building would also contain community facilities and a GP surgery, Haggerston School is a Grade II listed building, designed by the modernist architect Ernő Goldfinger and built in 1964–65. This area of Hackney has an association with clowning. Much of the collection is now on display at Wookey Hole, other Anglican churches in Haggerston are All Saints, Haggerston Road, St Columba, Kingsland Road, and Sts Mary and Chad, Nichols Square. The Little Sisters of Jesus have had a community of sisters within Fellows Court, Haggerston, the Haggerston electoral ward forms part of the Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency. The ward returns three councillors to Hackney Council, with an election every four years, at the election on 6 May 2010, Ann Munn, Jonathan McShane, and Barry Buitekant, all Labour Party candidates, were returned
Haggerston
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Haggerston Pool. Closed in 2000. In the foreground is the southeast Asian refugee centre. Many Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian people have settled in Haggerston and nearby Shoreditch.
Haggerston
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Urban decay: council blocks with boarded up windows
Haggerston
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Haggerston Park. (October 2005)
Haggerston
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People of the book: Haggerston Library (foreground) and Suleymaniye Mosque (background, with minaret). Kingsland Road, September 2005
79.
Henry Addington
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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
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Portrait by Sir William Beechey
Henry Addington
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In Britannia between Death and the Doctor's (1804), James Gillray caricatured Pitt kicking Addington (at left) out of Britannia's sickroom.
80.
List of Speakers of the British House of Commons
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This is a list of Speakers of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801. For the prolocutors and speakers of the House of Commons of England, the succession numbers, used in the body of the tables in this article, are split between different eras. In each table the numbers are based upon the number of individuals to hold the office of Speaker in the era covered, individuals with split terms retain the same succession number throughout a table. An alternative approach is to give a different succession number for each term and to number continuously through the English, British. Based on that approach, Mr Speaker Bercow is enumerated as the 157th Speaker. The Kingdom of Great Britain was created by the Acts of Union 1707, at the beginning of 1801, Great Britain was combined with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a single House of Commons serving the whole kingdom. Notes The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created in 1801, in 1922 the Irish Free State ceased to be part of the UK. The official name of the United Kingdom was changed to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Officers of the Commons 1363–1978
List of Speakers of the British House of Commons
List of Speakers of the British House of Commons
List of Speakers of the British House of Commons
List of Speakers of the British House of Commons
81.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
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A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an EAN-13 bar code
82.
Hansard
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Hansard is the traditional name of the transcripts of Parliamentary Debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, a London printer and publisher, though the history of the Hansard began in the British parliament, each of Britains colonies developed a separate and distinctive history. Before 1771, the British Parliament had long been a highly secretive body, the official record of the actions of the House was publicly available, but there was no record of the debates. The publication of remarks made in the House became a breach of Parliamentary privilege, as the populace became interested in parliamentary debates, more independent newspapers began publishing unofficial accounts of them. Several editors used the device of veiling parliamentary debates as debates of fictitious societies or bodies, the names under which parliamentary debates were published include Proceedings of the Lower Room of the Robin Hood Society and Debates of the Senate of Magna Lilliputia. The Senate of Magna Lilliputia was printed in Edward Caves The Gentlemans Magazine, the names of the speakers were carefully filleted, for example, Sir Robert Walpole was thinly disguised as Sr. R―t W―le. In 1771 Brass Crosby, who was Lord Mayor of the City of London, had brought him a printer by the name of John Miller who dared publish reports of Parliamentary proceedings. He released the man, but was ordered to appear before the House to explain his actions. Crosby was committed to the Tower of London, but when he was brought to trial, several judges refused to hear the case and after protests from the public, Crosby was released. Parliament ceased to punish the publishing of its debates as harshly, partly due to the campaigns of John Wilkes on behalf of free speech, there then began several attempts to publish reports of debates. Among the early successes, the Parliamentary Register published by John Almon and John Debrett began in 1775, cobbetts avocation for the freedom of the press was severely punished by the British Government. On June 5,1810 William Cobbett stood trial for libel for an article he wrote against the British Government which was published by Thomas Curson Hansard. Cobbett was found guilty, upon the fullest and most satisfactory evidence, the sentence was described by J. C Trewin as vindictive. Cobbetts Parliamentary Debates became Hansard Parliamentary Debates, abbreviated over time to the now familiar Hansard, from 1829 the name Hansard appeared on the title page of each issue. Neither Cobbett nor Hansard ever employed anyone to take notes of the debates. For this reason, early editions of Hansard are not to be relied upon as a guide to everything discussed in Parliament. The last attempt at a rival was The Times which published debates in the 1880s. In 1878 a subsidy was granted to the Hansard press and at that point reporters were employed, despite hiring contract reporters there were still widespread complaints about the accuracy of the debates
Hansard
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Hansard title page from 1832
Hansard
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Sample of Hansard from The House of Commons, 1895. Shows sample of several members speaking as described in the text.
Hansard
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Cover page of Hansard for the Province of Ontario, February 12, 1953
83.
James Pickering
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Sir James Pickering was Speaker of the House of Commons of England in 1378 and again from 1382 to 1383. The protestation which, as Speaker, he made for freedom of speech and he was descended from the knightly Pickering family of Killington, then in Westmorland, and was married to Elizabeth Greystoke. He owned land at Killington in Westmorland and Selby in Yorkshire and was knighted by 1361 and he was knight of the shire for Westmorland in 1362,1365, 1377–1379 and 1382 and Cumberland in 1368. He served as MP for Yorkshire in 1383,1384,1388 and 1390, Sheriff of Yorkshire for 1389,1393 and 1397, list of Speakers of the House of Commons of England
James Pickering
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House of Commons of England
84.
Richard Waldegrave (politician)
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Sir Richard Waldegrave /ˈwɔːlɡreɪv/ was a Member of Parliament for Suffolk and Speaker of the House of Commons during the reign of King Richard II. His father Sir Richard Waldegrave of Brant Broughton, Lincolnshire had been returned to Parliament in 1335 as knight of the shire for Lincolnshire. Richard the son resided at Smallbridge Hall in Suffolk, and was returned to Parliament twelve times as a knight of the shire for Suffolk between 1376 and 1390. He was first elected in 1376, and then again in Oct 1377,1378 and 1381 and he however prayed the king to discharge him from the office, the first instance, according to James Alexander Manning, of a speaker desiring to be excused. The king, however, insisted on him fulfilling his duties, during his speakership parliament was chiefly occupied with the revocation of the charters granted to the villeins by Richard during Wat Tylers rebellion. It was dissolved in February 1382, Waldegrave later represented Suffolk in the two parliaments of 1382, in those of 1383, in that of 1386, in those of 1388, and in that of January 1389–90. He held a number of public appointments but was excused from office in 1404. He died at Smallbridge on 2 May 1410, and was buried on the side of the parish church of St. Mary at Bures in Suffolk. He had married Joan, widow of Sir Robert Bures, of Bures St. Mary, history of Parliament WALDEGRAVE, Sir Richard of Walgrave, Northants and Smallbridge in Bures St Mary, Suffolk Waldegrave, Richard. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Waldegrave
Richard Waldegrave (politician)
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House of Commons of England
85.
John Bussy
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Sir John Bussy of Hougham in Lincolnshire was a Member of Parliament representing Lincolnshire or Rutland eleven times from 1383 to 1398 as a Knight of the Shire. He was also Speaker of the House of Commons at the three Parliaments between 1393 and 1398, during which he supported the policies of king Richard II. He was most famous for orchestrating the abdication of power to an eighteen-man subcommittee in order to concentrate power in the hands of the kings supporters. He also appears as a character in Thomas of Woodstock and he was the son of Sir William Bussy and Isabel Paynell, the daughter of John Paynell. He married twice, firstly in 1382 to Maud, daughter of Sir Philip de Neville, in 1378 secured a position with John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, as the Steward of all his lands north of the Trent. He worked for the Duke until 1397 but had by then entered the service of Richard II and he was High Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1383,1385 and 1390. He became a confidant and advisor of Richard and together with Sir Henry Green. The three continual councillors went on to acquire an unsavoury reputation, Bussy became notorious for his gross flattery of the king. He was elected speaker of Parliament three times, first in 1393, and later by the two parliaments convened in 1397 and it was in the latter of the two that Bussy became most notorious. He forced the parliament to delegate all its authority to a committee of which he was a member, each was carefully chosen as a strong supporter of Richard. By this means Bussy secured a monopoly on power by the kings supporters, in Shakespeares Richard II he is one of three councillors accused by Bolingbroke of misleading the king. Bussy also appears in Thomas of Woodstock as William Bushy, again portrayed as one of the kings favourites, chris Give-Wilson, Chronicles of the revolution, 1397-1400, The Reign of Richard II, pg 128
John Bussy
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House of Commons of England
86.
John Doreward
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John Doreward was a Serjeant-at-law and Speaker of the House of Commons of England. Outside the affairs of parliament, little is known of Doreward and he was apparently the son of William Doreward of Bocking, Essex who was a member of parliament for Essex in the eighteenth and twentieth parliaments of Edward III. According to James Alexander Manning, he was of Dorewood Hall, at Bocking, he founded a chantry in 1397. Doreward was appointed High Sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire for 1399 and he was elected Speaker of the House in 1399 and 1413. The Constitutional History of England in its Origin and Development, vol, the commons also voted for the arrest of William Scrope and Henry Green, both councillors of Richard II. The parliament of 1413 granted Henry V a subsidy for four years, a long period. He was appointed a member of Henry IV’s council from Nov 1399 to May 1406, Doreward is commemorated by a brass memorial plate at St Marys Church, Bocking, which can be found on the floor before the South Chapel. This gives the year of his death as 1420 and names his wife as Isabella Baynard of Messing. In 1440, Dorewards son, another John Doreward, founded an almshouse to be called the Maison Dieu of the town of Bocking, among its purposes was to pray for the soul of John Doreward, the founders father
John Doreward
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House of Commons of England
87.
William Esturmy
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Sir William Esturmy, was Speaker of the House of Commons, a Knight of the Shire and hereditary Warden of the royal forest of Savernake Forest, Wiltshire. He was born in about 1356, the son of Geoffrey Sturmy and nephew and heir of Sir Henry Sturmy of Wolfhall in the Savernake Forest and he inherited in 1381 and was knighted by October 1388. He held the post of warden of Savernake Forest from 1381 to 1417. He served as knight of the shire for Hampshire in 1384 and again in 1390 and he was elected Speaker of the House of Commons in 1404 during the reign of King Henry IV, known as the Illiterate or Unlearned Parliament because the king forbade lawyers from attending. He was appointed High Sheriff of Wiltshire for 1418 and he held a number of public posts and served several times as an ambassador abroad. He died at Wolfhall in 1427, STURMY, Sir William of Wolf Hall in Great Bedwyn, Wilts
William Esturmy
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arms of Esturmy: Argent, three demi-lions rampant gules
88.
William Stourton (speaker)
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William Stourton of Stourton, Wiltshire, was Speaker of the House of Commons from May 1413 to June 1413 when he was serving as MP for Dorset. He was the son and heir of John Stourton of Stourton and his younger half-brother was John Stourton of Preston Plucknett in Somerset,7 times MP for Somerset, in 1419,1420, December 1421,1423,1426,1429 and 1435. He died in 1413 and was buried in Witham Priory, history of Parliament STOURTON, William of Stourton, Wilts
William Stourton (speaker)
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Arms of Stourton: Sable, a bend or between six fountains
89.
Richard Redman (speaker)
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Redman began his career as a soldier, campaigning on the continent, and was knighted by 1376. He was appointed High Sheriff of Cumberland for 1387,1391,1394,1397,1401 and 1410, in 1393 Richard was granted leave to hold a tournament in Carlisle. In 1397, after campaigning in Ireland with Richard II he was appointed Master of the Horse, between 1399 and 1400 he travelled to Ireland with John de Cobham, 3rd Baron Cobham before returning to England in May to create a peace with Scotland. In 1408 he was commissioned again to fine gentry associated with the Percy Rebellion after their defeat at the Battle of Bramham Moor, in 1409 and 1410 he attempted to gain peace with the Scots, after this failed he was tasked with raising forces against them. In 1421 he was commissioned to raise money for the war with France before his death in 1426. Redman died in 1426 and was buried in the Church of the Black Friars, an eleborate memorial to him was installed in Harewood church, Yorkshire, where his estates lay. His surviving son, Matthew Redman, died before him in 1419 and he was succeeded by his grandson, Richard Redman, the Bishop of Exeter, was most likely his great-grandson. History of Parliament- REDMAYNE, Sir Richard of Levens, Westmorland and Harewood, Yorks
Richard Redman (speaker)
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House of Commons of England
90.
Roger Flower
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Roger Flower or Flore was an English politician,12 times MP for Rutland and four times Speaker of the House of Commons. He was son of William Flower, sheriff of Rutland for 1383 and he was returned to parliament as Knight of the Shire for the county of Rutland in 1396-7, again in 1399,1402,1404, and 1413-14. He was one of the feoffees of the Brigittine nunnery founded by Henry V at Syon in 1414. Still representing the county of Rutland, he was speaker of the House of Commons four times—in 1416,1417,1419. He was a lawyer with considerable private and public interests, in 1416 he was made chief steward of the Duchy of Lancaster estates north of the Trent. Besides his ancestral manor of Oakham in Rutland, he held estates in Leicestershire and he was appointed High Sheriff of Rutland for 1407 and 1412. The probate of his will was dated 20 June 1428, Flower had died by 12 November 1427 and his first wife was Catherine, daughter and heiress of William Dalby of Exton. His second wife, Cecile, daughter of Anneys Sainon, survived him and his eldest son and heir Thomas was twice MP for Rutland and 6 times Sheriff of Rutland. The family home, called Flores House, is a prominent listed building on High Street, Roger Flore of Oakham by J. S. Roskell This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Flower, Roger
Roger Flower
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House of Commons of England
91.
Richard Baynard
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Richard Baynard was an English administrator, MP and Speaker of the House of Commons of England in 1421. He was the son and heir of Thomas Baynard of Messing. He was elected Knight of the shire for Essex six times, and elected Speaker of the House in Dec 1421. He was Controller, customs and subsidies Ipswich, Suffolk and Keeper of Colchester gaol and he was survived by his widow Grace, his natural sons Richard and Lewis and an illegitimate son, John, and two of his four daughters. History of Parliament BAYNARD, Richard of Messing, Essex
Richard Baynard
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House of Commons of England
92.
Richard Vernon (speaker)
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Sir Richard Vernon was an English landowner, MP and speaker of the House of Commons. His father died when he was ten years old, so he did not come into his estates until eleven years later, by this time he had already married Benedicta de Ludlow of Tong, Shropshire. Vernons property was widespread and varied, from his parents he inherited, In Cheshire the forestership of Macclesfield Forest, and the manors of Marpie and Wibersley. In Staffordshire estates around Draycott, Harlaston and Pipe Ridware, in Derbyshire estates around Bakewell, Baslow, Calver, Haddon, Netherseal and Rowsley In Pembrokeshire the manors of Stackpole Elidor, Bosherston and Rudbaxton. In Carmarthenshire the manors of Pendine and Cantrewyn, in Buckinghamshire the manors of Pitchcott and Adstock, including advowsons of their churches. In Westmorland the manors of Meaburn Maulds and Newby, and there were also scattered lands in Cumberland, in Leicestershire the manor of Aylestone. Sir Fulkes second wife, Isabel of Lingen, who was also Vernons mother-in-law, had founded a chantry and college of a warden and she bequeathed advowson of the church to Vernon, and also settled her manor of Haselbech, Northamptonshire, on him. In 1415, prior to launching his invasion of France, Henry V induced parliament to dissolve all alien priories and this included Lapley Priory, a small Benedictine house on the western edge of Staffordshire. Its lands were given to Tong college, greatly improving the income of the chaplains and it is possible that this was brought about by a member of the House of Beaufort, the kings cousins, to whom Sir Fulke had been very close. Tong church was to become a shrine for the Vernon family, Vernon also tried to acquire the substantial estates of Sir Fulkes first wife, Margaret Trussell, which had been settled on Isabel for life. The legal wrangles with the Trussell family dragged on inconclusively for more than 20 years, by the Exchequer in June 1416 to cover service in France, in which he was engaged for a few months. £40 a year was considered sufficient to support a knight, while £9 would pay an archer, so it is possible Vernon campaigned with a small force. If so, the most likely destination was Harfleur, where the English garrison was left stranded after the Agincourt campaign, the Armagnac besiegers were scattered in a daring relief operation, led by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford on 15 August. This fits well with Vernons subsequent career, as he must have returned to the Midlands by November, in November 1416 Vernon was pricked High Sheriff of Staffordshire. That period of office was followed by a knighthood and he was appointed Justice of the Peace for Staffordshire and he was then chosen as one of the arbitrators in a dispute between the abbot of Burton Abbey and Thomas Okeover, a quarrelsome Derbyshire landowner and politician. He was twice appointed Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, in 1425 and 1426, Vernon became a member of Parliament for the first time in 1419, as a knight of the shire for Staffordshire. He was one of a number of Derbyshire magnates who were summoned early in 1420 to Westminster to discuss the defence of Normandy. His services to the Crown extended to advancing a loan of £52 10s, in concert with the Essex landowners, Sir William Coggeshall and Richard Baynard, however, Henry died in 1422, leaving an infant son to succeed him
Richard Vernon (speaker)
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Effigy of Sir Richard Vernon. St Bartholomew's church, Tong, Shropshire.
Richard Vernon (speaker)
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Haddon Hall, Derbyshire: photograph by Eirian Evans
Richard Vernon (speaker)
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Tong Church
93.
John Tyrell
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Sir John Tyrrell lord of the manor of Heron in the parish of East Horndon, Essex, was Knight of the Shire for Essex, Speaker of the House of Commons, and Treasurer of the Royal Household. After the death of Walter Tyrrell, Eleanor remarried to Sir Nicholas Haute, MP, of Wadden Hall in Waltham, John was the grandson and heir of Sir Thomas Tyrrell who was buried at Downham, Essex, in 1382, and was survived by his wife, Alice. By his wife Anne, Edward Tyrrell had the following progeny, Edward Tyrrell, philippe Tyrrell, daughter, who married, before 1446-7, Thomas Cornwallis of Brome, Suffolk, by whom she had four sons and a daughter. Margaret Tyrrell, who married Robert Mounteney, John Tyrrell was appointed High Sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1413 and again in 1423. He was elected knight of the shire for Essex 12 times between 1411 and 1437 and once for Hertfordshire in 1427 and he was elected Speaker of the House of Commons three times, in 1421,1429 and 1437. In 1427 he was appointed steward of Clare in Suffolk and Thaxted in Essex, during the minority of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York and he was a member of King Henry VIs council in France in 1431. He was knighted in 1431 and in May of that year was appointed Treasurer of the Royal Household, the Tyrrell arms are Argent, two chevronels azure, a border engrailed gules. The family motto is Sans crainte, Thomas Tyrrell, esquire, who married Elizabeth Bruyn, who later remarried to Sir William Brandon, by whom she was the mother of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. Anne Tyrrell, who married John Darcy Elizabeth Tyrrell, who married firstly Sir Robert Darcy, William Tyrrell of Gipping, Suffolk, beheaded on Tower Hill 23 February 1462, who married Margaret Darcy, by whom he was the father of Sir James Tyrrell. William Tyrrell of Beeches in Rawreth, Essex, who married firstly Anne Fitz Simon, the daughter of William Fitz Simon, and secondly Philippa Thornbury, biography of Tyrell, John, of Heron in East Horndon, Essex. The History of Parliament, House of Commons 1386-1421, a Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland. Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk c. 1484–1545, the Register of Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury 1414–1443. Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society, colchester, Essex and West Suffolk Gazette. Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society, colchester, Essex and West Suffolk Gazette. Knighton, C. S. ed. Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous 1422–1485, Sir John Hawkwood, Story of A Condottiere, Translated From The Italian of John Temple-Leader, Esq. The Early Tyrrels of Heron in East Herndon, new England Historical and Genealogical Register. Everingham, Kimball G. ed. Magna Carta Ancestry, A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, everingham, Kimball G. ed. Magna Carta Ancestry, A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Everingham, Kimball G. ed. Plantagenet Ancestry, A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, everingham, Kimball G. ed. Magna Carta Ancestry, A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families
John Tyrell
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House of Commons of England
94.
William Alington (speaker)
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William Alington is said to have been the son of William Alington and Denise Malet. He married Joan, said to have been the daughter of William Burgh, Alington was appointed High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire in 1414 and 1423. He was elected to Parliament in 1410,1416 and 1429 as Knight of the Shire for Cambridgeshire, history of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland. Ulster King of Arms Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire, the Visitation of Cambridge, made in 1575 &1619. History of Parliament, Biographies of the Members of the Commons House 1439-1509
William Alington (speaker)
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House of Commons of England
95.
William Burley
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William Burley was MP for Shropshire nineteen times and Speaker of the House of Commons of England. He was the eldest son of John Burley of Broncroft in Corvedale, Sir Simon de Burley was his great-great-uncle. He served on commissions and as a JP and escheator for Shropshire. He was appointed High Sheriff of Shropshire for 1426 and he served as knight of the shire for Shropshire 19 times between 1417 and 1455. The last parliament in which he was returned was that which was summoned to meet at Westminster and he was chosen Speaker of the House, on 19 March 1436, in the place of Sir John Tyrrell, who was compelled by illness to retire from the chair. He married twice, firstly Ellen, daughter and coheiress of John Grendon and he died intestate, leaving as his heirs his daughter Joan, married to the jurist, Sir Thomas Littleton of Teddesley, and his grandson, William Trussell, son of his other daughter, Elizabeth. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Barker. London, Smith, Elder & Co. p.376, history of Parliament - BURLEY, William of Broncroft in Corvedale, Salop
William Burley
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House of Commons of England
96.
William Tresham
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Sir William Tresham JP was an English lawyer and Speaker of the House of Commons. Born in Northamptonshire, the son of Thomas Tresham of Sywell, in 1424 he was also appointed a Justice of the Peace for Northamptonshire, a man born of common stock relied on advancement in his home county for advancement nationally. Having trained as a lawyer, Tresham spent intermittent periods in the service of the king, such as in 1415, in 1438 he bought Rushton Hall in Northamptonshire as a family seat. He was again elected Speaker in 1442 and 1447 and continued his service, mainly for the Duchy of Lancaster. He was made a feoffee of the estates in 1446 and in 1448 was made a chancellor of those feoffees. In 1450 he was indicted for treason in the aftermath of Jack Cades rebellion in Kent. While travelling to meet with Richard of York with his son, Sir Thomas Tresham, William was killed, and Thomas escaped injured
William Tresham
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House of Commons of England
97.
John Popham (military commander)
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Sir John Popham was MP for Hampshire and Sheriff of Hampshire. He was a commander and speaker-elect of the House of Commons. He took part in Henry Vs invasion of France in 1415 and in the French wars under John of Lancaster and he was elected speaker of the House of Commons in 1449 but was permitted by King Henry VI to decline the office on the ground of infirmity. He was the son of Sir John Popham of South Charford, Hampshire, a son of Sir John Popham of Popham, Hampshire. He may have been educated at Bishop Wykehams College of St Mary at Winchester, John and his first-cousin Sir Stephen Popham, MP, were men-at-arms under Edward, Duke of York, in the French campaign of 1415 and John was probably knighted after the Battle of Agincourt. He served again in 1417 in the conquest of Lower Normandy and was appointed bailli of Caen in December 1417, in October 1418, he was awarded the governorship of Southampton Castle in succession to his father, holding it until 1441. He fought at the sieges of Pontorson and Orléans and was involved with arranging the defence of Paris following French successes under Jeanne dArc in 1429. Back in England, he became Treasurer of the Household from 17 April 1437 until April 1439 and was elected knight of the shire for Hampshire in November 1439. He was again returned for Hampshire in 1449 and was nominated as Speaker of the House and he died on 14 April 1463, and was buried in the Charterhouse. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Lee, Sidney, ed. Popham
John Popham (military commander)
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Arms of Popham: Argent, on a chief gules two stag's heads cabossed or
98.
Thomas Thorpe (speaker)
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Sir Thomas Thorpe was Speaker of the House of Commons in England from 8 March 1453 until 16 February 1454. He worked as a clerk in the royal Exchequer, reaching a position of Third Baron of the Exchequer in 1452 and his parliamentary career began in October 1449 when he was elected junior knight of the shire of Northamptonshire with Thomas Tresham. He was later knight of the shire for Essex and was elected Speaker for the first part of the 19th Parliament of King Henry VI in 1453. On his return to favour in 1457 he was keeper of the privy wardrobe in the Tower of London for life and in 1458 was appointed Second Baron of the Exchequer. At the parliament of 1459 he gained his revenge on the Duke of York by helping to draw up the bill of attainder declaring York, in 1460 he was captured after the Battle of Northampton and brought back to London as a prisoner and once more stripped of his offices. He escaped from prison, but was recaptured and sent to the Tower and he escaped a second time but on 17 February 1461 was caught in Harringay by a London mob and summarily beheaded. He had married Joan and was succeeded by his son and heir Roger and his descendants include Jeremy Thorpe, a 20th-century politician. Some sources may give the dates of his Speakership as being between 1452 and 1453 as, at the time, the new year did not begin in England until a date in March, the dates given above are on the basis of the year starting on 1 January. The Office of Speaker, by Philip Laundy Parliament and politics in late medieval England, Volume 2 p.175 et seq By John Smith Roskell very brief article
Thomas Thorpe (speaker)
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House of Commons of England
99.
John Wenlock, 1st Baron Wenlock
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John Wenlock, 1st Baron Wenlock KG was an English diplomat, soldier, courtier and politician. He fought on the sides of both the Yorkists and the Lancastrians in the Wars of the Roses and he has been called the prince of turncoats, although some historians suggest the label may not be fair. Others contend that even when Wenlock was not actually changing sides, although Wenlock is often remembered for his military exploits, most of his public service was in the diplomatic field, and contemporary accounts record him as being regarded as very clever. In 1433 he was returned to parliament for Bedfordshire, and again in 1436,1447,1449 and he was elected Speaker of the House in the 1455 Parliament. He was escheator for Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire in 1438–9, and he entered the service of Margaret of Anjou, being first usher of the chamber. In this capacity he laid the first stone of Queens College, Cambridge and he served also in 1444 as High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Wenlocks seat was at Luton, his property there, Someries Castle, in 1462 he acquired Hertfordshire property forfeited by the former Chief Justice, Sir John Fortescue. His service to the Crown is also reflected in his employment as a member of some 18 embassies in the 1440s and 1450s. It appears to have been at one such embassy that he came into contact with the Duke of York and the Earl of Warwick, by the Battle of Blore Heath in 1459 Wenlock fought for the House of York. Having successfully besieged the Tower of London for Edward of York, later in the year he received appointment as Chief Butler of England and was made Baron Wenlock. In 1464 he helped Lord Hastings capture Dunstanburgh Castle and he continued to undertake diplomatic missions for Edward IV, and had command of Calais for him. At the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4 May 1471, he commanded the middle of the Lancastrian line, however, the Lancastrians suffered a crushing defeat, and Wenlock died on the battlefield. He was allegedly killed by his own commander, the Duke of Somerset, the Duke of Somerset had led the right flank of the Lancastrian line forward, and expected Wenlock to support him, but Wenlock held back and the Dukes men were slaughtered. After the Dukes flank retreated he either summoned Wenlock or rode to him, the suggestion seems to be largely predicated on the absence of any record of his burial either at Tewkesbury or at the family chapel in Luton. However, it would be difficult for a public figure such as Wenlock to have survived for so long unnoticed. Wenlock married twice in his life and his first wife, Elizabeth Drayton died in the early 1460s after being married to him for over 30 years. In 1467 Wenlock then remarried Agnes Danvers, at the time of this second marriage both spouses would have been in their 60s. Wenlock died without issue, and his title died with him, Someries castle Wenlock Jug Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Wenlock, John
John Wenlock, 1st Baron Wenlock
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Sir John Wenlock, as portrayed in stained glass window in the Wenlock chapel at St. Mary's Church, Luton.
John Wenlock, 1st Baron Wenlock
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The Wenlock chapel
John Wenlock, 1st Baron Wenlock
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Image of the Battle of Tewkesbury, where Wenlock was killed, in a Ghent manuscript.
100.
Thomas Tresham (speaker)
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Sir Thomas Tresham was a British politician, soldier and administrator. He was the son of Sir William Tresham and his wife Isabel de Vaux, thomass early advancement was due to his fathers influence. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Huntingdonshire in 1446, a position he held until 1459, and was returned to Parliament for Buckinghamshire in 1447 and Huntingdonshire in 1449. Shortly after leaving home on 23 September they were attacked by a group of men involved in a property dispute with his father, William Tresham was killed, and Thomas was injured. He was returned to parliament in 1459 for Northamptonshire again, after the Parliament ended he was appointed to various anti-Yorkist commissions of Oyer and terminer, followed by an appointment as Comptroller of the Household in 1460. He fought at the Battle of Northampton in 1460, but denied having been at the Battle of Wakefield and he joined up with Margaret of Anjou in January 1461 and fought at the Second Battle of St Albans, where he was knighted. He fought at the Battle of Towton and was captured, despite being one of the lords on whom Edward IV had placed a £100 bounty and he secured a pardon in 1464 and again represented Northamptonshire in Parliament in 1467, but failed to regain his lands and possessions. As a result, he took part in the plots of John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford and he was rewarded for his services and loyalty with various grants, including that of Huntingdon Castle, to be held for seven years. After the Battle of Barnet he fled to meet Margaret of Anjou but was captured and executed on 6 May 1471 and his children by Mary, daughter of William, Lord Zouche of Harringworth, included a son, John, who was born in 1462. John was restored to his fathers estates after the reversal of the attainder by Henry VII in 1485, johns son was Sir Thomas Tresham. A daughter, Isabella, was born in 1460 and married Sir Henry de Vere of Addington, thus establishing a long line of descendants
Thomas Tresham (speaker)
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House of Commons of England
101.
John Wood (speaker)
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Sir John Wood was Speaker of the House of Commons of England between January 1483 and February 1483. He was probably born in Sussex, the son of another John Wood, in 1444 he began a long career in the Treasury, holding the offices of under-treasurer of the exchequer, Keeper of the Great Wardrobe of the Household, and Treasurer of the Exchequer. He was appointed High Sheriff of Sussex and Surrey for 1475 and was elected knight of the shire for Sussex in 1449, during the latter Parliament he was elected speaker of the house for a brief period in 1483, after which he was knighted. Oxford DNB Wood, Sir John Speaker of the House of Commons
John Wood (speaker)
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House of Commons of England
102.
William Catesby
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Sir William Catesby was one of Richard III of Englands principal councillors. He also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Speaker of the House of Commons during Richards reign. The son of Sir William Catesby of Ashby St Ledgers, Northamptonshire and Philippa, daughter and heiress of Sir William Bishopston, as an aspiring lawyer Catesby initially progressed in the service of William, 1st Lord Hastings. He married Margaret, daughter of William La Zouche, 6th Baron Zouche of Harringworth, upon the death of his father he inherited a large number of estates in the English Midlands and was land-agent for many others. He was a member of the Council that ruled during the reign of Edward V, after Richard was enthroned, Catesby was one of King Richards closest advisors. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and as Speaker of the English House of Commons during the Parliament of 1484 and he also received a substantial grant of land from the king, enough to make him richer than most knights. The poem was interpolated into Laurence Oliviers film Richard III, a adaptation of William Shakespeares play. Collingbourne was hanged, drawn and quartered for this and other alleged treasonable activities, William Catesby was one of the two councillors who are reputed to have told the king that marrying Elizabeth of York would cause rebellions in the north. He fought alongside Richard at the Battle of Bosworth and was captured, alone of those of importance he was executed three days later at Leicester. The suggestion that he might have made a deal with the Stanleys before the battle comes from his will when he asked them to pray for my soul as ye have not for my body, after his death his estates were largely confiscated by Henry VII. Catesby was succeeded by his eldest son, George, to whom the family seat of Ashby St Legers was later restored, robert Catesby, leader of the Gunpowder Plot, was a descendant. Rowse, A. L. Bosworth Field & the Wars of the Roses
William Catesby
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House of Commons of England
103.
Thomas Lovell
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Sir Thomas Lovell, KG, was an English soldier and administrator, Speaker of the House of Commons, Secretary to the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was fifth son of Sir Thomas Lovell of Barton Bendish in Norfolk, by Anne, daughter of Robert Toppe, alderman of Norwich, Thomas Lovell seems to have been entered at Lincolns Inn. He adhered to Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, and was attainted in the first parliament of Richard III and he returned with Henry and fought at the battle of Bosworth. His attainder was reversed in Henry VIIs first parliament and he was also treasurer of the Kings and Queens chambers. In the parliament summoned for 7 November 1485 Lovell was chosen for Northamptonshire and he headed the commons on 10 December 1485, when they requested the king to marry Elizabeth of York, to whom he subsequently lent £500 on the security of her plate. On 3 July 1486 he was one of the commission to treat with the Scots and he probably continued to sit in parliament, though it is only certain that he was elected to that summoned for 16 January 1497. Sir John Mordaunt was chosen speaker in 1488, in 1487 Lovell sided with King Henry against Lambert Simnel, and he and his brothers fought at the battle of Stoke, where he was knighted. On 11 March 1489 he became constable of Nottingham Castle, in November 1494 he was present at the tournaments celebrating the creation of Prince Henry as Duke of York, and in 1500 he accompanied the king at his meeting with the Archduke Philip near Calais. In 1502 he became treasurer of the household and president of the council, in 1503 he was made Knight of the Garter. About 1504 he appears to have been high steward of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. He acted as an executor for Cecilia, Duchess of York, Lady Margaret, Countess of Richmond, Henry VII, Sir Thomas Brandon, John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, Henry VIII continued to employ Lovell. He was reappointed chancellor of the exchequer, and at Michaelmas 1512 was appointed Constable of the Tower of London, from 14 June 1513 he served as Master of the Wards. He was steward and marshal of the household, the rise of Thomas Wolseys power seems to have affected his position. Ambassador Sebastiano Giustiniani wrote on 17 July 1516 that Lovell had withdrawn himself from public affairs, on 14 May 1523 he was reported to be very ill, and he died at Elsing on 25 May 1524. He was buried in a chapel he had built at Holywell Priory, Shoreditch. His portrait was formerly in a window in Malvern Priory. Another brother, Sir Robert Lovell, was made a knight-banneret at Blackheath in 1497, Margaret Brandon Lovell later married Hugh Manning. Thomas Lovell married, first, Eleanor, daughter of Jeffrey Ratcliffe, and, secondly, Isabel, sister of Edmund de Ros, 10th Baron de Ros, of Hamlake, a widow, by the numerous grants which he had from Henry VIII he died very rich
Thomas Lovell
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Arms of Sir Thomas Lovell, KG
104.
Richard Empson
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Sir Richard Empson, minister of Henry VII, was a son of Peter Empson. Educated as a lawyer, he attained considerable success in his profession, and in 1491 was a Knight of the Shire for Northamptonshire in Parliament. Richard Empson, born about 1450, was the son of Peter Empson, John Stow claimed that his father was a sieve maker, but there is no evidence of this. His father, Peter Empson, held property at Towcester and Easton Neston in Northamptonshire, early in the reign of Henry VII he became associated with Edmund Dudley in carrying out the King’s rigorous and arbitrary system of taxation, and in consequence he became very unpopular. Thrown into prison by order of the new King, Henry VIII, he was charged, like Dudley, with the crime of constructive treason and his attainder by Parliament followed, and he was beheaded on 17 August 1510. In 1512 his elder son, Thomas, was restored in blood by Act of Parliament, John Empson, who married Agnes Lovell, daughter of Henry Lovell and Constance Hussey, and a ward of Edmund Dudley. Elizabeth Empson, who married firstly George Catesby, son of William Catesby, counsellor to Richard III, a son of Sir Richard Empsons successor as Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Robert Drury of Hawstead, Suffolk. She married secondly Sir William Pierrepont of Holme Pierrepont, Nottinghamshire, anne Empson, who married firstly Robert Ingleton, a ward of her father, by whom she had a daughter who married Humphrey Tyrrell. She married secondly John Higford, who in 1504 was pardoned for her rape as well as burglary, mary Empson, who married Edward Bulstrode, son of Richard Bulstrode. Howard, Joseph Jackson, Armytage, George John, eds, the Visitation of London Taken in the Year 1568. Durham, Andrews & Co. p.169, everingham, Kimball G. ed. Magna Carta Ancestry, A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Everingham, Kimball G. ed. Magna Carta Ancestry, A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, the Visitation of Warwickshire 1619, London,1877, p.284. The Extinct & Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland, and Scotland by Messrs, John and John Bernard Burke, 2nd edition, London,1841, history of Henry VII, by Francis Bacon, edited by Joseph Rawson Lumby. The Reign of Henry VIII by J. S. Brewer, the Knights of England by William A. Shaw, Litt. D. &c. London,1906, volume II, p.34, plantagenet Ancestry by Douglas Richardson, Baltimore, Md. Magna Carta Ancestry by Douglas Richardson, Baltimore, Md.2005, attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed
Richard Empson
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Sir Richard Empson (left), with Henry VII and Sir Edmund Dudley.
105.
Thomas Englefield
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Sir Thomas Englefield was Speaker of the House of Commons. He was born, probably in Englefield in Berkshire, around 1455 and his father died while he was quite young and his grandfather, Robert Englefield, had him educated in law at the Middle Temple. He was knighted Knight of the Bath on the marriage of Prince Arthur in 1501 and he held land on the Welsh border, notably in Worcestershire where he became a magistrate in 1493. He was returned to Parliament as knight of the shire for Berkshire in 1497 and 1510 and on both occasions elected Speaker of the House. He had married Margery, daughter of Sir Richard Danvers with whom he had two sons, Richard, who died young and Thomas, his heir and the father of the Catholic politician, history of Parliament ENGLEFIELD, Sir Thomas of Englefield, Berks
Thomas Englefield
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House of Commons of England
106.
Robert Sheffield
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Sir Robert Sheffield was an English lawyer and Member of Parliament. He was Speaker of the House of Commons between 1512-1513, Robert Sheffield was the son of Sir Robert Sheffield of South Cave, Yorkshire, by Jane Lounde, the daughter and coheir of Alexander Lownde of Butterwick, Lincolnshire. He was trained in the law at the Inner Temple, and he served as Recorder of London from 1495 to 1508, and was thus an ex officio Member of Parliament for the City of London in 1495,1497 and 1504. Bernard Andreas states that Sheffield resigned the recordership in April 1508 and he was a commander at Blackheath during the Cornish Rebellion of 1497, and knighted by Henry VII after the battle. Sheffield was chosen Knight of the Shire for Lincolnshire in 1512 and 1513, in 1515 he fell foul of the church over his attempt to limit its privileges, and was summoned before the Star Chamber but negotiated a pardon. Six months later he was incarcerated in the Tower of London after complaining against Cardinal Wolsey, and brought before the Star Chamber again, however the pardon was revoked and he died in the Tower of London on 10 August 1518. He was buried in the Augustinian church, London and his will is in Testamenta Vetusta by Nicholas Harris Nicolas. Edmund Sheffield, the son of Robert Sheffield and Jane Stanley, after his first wifes death in or after 1509, Sheffield married secondly Anne Barley or Barlee, the daughter of William Barley, of Albury, Hertfordshire. Anne left a will dated 1 October 1557, proved 7 May 1558, the first edition of this text is available as an article on Wikisource, Sheffield, Robert. Everingham, Kimball G. ed. Magna Carta Ancestry, A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families
Robert Sheffield
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House of Commons of England
107.
Humphrey Wingfield
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Sir Humphrey Wingfield was an English lawyer and Speaker of the House of Commons of England between 1533 and 1536. Humphrey was educated at Grays Inn, where he was elected Lent Reader in 1517 and he had been on the commission of the peace both for Essex and Suffolk since 1509 at least. Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk was a cousin of the Wingfields, and probably through his influence Wingfield was introduced at court. In 1515 he was appointed chamberlain to Suffolks wife Mary Tudor, Queen of France, on 28 May 1517 he was nominated upon the royal commission for inquiring into illegal inclosures in Suffolk. He appears to have acted in 1518, together with his eldest brother, Sir John Wingfield, on 6 November 1520 he was chosen High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, and on 14 November was appointed a commissioner of gaol delivery for Essex. In 1523 and 1524 he was a commissioner of subsidy for Suffolk and for the town of Ipswich, on 26 June 1525 he was appointed a commissioner of assize for Suffolk, On 5 Feb.1526 he was a legal member of the kings council. He was in favour with the Thomas Wolsey, and he took a part in the establishment of the cardinals college at Ipswich in September 1528. On the other hand, he was nominated by the crown on 14 July 1530 a commissioner to inquire into Wolseys possessions in Suffolk. In this capacity he, sitting with three other commissioners at Woodbridge, Suffolk, returned a verdict on 19 September that the college and its lands were forfeited to the king. He was at the time high steward of St. Mary Mettingham, another Suffolk college. On 9 February 1533 the commons presented Wingfield to the king as their speaker, according to Eustace Chapuys, the king knighted him on this occasion. He is styled Sir in a petition of this year, and frequently afterwards, during his speakership were passed the acts severing the church of England from the Roman obedience and affirming the royal supremacy, Wingfield supported Henrys policy. Parliament was dissolved on 4 April 1536, on the outbreak of the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 Wingfield was one of the Suffolk gentry upon whom the government relied for aid. He justified Thomas Cromwells opinion of him by opposing the incitements of the friars and he was nominated in 1536 a commissioner for the valuation of the lands and goods of religious houses in Norfolk and Suffolk. He was also commissioned to survey the defensive points of the coast when in 1539 there were apprehensions of an invasion and he was among the knights appointed to receive Anne of Cleves in January 1540. After the conviction of Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter he received a grant of a lease of his lands in Lalford Says, Ardelegh, Colchester and he was again returned to Parliament as the Member for Great Yarmouth in 1542. Wingfield died on 23 October 1545 and he married between 1502 and 1512 Anne, daughter and heiress of Sir John Wiseman of Essex, and widow of Gregory Adgore, Edgore, or Edgar, serjeant-at-law. His son and heir, Robert, married Bridget, daughter of Sir Thomas Pargeter, knt. alderman and his daughter Anne married Sir Alexander Newton
Humphrey Wingfield
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House of Commons of England
108.
Nicholas Hare
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Sir Nicholas Hare of Bruisyard, Suffolk was Speaker of the House of Commons of England between 1539 and 1540. He was born the eldest son of John Hare of Homersfield, Suffolk, educated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and he had three sisters, who were married to MPs, and a brother, John Hare of Stow Bardolph, Norfolk. He was MP for Downton, Wiltshire in 1529 and possibly Wiltshire in 1539, Lancaster in 1545, in 1539 the nunnery of Bruisyard was dissolved and assigned by Henry VIII to Sir Nicholas. He was knighted in May 1539 and eventually became Master of the Rolls, in 1554 he presided at the trial of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, who had been accused of involvement in Wyatts rebellion against the marriage of Queen Mary to Felipe of Spain. Sir Nicholas died in Chancery Lane in 1557 and was buried in nearby Temple Church, Hare married Catherine, daughter and coheiress of Sir John Bassingbourne of Woodhall near Hatfield, Hertfordshire. They had three sons and three daughters, the second son was Robert Hare the antiquary. History of Parliament Hare, Nicholas of Bruisyard, Suffolk
Nicholas Hare
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House of Commons of England
109.
John Baker (died 1558)
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Sir John Baker was an English politician, and served as a Chancellor of the Exchequer, having previously been Speaker of the House of Commons of England. He was born the son of Richard Baker of Cranbrook, Kent and was educated for the profession in the Inner Temple. In 1520 he was under-sheriff of London and in 1526 appointed Recorder of London and he was appointed attorney general in 1536 and by 1540 sworn of the privy council of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth I. He had a reputation as a persecutor of protestants, earning the nickname Bloody Baker. A legend arose that he was riding to persecute protestants when he heard the news that Queen Mary had died, the place where he was said to have turned back became known as Bakers Cross in Kent. Along with his title, he was believed by some townsfolk to be a vampire. He entered Parliament in 1529 and 1536 as MP for London, followed by terms as MP for Guildford in 1542 and he was then elected to Parliament in 1547 as knight of the shire for Huntingdonshire. He attained considerable eminence as Speaker of the House in both the 1545 and 1547 sessions and he afterwards represented Bramber and the county of Kent. He kept an estate at Sissinghurst Castle, Kent and was the grandfather of Sir Richard Baker. He died in London from an illness in December 1558 less than a month after the death of Queen Mary. BAKER, John of London and Sissinghurst, Kent Baker, F. V, notes on the life of Sir John Baker of Sissinghurst. A Glimpse at Cranbrook —, The Town of the Weald, post Office, Cranbrook, E. J. Holmes
John Baker (died 1558)
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Sir John Baker.
110.
John Pollard (speaker)
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Sir John Pollard was a Speaker of the English House of Commons. He became Speaker in 1553 and he was knighted only a few weeks before his death. He was second son of Walter Pollard of Plymouth, by Avice, daughter of Richard Pollard of Way, in the parish of St Giles in the Wood, John was appointed Autumn Reader of the Middle Temple in 1535, and became serjeant-at-law in 1547. In 1529 and 1536 he was elected Member of Parliament for Plymouth and he was relieved by patent of 21 October 1550 from his office of serjeant-at-law, in order to become vice-president of the council for the Welsh marches. He was elected member for Oxfordshire in the parliaments of 1553 and 1554 and he was chosen Speaker of the House of Commons in 1553, and again in 1555, holding the office till the close of the parliament of 1555. He was knighted in October 1555 and he died in August 1557, and was buried on 25 August. He had married Mary, daughter of Richard Gray of London and his estates passed mostly to his brother Anthony, after the death of his widow. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Pollard. History of Parliament POLLARD, John of Plymouth, Devon and Nuneham Courteney, Oxon article
John Pollard (speaker)
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Monument in Nuneham Courtenay Church, Oxfordshire, of Anthony Pollard (d.1577), brother and heir of John Pollard, and his wife Philippa (d.1606)
111.
Robert Broke
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Sir Robert Broke SL was a British justice, politician and legal writer. Although a landowner in rural Shropshire, he made his fortune through more than 20 years service to the City of London, MP for the City in five parliaments, he served as Speaker of the House of Commons in 1554. He is celebrated as the author of one of the Books of authority, a prominent religious conservative, he founded a notable recusant dynasty. His surname is also rendered Brooke, and occasionally Brook, which are, for modern readers, Robert Broke was born by 1515, his known Oxford admission date suggests the first decade of the century. He was the eldest son of Thomas Broke of Claverley in Shropshire, margaret Grosvenor, daughter of Humphrey Grosvenor of Farmcote, a hamlet to the south-east of Claverley. Most of early 16th century Shropshire was poor and underdeveloped country, ruled by the Council of Wales. Claverley was a parish, dominated by the Gatacre family. Broke was admitted to study for a BA at Oxford university in 1521, as a very minor member of the landed gentry, Broke needed to seek sources of income outside his own locality if he were to prosper, and he did so through London and the law. He studied at Strand Inn, and from there was admitted to Middle Temple at some point between 1525 and 1528 and he studied pleading with John Jenour, a famous Prothonotary who influenced a whole generation of judges and jurists. Broke enjoyed considerable power as an official of the City of London before attaining high office in the last four years of his life and he was also the author of several important works on the law. Brokes judicial career began in 1536 when he was appointed Common Serjeant of London on the recommendation of Henry VIII and the queen, Jane Seymour, how he gained such royal favour is unknown. As Serjeant, Brooke attended court with the Lord Mayor of London, as well as the Court of Aldermen and the Court of Common Council, one of his tasks was to review, rewrite and put forward parliamentary bills proposed by the City. In 1540, Broke identified and returned a volume of the Letter-Books of the City of London that had been lost for some time, in 1545 it was a bill to bring urban sanctuaries under the control of borough and city authorities. Among the legal officers, the Common Serjeant was second only to the Recorder of London, when this post became vacant in 1545, a letter from the king to the Aldermen once again proved decisive in securing it for Broke, and he took office on 12 November. On 17 November he was elected to parliament in place of his predecessor as Recorder, Sir Roger Cholmley. On 19 November he was granted Freedom of the City of London, a status tied to his membership of the Worshipful Company of Mercers, the first in order of precedence of Londons Livery Companies. Holding these public offices did not prevent Broke pursuing private practice, during this time he was also deputy chief steward for the Duchy of Lancaster, and was created a Serjeant-at-law in 1552. On 8 October 1554 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and he was knighted on 27 January 1555 by King Philip
Robert Broke
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Sir Robert Broke.
Robert Broke
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Tomb of Robert Broke and of his wives, Anne Waring and Dorothy Gatacre, in the Gatacre chapel, All Saints Church, Claverley, Shropshire.
Robert Broke
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Sir Martin Bowes, one of Broke's colleagues as MP for London.
Robert Broke
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Madeley Court, the manor house built on the Madeley estate by Broke's descendants. The impressive gatehouse was probably built by John or Basil Brooke. The Court is now a hotel.
112.
Clement Higham
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Sir Clement Higham of Barrow, Suffolk was an English lawyer and politician. He was a Member of Parliament, Speaker of the House of Commons, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and he was also a barrister-at-law and a Reader and Governor of Lincolns Inn in London. Higham was Member of Parliament for Ipswich April 1554, for Rye October 1553, West Looe November 1554 and Lancaster 1558. Higham married Anne, daughter of Sir George Waldegrave of Smallbridge in Bures St. Mary, Suffolk, by his wife Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Drury, Lord of the Manors of Thurston, and Hawstead, Suffolk. Sir John Heigham, M. P. for Ipswich, is stated to have been his eldest son by his first marriage, the Visitation of Suffolk 1561, by William Hervey, Clarenceux King of Arms. Transcribed and edited by Joan Corder, F. S. A, London,1984 volume 2, pps, 396-7
Clement Higham
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The Right Honourable Sir Clement Higham
113.
William Cordell
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Sir William Cordell was Solicitor General and Master of the Rolls during the reign of Queen Mary I and Speaker of the House of Commons during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Following the dissolution of the Monasteries, granted the manor of Long Melford to Cordell in 1554, the charter can be seen at Melford Hall today. There were no issue of the marriage, everingham, Kimball G. ed. Magna Carta Ancestry, A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. J. H. Baker, ‘Cordell, Sir William ’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, original date of publication,1887, © Oxford University Press 2004–5 Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, vol. 25, pp. 1–47 STAFFORDSHIRE RECORD OFFICE D615/D451, STAFFORDSHIRE RECORD OFFICE D615/D452, STAFFORDSHIRE RECORD OFFICE D615/D453, STAFFORDSHIRE RECORD OFFICE D615/D455, the 1567 will of HENRY SAVILE, Esq. of Lupset and Barrowby, will 5 Jan. 1568-9, proved 16 May 1569, Inq. p. m.7 Sept.12 Eliz
William Cordell
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Portrait of Sir William Cordell, by Cornelius de Zeeu, dated 1565. In the collection of St. John's College, Oxford
114.
Richard Onslow (Solicitor General)
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Richard Onslow was a 16th-century English lawyer and politician who served as Solicitor General from 1566 to 1569 and Speaker of the House of Commons. He was born in Shrewsbury, a son of Roger Onslow. He was Recorder of London in 1563, from 1557 to 1558 and 1562 to his death in 1571 he was Member of Parliament for Steyning, a tiny borough in Sussex. In 1559 he was elected MP for Aldborough, north Yorkshire and his religious sympathies were with the Puritan party, and the Spanish ambassador described him as a furious heretic. In 1566 he was appointed Solicitor General, and was summoned to attend the House of Lords by a writ of assistance, however, later the same year the Speaker of the Commons died, and the Privy Council chose Onslow to succeed him. He was Speaker until its dissolution in January 1567, Onslow may have been the author of Arguments Related to the Sea Landes and Salt Shores. He married Catherine Harding, by whom he had two sons and five daughters, including Edward, ancestor of the Earls of Onslow, and Cicely, after the fall of the church in 1788 the monument was moved to the Abbey Church in Shrewsbury, where it remains
Richard Onslow (Solicitor General)
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Possibly fictitious portrait of Richard Onslow
115.
John Puckering
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Sir John Puckering was a lawyer, politician, Speaker of the English House of Commons, and Lord Keeper from 1592 until his death. Puckering was born in 1544 in Flamborough, East Riding of Yorkshire and he entered Lincolns Inn on 10 April 1559 and he was called to the bar on 15 January 1567. After some years practice, he became a governor in 1575 and he became a sergeant at law in 1580. Puckering became a member of parliament in 1581, on 23 November 1585, Parliament met and elected Puckering, who was returned for Bedford, as Speaker of the House of Commons. During this Parliament, a bill against Jesuits was brought up for discussion, dr William Parry, who was later executed for high treason, said the bill was cruel, bloody and desperate. Puckering ordered him into the custody of the sergeant-at-arms for his use of language, Puckerings skill with dispute solving and speeches was recognised, and he was elected as the Speaker in the next parliament, which opened on 15 October 1586 when he represented Gatton, Surrey. This was the parliament that decided the fate of Mary, Queen of Scots, on 1 March 1587, shortly following Marys execution, a member of parliament named Wentworth asked Puckering to answer some questions regarding the liberties of the House. Puckering refused, but showed one of the questions to Sir Thomas Heneage of the Privy Council, Wentworth, and four other members of parliament who seconded his motion were imprisoned in the Tower of London for an unknown length of time. The following year, Puckering was knighted and according to sources was made Queens Sergeant. Puckering took part in trials as Queens Sergeant. He was successfully leader for the crown in the trial of Philip, Earl of Arundel and he joined in the commission with Judge Clarke, in July 1590 in the trial of John Udall who had published libel about the queen. His final trial was that of Sir John Perrot, the deputy of Ireland. On 28 May 1592, Puckering was made the Lord Keeper, Puckering was Lord Keeper for four years, but only presided over one Parliament. During this period, he lived at Russell House near Ivy Bridge and he also owned a country house in Kew, where he entertained the queen on 13 December 1595. Some of Puckerings papers as Sergeant and Lord Keeper were printed by John Strype, Puckering died on 30 April 1596 of apoplexy, at his home, and is buried in Westminster Abbey. Puckering married Jane Chowne, daughter of Nicholas Chowne of Fairlawn, near Wrotham, Kent, and Aldenham, Herts. from his marriage to Elizabeth Lloyd, widow of Evan Lloyd. They had several children, their son, Thomas was made a baronet in 1612, thomass epitaph records his involvement in the education of Henry, Prince of Wales. Johns daughters included Catherine, who married Adam Newton, the tutor of Prince Henry, after Puckerings death, his widow Jane married William Combe, who with his nephew John Combe, sold land at Stratford to William Shakespeare in 1602
John Puckering
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Tomb of Thomas Puckering by Nicholas Stone 1639, St Mary's, Warwick, engraving by Wencelas Hollar
116.
Thomas Snagge
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Sir Thomas Snagge was a Member of Parliament, barrister and landowner who served as Speaker of the English House of Commons, Attorney General for Ireland and as Queens Sergeant. Snagge was born in 1536 in Letchworth and he was the son of Thomas Snagge, the prosperous lord of the manor of Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire. He studied law at Grays Inn, and after being called to the bar in 1554 practiced law in London, Snagge was elected as a knight of the shire for Bedfordshire in 1571. He was chosen by Queen Elizabeth to be Attorney General for Ireland, Snagge in fact was not particularly well-chosen, he disliked living in Ireland and, according to a modern writer, his official correspondence is simply a long list of complaints. In particular, he complained of the inefficiency of the Master of the Rolls in Ireland, Nicholas White, in 1580 he was appointed a Serjeant-at-law. In 1586 Snagge was again returned as one of the members of parliament for Bedfordshire, in 1589 he was elected as Speaker of the House of Commons and in 1590 was promoted to Queens Serjeant. As well as owning several manors in Bedfordshire, his seat was at Marston Moretaine. Snagge died in 1593 and was entombed in St Marys Church, Marston Moretaine and he had married Elizabeth, daughter and coheiress of Thomas Dickons of Marston Moretaine, they had five sons and two daughters. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Thomas, also a member of parliament for Bedford, history of Parliament SNAGGE, Thomas I of Marston Mortaine, Beds
Thomas Snagge
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House of Commons of England
117.
Edward Coke
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Sir Edward Coke SL PC was an English barrister, judge and, later, opposition politician, who is considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Born into a family, Coke was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, before leaving to study at the Inner Temple. Following a promotion to Attorney General he led the prosecution in several cases, including those against Robert Devereux, Sir Walter Raleigh. As a reward for his services he was first knighted and then made Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and these actions eventually led to his transfer to the Chief Justiceship of the Kings Bench, where it was felt he could do less damage. Coke then successively restricted the definition of treason and declared a royal letter illegal, with no chance of regaining his judicial posts, he instead returned to Parliament, where he swiftly became a leading member of the opposition. In America, Cokes decision in Dr, the surname Coke, or Cocke, can be traced back to a William Coke in the hundred of South Greenhoe, now the Norfolk town of Swaffham, in around 1150. The family was prosperous and influential – members from the 14th century onwards included an Under-Sheriff, a Knight Banneret, a barrister. The name Coke was pronounced /ˈkuːk/ during the Elizabethan age, although it is now pronounced /ˈkʊk/, the origins of the name are uncertain, theories are that it was a word for river among early Britons, or was descended from the word Coc, or leader. Another hypothesis is that it was an attempt to disguise the word cook, Cokes father, Robert Coke, was a barrister and Bencher of Lincolns Inn who built up a strong practice representing clients from his home area of Norfolk. Over time, he bought several manors at Congham, Westacre and Happisburgh and was granted a coat of arms, Cokes mother, Winifred Knightley, came from a family even more intimately linked with the law than her husband. This connection later served Edward well, winifreds father later married Agnes, the sister of Nicholas Hare. Edward Coke was born on 1 February 1552 in Mileham, one of eight children, the other seven were daughters – Winifred, Dorothy, Elizabeth, Ursula, Anna, Margaret and Ethelreda – although it is not known in which order the children were born. Two years after Robert Coke died on 15 November 1561, his widow married Robert Bozoun, at the age of eight in 1560, Coke began studying at the Norwich Free Grammar School. The students were taught rhetoric based on the Rhetorica ad Herennium, Coke was taught at Norwich to value the forcefulness of freedom of speech, something he later applied as a judge. Some accounts relate that he was a diligent student who applied himself well, after leaving Norwich in 1567 he matriculated to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied for three years until the end of 1570, when he left without gaining a degree. Little is known of his time at Trinity, though he studied rhetoric. His biographers felt he had all the intelligence to be a good student, after leaving Trinity College he travelled to London, where he became a member of Cliffords Inn in 1571. Coke also studied various writs till they turned honey sweet on his tongue, at the Inner Temple he began the second stage of his education, reading legal texts such as Glanvilles Treatises and taking part in moots
Edward Coke
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The Right Honourable Sir Edward Coke SL
Edward Coke
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Trinity College, Cambridge, where Coke studied between 1567 and 1570
Edward Coke
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The Court of King's Bench, where Coke brought his first case
Edward Coke
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Robert Cecil, Coke's political ally who acted as a staunch defender of Elizabeth I
118.
John Croke
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Sir John Croke was Speaker of the English House of Commons between October–December 1601. He was a lawyer and judge by profession, and was Recorder of London, Croke won the City of London constituency in his election to the 1601 parliament, and was the last Speaker before the death of Elizabeth I, in 1603. Croke spent the part of his career as a lawyer. He entered the Inner Temple in 1570, and received a call to the bar shortly after and he was rewarded for his service as a lawyer with a silver gilt from the Lord Chancellor, Sir Christopher Hatton. Upon his fathers death in 1584, he was deeded the Chilton manor house his grandfather had built, and Studley Priory, Croke built his own manor house at Studley, though he moved his family to Chilton after his fathers death. Croke sat in the Windsor constituency in 1585, and was first elected for the City of London in 1597 and he was made Lent Reader of the Inner Temple in 1596. He became Treasurer in 1598, and was subsequently appointed Recorder, Croke, in an era when intimidation of counsel was frequent, was noted for his discretion in court. The evidence obtained was used in trial, though Sir Edmund Anderson was principal judge, Jackson was convicted to one years imprisonment and he was elected Speaker unanimously in 1601. Manning, in his work on the Commons speakers, repeats the recommendation given by William Knolles, Comptroller of the Household, for Croke to hold the office, the House was almost wholly in favour the proposals, although they were referred to a committee. The committee of the House was adopted, and a motion was passed asking for an address by the Speaker expressing their gratitude, which Croke duly delivered. On a bill for resorting to Church which received 105 ayes and 106 nays, Sir Edward Hobbie and it was debated whether he had a voice, and Croke, after hearing the arguments of Sir Walter Raleigh amongst others, decided that he did not. Other events of note in this parliament included The Golden Speech by Elizabeth, and the passing of a number of grants, after Elizabeths promise to revoke the subsidies. He was knighted in the first year of James Is reign, Croke was also made deputy to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir George Hume, in 1604. As serjeant, one of his functions was to bring messages, downe came grave auntient Sir John Crooke And redd his message in his booke. Fearie well, Quoth Sir William Morris, Soe, But Henry Ludlowes Tayle cryd Noe, after also serving as a Welsh judge, he was made one of the justices of the Court of Kings Bench in 1607. He performed judicial duties for nearly thirteen years, and died on 23 January 1620, crokes father, also Sir John Croke, was born in 1531, and was a knight of Chilton. His father was an MP in the Commons for the borough of Southampton in 1571, and the county of Buckinghamshire the following year and his paternal lineage included most of the royal families in Europe. Crokes mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of Sir Alexander Unton and his brother, Henry, was barrister-at-law and had several children by his wife Bennet
John Croke
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Sir John Croke
119.
Ranulph Crewe
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Sir Ranulph Crewe was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King’s Bench. Ranulph Crewe was the son of John Crew of Nantwich. He attended Shrewsbury School and, in 1576, Christs College, Cambridge, the earliest reported case in which he was engaged was tried in the Queens Bench in Hilary term 1597–8, when he acted as junior to the attorney-general, Coke. In 1604 he was selected by the House of Commons to state objections to the adoption of the new style of king of Great Britain in the conference with the lords and his name does not appear in the official list of returns to parliament after 1597. He was certainly, however, the member for Saltash in 1614 and he was knighted in June, and took the degree of serjeant-at-law in July of the following year. In the address with which, according to custom, he opened the session in 1614, he enlarged upon the length of the royal pedigree, in January 1614–15 Crewe was appointed one of the commissioners for the examination, under torture, of Edmond Peacham. Peacham was sent down to Somersetshire to stand his trial at the assizes, Crewe prosecuted, and Peacham was convicted. In 1621 he conducted the prosecution of Henry Yelverton, the attorney-general, edward Floyde, having published a libel on the Princess Palatine, was impeached by the commons, and sentenced to the pillory. The lords disputed the right of the commons to pass sentence upon the offender on two grounds, that he was not a member of their house, that the offence did not touch their privileges. In 1624 Crewe presented part of the case against Lionel Cranfield, earl of Middlesex, the same year he was appointed kings serjeant. The following year he was created chief justice of the bench by King James I. On 9 November 1626, he was removed by Charles I for having refused to subscribe a document affirming the legality of forced loans, all his colleagues seem to have concurred with him, but he alone was punished. From a letter written by him to the Duke of Buckingham it seems that he hoped to receive compensation through Buckinghams support. On the assassination of Buckingham Crewe urged his suit upon the king himself, Crewe Hall was garrisoned for the parliament, taken by Byron in December 1643, and retaken in the following February. Crewe died at Westminster on 3 January 1645-6, and was buried on 5 June in a built by himself at Barthomley. Julia Fasey was the widow of a prosperous Grays Inn lawyer with a flourishing practise and it enabled him to buy an estate in Cheshire from Sir Christopher Hatton. By his first wife, he had two sons Clipsby Crew and John Crew who were both MPs, time he said, hath his revolutions, and there must be an end to all temporal things, finis rerum. Where, he asks, is Bohun, wheres Mowbray, wheres Mortimer, nay, which is more and most of all, where is Plantagenet
Ranulph Crewe
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Sir Ranulph Crewe (Peter Lely)
Ranulph Crewe
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Crewe's second wife, Julia Fasey (Peter Lely)
120.
Thomas Richardson (judge)
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Sir Thomas Richardson was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1622. He was Speaker of the House of Commons for this parliament and he was later Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and Chief Justice of the King’s Bench. Other branches of the family included the Richardsons of the Briary in county Durham, and he was educated at Norwich School. On 5 March 1587 he was admitted a student at Lincolns Inn, in 1605 he was deputy steward to the dean and chapter of Norwich, around which time he built Honingham Hall. He was subsequently recorder of Bury St. Edmunds and then Norwich, in 1614, he was Lent Reader at Lincolns Inn, and on 13 October of the same year became serjeant-at-law. At about the time he was made chancellor to the queen. In 1621, Richardson was elected Member of Parliament for St Albans, when parliament met on 30 January 1621, he was chosen Speaker of the House of Commons. The excuses which he made before accepting this office appear to have more than formal. On 25 March 1621 he was knighted at Whitehall when he brought King James congratulations of the commons upon the recent censure of Sir Giles Mompesson, in the chair he proved a veritable King Log and his term of office was marked by the degradation of Bacon. He was not re-elected to parliament in the next election, on 20 February 1625 Richardson was made kings serjeant. On 28 November 1626 he succeeded Sir Henry Hobart as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and his advancement was said to have cost him £17,000 and his second marriage. He judged on 13 November 1628, that it was illegal to use the rack to elicit confession from Felton and his opinion had the concurrence of his colleagues and marks a significant point in the history of English criminal jurisprudence. The result of Richardsonss review was to limit the offence to cases of imagining the kings death, Richardson was advanced to the chief-justiceship of the kings bench on 24 October 1631, and served on the western circuit. He was not a puritan but in Lent 1632 he made and order, at the instance of the Somerset magistrates, for suppressing the wakes or Sunday revels, which were a fertile source of crime in the county. He directed the order to be read in church and this brought him conflict with Laud. Richardson ignored this instruction until the king himself repeated it and this caused him to be cited before the council, reprimanded, and transferred to the Essex circuit. I am like, he muttered as he left the council board, Richardson died at his house in Chancery Lane on 4 February 1635 and was buried in the north aisle of the choir of Westminster Abbey, beneath a marble monument. There is a bust by Hubert Le Sueur, Richardson was a capable lawyer and a weak man, much addicted to flouts and jeers
Thomas Richardson (judge)
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Sir Thomas Richardson.
121.
Heneage Finch (speaker)
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Sir Heneage Finch was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1607 and 1626. He was Speaker of the English House of Commons in 1626, Finch was the son of Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet of Eastwell, Kent and his wife Elizabeth Finch, 1st Countess of Winchilsea. He matriculated into Trinity College, Cambridge in about 1592 and was awarded BA in 1596 and he was admitted at Inner Temple in 1597 and called to the bar in 1606. In 1607 Finch was elected Member of Parliament for Rye and he became recorder of London in 1621 and held the post until his death in 1631. Also in 1621 he was elected MP for West Looe and he was knighted on 22 June 1623 and became sergeant-at-law. In 1624, Finch was elected MP for the City of London and he was re-elected MP for the CIty of London in 1625 and in 1626 and was chosen to serve as Speaker of the House for his last term in 1626. Finch died at the age of 51 and was buried at Ravenstone, Finch had seven sons and four daughters. One of his sons was Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham and his daughter Anne married Edward Conway, Viscount Conway, and was a philosopher in the tradition of the Cambridge Platonists and an influence on Leibniz
Heneage Finch (speaker)
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Sir Heneage Finch
122.
Barebone's Parliament
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It was an assembly entirely nominated by Oliver Cromwell and the Armys Council of Officers. It acquired its name from the nominee for the City of London, the Speaker of the House was Francis Rous. The total number of nominees was 140,129 from England, five from Scotland, the assembly was inspired by the Jewish Sanhedrin. After conflict and infighting, on 12 December 1653 the members of the assembly voted to dissolve it and it was preceded by the Rump Parliament and succeeded by the First Protectorate Parliament. The dissolution of the Rump Parliament on 20 April 1653 left a gap in the legislature, put ourselves wholly upon the Lord for a blessing. On 29 April Cromwell set up a small Council of State of 13 members, responsible for foreign policy and its establishment was announced the next day. The Council of Officers remained responsible for decisions about the new form of government, John Lambert argued in favour of lodging power in the hands of ten or twelve men. Thomas Harrison, drawing on his Fifth Monarchist beliefs, argued that their duty was to accelerate the coming of the kingdom of Christ by putting power into the hands of godly men. He put forward the idea of an assembly, preferably numbering seventy based on the Jewish Sanhedrin. The Council of Officers agreed on Harrisons model, raising the number of representatives to 140 to allow members from across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Council of Officers then settled the question of how to select the representatives, agreeing that members should be chosen by the Council. Power would be vested in each member by Cromwell in his role as commander-in-chief of the army, gardiner conjectured that the Council of Officers consulted congregational churches in each county, asking them to send names of suitable candidates for the new assembly. However, no copy of any letter of consultation survives, and although some churches did send in nominations, by 3 May the Council of Officers had had over a hundred names submitted by its members. By 23 May an initial list of nominations was ready, which was added to. The assembly met for the first time on 4 July in the chamber at Whitehall. Cromwell opened proceedings with a speech around two hours long and he began by summing up the series of Providences that had brought them to this point, starting with the Short Parliament and singling out 1648 as the most memorable year that ever this nation saw. In a much-analysed passage, Cromwell is supposed to have declared and this has sometimes been adduced as evidence that Cromwell shared Harrisons Fifth Monarchist beliefs, welcoming the assembly as the start of Christs kingdom on earth. Cromwell then asked a written instrument to be out, drawn up by the Council of Officers
Barebone's Parliament
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Oliver Cromwell
Barebone's Parliament
Barebone's Parliament
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John Lambert
Barebone's Parliament
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Praise-god Barebone
123.
Second Protectorate Parliament
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The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first session, the House of Commons was its only chamber, there were two sessions the first from 17 September 1656 until 26 June 1657 and a second from 20 January until 4 February 1658. The Second Protectorate Parliament was summoned reluctantly by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell on the advice of the Major-Generals who were running the country as regions under military governors. The Major-Generals thought that a compliant parliament would be the best way to raise money to pay for the Army occupation, the elections were held under the new written constitution called Instrument of Government. It included returning up to thirty members from Scotland and up to another thirty from Ireland, royalists and Catholics were prevented from standing or voting under Articles XIV and XV. After the election the Council of State stopped one hundred elected members from taking their seats by declaring that they were not of known integrity, a further fifty withdrew in protest which left about two hundred and fifty to take their seats for the first session. The first session opened in December 1656, the Protectorate government did not have much pressing legislation to present so the House occupied its time with private members bills. However over the few months three issues would dominate the session. The House voted down Major-General John Desboroughs Militia Bill on 29 January 1657 by one hundred, with the rejection of the Decimation Tax, it was clear that government through the Major-Generals could not continue. In February 1657 Cromwell was offered the crown and a new constitution called the Humble Petition, although Naylor denied that he was impersonating Jesus, this act outraged many in Parliament in what was seen as an act of blasphemy. There was consensus in the House that Naylor should be punished, after much debate and looking at old precedents, the House concluded that it had the right to act in a judicial capacity. After some thought Cromwell declined the crown as embodied in the Humble Petition, so encouraged, Cromwell with the support of the Grandees, pressed the house for a second chamber. Parliament then went into recess for the summer, the Army Grandees agreed to allow the MPs who had been excluded under Article VII of the Instrument of Government to be allowed to take their seats. This triggered a wave of republican protest in the House of Commons which spread to the rank, amidst fears of a Levellers revival and Royalist plots, under the prerogative granted to the Lord Protector by the Humble Petition and Advice, Oliver Cromwell dissolved Parliament on 4 February 1658. The Second Protectorate Parliament was preceded by the First Protectorate Parliament, P. p.1070 Firth, Charles Harding, The House of Lords During the Civil War, BiblioBazaar, LLC, p. R. Trevor-Ropers crucial 1956 article on Oliver Cromwell and his parliaments, which was included in later collections and is perhaps most accessible in I. Roots, Cromwell, A Profile, P. Gaunt, Law making in the first Protectorate Parliament in C, jones, M. Newitt & S. Roberts, Politics and People in Revolutionary England, I. Roots, Law making in the second Protectorate Parliament in H. Hearder & H. R. Loyn, British Government and Administration, P. Gaunt, Firth, Cromwell and the crown in English Historical Review 17 &18
Second Protectorate Parliament
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Sir Thomas Widdrington.
Second Protectorate Parliament
124.
Chaloner Chute
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Chaloner Chute was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1654 and 1659. He was Speaker briefly in 1659, Chute was the son of Chaloner Chute of the Middle Temple. He was admitted to Middle Temple and was called to the bar, in 1653 he bought The Vyne, the Tudor palace which is located near Sherborne St John on the outskirts of Basingstoke in Hampshire. Chute was elected Member of Parliament for Middlesex in the Second Protectorate Parliament in 1656 and he was elected MP for Middlesex again to the Third Protectorate Parliament in 1659 and became its first Speaker. However he had to stand down because of ill health and died in April, Chute married Anne Place, widow of William Place of Dorking, Surrey and daughter of Sir John Scory of Wormesley, Herefordshire. He was succeeded by his surviving son Chaloner
Chaloner Chute
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Chaloner Chute
Chaloner Chute
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The Vyne
125.
Lislebone Long
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After the regicide of Charles I, in which he took no part, he was an active member of the three Protectorate parliaments and was knighted by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. Lislebone Long baptised Loveban, was born at Beckington, Somerset and he graduated from Magdalen Hall, Oxford, 1630-31 with a B. A and was called to the bar at Lincolns Inn,1640 Long was descended from the Longs of Wiltshire. In local affairs Long identified both before and during the Civil War with at least one of his Wiltshire relatives, Sir Walter Long, following the end of royalist occupation, parliaments county committee in Somerset was revived in 1645, and Long was appointed as a member. Long was known for his stance in politics, which was also demonstrated in parliament. He voiced his opposition to Prides Purge, and on the day following the purge. After a few appearances, he eventually absented himself from the House of Commons in protest. He became a conformist by taking his dissent and resuming his seat in the Rump Parliament, although he played no part in the trial, from that point on he played an active role in the work of committees, his moderating influence reflected in government policies. Long was also a participant in parliamentary debates. In the First Protectorate Parliament, he served as MP for Wells, in the Second Protectorate Parliament, for Somerset, and again for Wells in Richard Cromwells parliament. On 9 March 1659, the speaker of Richard Cromwells parliament, Chaloner Chute, suddenly became indisposed as a result of being tired out with the long debates and late sitting. This was after a nine days debate, during which the House sat through one entire night up to 10 p. m. As a tribute to the regard in which he was held. Just one week later on 16 March, Burton notes in his diary that Long being very sick and he died later the same day and was buried at Stratton on the Fosse, leaving an estate which included a number of ecclesiastical and royalist lands purchased after confiscation by parliament. He had married on 18 February 1640 at London, Frances Mynne and they had two sons and two daughters. Inheriting the Earth, The Long Familys 500 Year Reign in Wiltshire, Cheryl Nicol Beavan, the first edition of this text is available as an article on Wikisource, Long, Lislebone
Lislebone Long
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House of Commons of England
126.
Thomas Bampfield
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Thomas Bampfield or Bampfylde was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1654 and 1660. He was Speaker of the House of Commons in 1659, Bampfield was the son of John Bampfield of Poltimore and his wife Elizabeth Drake, daughter of Thomas Drake of Brendon Barton, Week St Mary. He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford on 15 May 1640 and he entered Middle Temple in 1642, and was called to the bar in 1649. In 1652 he became Deputy recorder of Exeter 1652 and he was J. P. for Devon from 1653 to 1665. In 1654 Bampfield was elected Member of Parliament for Exeter in the First Protectorate Parliament, also in 1654, he was commissioner for scandalous ministers and became Recorder of Exeter, holding the position until October 1660. In 1656 he was re-elected MP for Exeter in the Second Protectorate Parliament and he was commissioner for assessment for Devon in 1657. In 1659 he was re-elected MP for Exeter in the Third Protectorate Parliament. He held the office of Speaker from 14 April until 22 April 1659 being described as a man of wit and learning, on 14 January 1660, he presented a petition for the return of the secluded MPs to the Speaker of the Rump Parliament. He was commissioner for militia for Devon in March 1660, in April 1660 Bampfield was elected MP for Exeter and Tiverton in the Convention Parliament and chose to sit for Exeter. He was commissioner for assessment for Devon from August 1660 to 1661, in 1675 he was commissioner for recusants 1675. In March 1688 he became Deputy Lieutenant for six months and commissioner for inquiry into recusancy fines for Cornwall, Devon, Exeter and he was re-appointed JP for Devon in June 1688. From 1689 to 1690 he was commissioner for assessment for Exeter, Bampfield died at the age of about 70 and was buried at St Stephens, Exeter
Thomas Bampfield
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House of Commons of England
127.
Third Protectorate Parliament
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The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons. It was a bicameral Parliament, with an Upper House having a power of veto over the Commons, after the death of Oliver Cromwell his son Richard Cromwell succeeded him as Lord Protector of the Protectorate on 3 September 1658. His only option was to call a Parliament in the hope that it would cement his position by general recognition of the ruling class, the Third Protectorate Parliament was summoned on 9 December 1658 on the basis of the old franchise, and assembled on 27 January 1659. Richard was recognised as Lord Protector by the Parliament by 223 votes to 134, the Protectorate faction was led by the Secretary of State John Thurloe, General John Lambert and Major-Generals Charles Fleetwood and Sir John Desborough. These members wished to keep the Protectorate but were divided over who should command the Army, the things demanded by those of the army were,1. To be secured by an act of indemnity for what was past,2 and that what should stand in need of regulation both in the law and clergy, should be reformed and amended,4. That the government of the nation should be by a representative of the people, the issues came to a head when Parliament attempted to impeach Major-General William Boteler for actions he had carried out during the Rule of the Major-Generals in 1656. The Grandees intended to keep Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector under Army control and this swell of ground support forced the Grandees to allow Richard Cromwell to re-call the Rump Parliament less than a month after the dissolution of the Third Protectorate Parliament. There were two Speakers during the Third Protectorate Parliament and two Deputy Speakers, Thomas Bampfield was Speaker from 15 April 1659 until 22 April 1659. The Third Protectorate Parliament was preceded by the Second Protectorate Parliament, the constituencies and distribution of seats, in England and Wales, for this Parliament reverted to being the same as in the Long Parliament. However the Scottish and Irish constituencies remained unchanged, – County/Shire constituencies, Univ. const. or consties – University constituencies, Total Const. - Constituencies Table 1, Constituencies and MPs, by type and country Table 2, Number of seats per constituency, by type and country Notes, Monmouthshire included in England, dublin City and County treated as a county constituency
Third Protectorate Parliament
128.
Sir Job Charlton, 1st Baronet
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Sir Job Charlton, 1st Baronet KS was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1659 and 1679. He was Speaker of the House of Commons of England briefly in 1673 and he matriculated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford on 20 April 1632, aged 17. He was a student of Lincolns Inn in 1633 and was called to the bar in 1640, in 1659, Charlton was elected Member of Parliament for Ludlow in the Third Protectorate Parliament. He was elected MP for Ludlow again in 1660 for the Convention Parliament and he was a justice on the Oxford circuit in July 1660 and was created serjeant-at-law in October 1660. In 1661, he was re-elected MP for Ludlow for the Cavalier Parliament and he served as a justice on the Chester circuit from 1661 to 1662. He was made a Kings Serjeant in 1668, Charlton served as Speaker from 4 to 18 February 1673, pleading ill-health to retire. He left Parliament in 1679, and was forced out of the post of Chief Justice of Chester in 1680 when Judge Jeffreys desired it and he was, however, restored to the chief justiceship of Chester in 1686, and on 12 May that year was created a baronet. He died at his seat at Ludford,29 May 1697, the baronetcy became extinct with the fourth holder in 1784. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Henderson
Sir Job Charlton, 1st Baronet
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House of Commons of England
129.
Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet
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Sir Edward Seymour, of Berry Pomeroy, 4th Baronet, MP was a British nobleman, and a Royalist and Tory politician. A skilled debater and politician, he was twice Speaker of the House of Commons during the Cavalier Parliament and he was one of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty from 1673 until 1679, when he was made a Privy Counsellor. He also held office as Treasurer of the Navy from 1673 until 1681, Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from 15 November 1690 to 2 May 1696 and he was also responsible for the Habeas Corpus Act 1679. Though able, Seymours character was marred by his haughty pride in his ancestry, however, his influence was much courted, and he led a powerful faction of Western members in Parliament. An opponent of the Exclusion Bill and a country gentleman. He continued to oppose the measures of James throughout his reign. During the Glorious Revolution, he was one of the first Tories to declare for the Prince of Orange. The remarks that supposedly passed between the two on the first meeting are indicative of his pride of birth, I think, Sir Edward, said the Prince, pardon me, your highness, replied Seymour, the Duke of Somerset is of my family. However, he adhered to the Tory party, acting as a sort of whip or manager and he particularly attacked Lord Somers, the Chancellor, and managed the several attempts made to remove him from office. In 1699, the death of his son, Popham Seymour-Conway, from the effects of a wound incurred in a duel with Captain George Kirk. He seems to have suffered from diabetes in later life, an exchange of wit between Seymour and his physician, Dr. Ratcliffe, being recorded in Joe Millers Jests and he died at Bradley House, Maiden Bradley
Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet
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The Right Honourable Sir Edward Seymour Bt
130.
Robert Sawyer (Attorney General)
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Sir Robert Sawyer, of Highclere was the Attorney General for England and Wales and, briefly, Speaker of the English House of Commons. Robert was a son of Sir Edmund Sawyer, of Heywood Lodge, at White Waltham, in Berkshire. He attended Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he was a contemporary of Samuel Pepys, upon leaving university, he became a barrister of the Inner Temple and took part in a number of well-known cases. He later became treasurer of Inner Temple, Sawyer was elected MP for High Wycombe in 1673 and was knighted four years later. He was elected speaker in 1678, but had to resign in under a month because of health problems, three years later he was made attorney-general. Sir Robert prosecuted members of the Rye House Plot and also Titus Oates and he died on 30 July 1692 and was buried in the old church there. He married Margaret Suckeley and their daughter Margaret Sawyer married Thomas Herbert and their descendants the Earls of Carnarvon eventually inherited Highclere. He also had a son George, and through Georges daughter Catherine was ancestor of the Marquess of Anglesey
Robert Sawyer (Attorney General)
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Sir Robert Sawyer.
131.
John Trevor (speaker)
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Sir John Trevor was a Welsh lawyer and politician. He was Speaker of the English House of Commons from 1685 to 1687, Trevor also served as Master of the Rolls from 1685 to 1689 and from 1693 to 1717. His second term as Speaker came to an end when he was expelled from the House of Commons for accepting a substantial bribe and he remained the most recent Speaker to be forced out of office until Michael Martin resigned in 2009. John Trevor was born around 1637 or 1638, the date of his birth being unrecorded. His father, also called John Trevor, was the son of Sir Edward Trevor, the family lived at Brynkinalt in the parish of Chirk in the Welsh county of Denbighshire. Trevor was educated at Ruthin School, and he started his career as a clerk for his relative Arthur Trevor, from there he worked his way up with the help of the patronage of George Jeffreys until he was appointed a kings counsel by Charles II. In 1685 he was appointed to the offices of Master of the Rolls. Being a tory and a partisan of James II, the accession of William III saw Trevor deprived of his office, in 1690, however, he once again returned to parliament as Speaker. From 1693, he once again held the judicial office of Master of the Rolls. Between 1692 and 1695, he represented Newry in the Irish House of Commons, on 7 March 1695, he was found guilty of accepting a bribe of 1000 guineas from the City of London to aid the passage of a bill through the house. This was judged to be a crime and misdemeanour and he was expelled from the House of Commons. He was not asked to refund the bribe and retained his position until his death at the age of 79 or 80 on 20 May 1717. Trevor married Jane Mostyn, the daughter of Sir Roger Mostyn and they are known to have had four children, Edward, Arthur, John and Anne. Trevors wife predeceased him, dying in August 1704, through his daughter Anne, Sir John was the ancestor of the Hills, Marquesses of Downshire, the family of Hill-Trevor, Viscounts Dungannon, the Duke of Wellington, and Queen Elizabeth II. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Trevor
John Trevor (speaker)
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Engraving of Sir John Trevor
John Trevor (speaker)
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Sir John Trevor
132.
Henry Powle
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Henry Powle was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1660 and 1690. He was Speaker of the House of Commons from January 1689 to February 1689 and he was also Master of the Rolls. Born at Shottesbrook in 1630, he was son of Henry Powle. He matriculated from Christ Church, Oxford, on 16 December 1646 and he was admitted to Lincolns Inn on 11 May 1647, and became a barrister in 1654 and bencher in 1659. In April 1660 he was elected Member of Parliament for Cirencester in the Convention Parliament, on 3 January 1671, Powle was elected MP for Cirencester again in the Cavalier Parliament. At the time he held property at Williamstrop or Quenington in Gloucestershire and he first appeared in debate in February 1673, when he attacked Lord-chancellor Shaftesburys practice of issuing writs for by-elections during the recess without the speakers warrant. As a result of the all the elections were declared void,6 February 1673. Subsequently he opposed the Declaration of Indulgence, Charles II of Englands measure of toleration, wishing disabilities for Catholics. Powle identified himself with the opponents of the court, and declined to support the claim to the dispensing power. He promoted the passing of the Test Act in March, in the new session in October Powle led the attack on the proposed marriage between the Duke of York and the Princess Mary of Modena, and the king at once directed a prorogation. But before the arrival of Black Rod to announce it, Powles motion for an address was carried with little opposition, a week later another short session opened. Next year he denounced George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, in May 1677 he urged the wisdom of a Dutch alliance. When the Commons sent an address to the king dictating such an alliance on 4 February 1678, after their return to the House Powle stood up, but Sir Edward Seymour, the Speaker, informed him that the house was adjourned by the kings pleasure. Powle insisted, and the Speaker sprang out of the chair and, after a struggle, on their re-assembling five days later Powle declared that the whole liberty of the house was threatened by the Speakers conduct. In May 1678, when Charles sent a message to the house to hasten supply, Powle supported the impeachment of Danby, but in the agitation of the Popish Plot he kept a low profile. Powle was returned for both Cirencester and East Grinstead, Sussex, in the First Exclusion Parliament, which met on 6 March 1679, Seymour, the speaker chosen by the commons, was declined by the king. The new parliament pursued the attack on Danby, Powle, like Harbord and Lyttleton, finally accepted a pension from Barillon of five hundred guineas a year. In the Second Exclusion Parliament, which was called for October 1679, but parliament was prorogued from time to time without assembling, and Powle, acting on Shaftesburys advice, retired from the council on 17 April
Henry Powle
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House of Commons of England
133.
Paul Foley (ironmaster)
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Paul Foley, also known as Speaker Foley, was the second son of Thomas Foley of Witley Court, the prominent Midlands ironmaster. In 1692, the two entered into a partnership with these managers and John Wheelers brother, Richard. This lasted until after Pauls death, Paul Foley had the resources from his father and the profits of his ironworks to buy himself a substantial estate around Stoke Edith in Herefordshire, part of which still belongs to a descendant. Important purchases included Stoke Edith from the trustees of Sir Henry Lingen in 1670 and he rebuilt the house at Stoke Edith and laid out formal gardens and a park (which he had a royal licence to empark. Paul Foley was elected M. P. for Hereford in 1679 and he was elected again for the same seat in 1689. He actively campaigned for the exclusion of the Duke of York from the throne and he was imprisoned at the time of the Rye House Plot and again during the Monmouth Rebellion. However, James II later favoured him during his own later difficulties, during the reign of William III took an anti-court position, establishing Country Whigs with his nephew Robert Harley. During the early 1690s, he sat on several important Parliamentary committees and he was elected Speaker of the House of Commons in 1695, a post he held until his death. He was a Presbyterian and used his rights in the church to appoint clergy of that persuasion to churches. He married Mary daughter of Alderman John Lane of London and their eldest son was Thomas Foley. His younger son Paul, was briefly an MP
Paul Foley (ironmaster)
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Speaker Foley
Paul Foley (ironmaster)
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Stoke Edith House – built by Paul Foley.
134.
John Smith (Chancellor of the Exchequer)
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John Smith was an English politician, twice serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Smiths father was also called John Smith of South Tedworth or Tidworth in Hampshire and he had a sister called Anne, who became Lady Dashwood. He educated matriculated from St Johns College, Oxford, did not take a degree but was admitted to the Middle Temple, Smith was first appointed as a Lord of the Treasury in 1694 and as Chancellor on 2 June 1699, serving until 27 March 1701. He was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1705 until 1708 and he married Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Strickland, and had four sons and three daughters, including Mary Smith and Anne Smith, Lady Grant. SMITH, John, of South Tidworth, Hants, attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Courtney, William Prideaux
John Smith (Chancellor of the Exchequer)
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John Smith.
135.
House of Commons of Great Britain
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The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In the course of the 18th century, the office of Prime Minister developed, the modern notion that only the support of the House of Commons is necessary for a government to survive, however, was of later development. Similarly, the custom that the Prime Minister is always a Member of the Lower House, rather than the Upper one, the business of the house was controlled by an elected Speaker. The Speakers official role was to debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes. The Speaker decided who may speak and had the powers to members who break the procedures of the house. The Speaker often also represented 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, if a woman. The members of the last House of Commons of England had been elected between 7 May and 6 June 1705, and from 1707 they all continued to sit as members of the new House of Commons. The last general election in Scotland had been held in the autumn of 1702, in Scotland there was also no new election from the burghs, and the places available were filled by co-option from the last Parliament. The constituencies which elected members in England and Wales remained unchanged throughout the existence of the Parliament of Great Britain
House of Commons of Great Britain
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Pitt addressing the House in 1793
House of Commons of Great Britain
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Royal coat of arms of Great Britain, 1714-1800
136.
William Bromley (Speaker)
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Sir William Bromley was an English Tory politician. He was Speaker of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1710 to 1713, Bromley was a member of an old Staffordshire family, which by the time of his birth was settled in Warwickshire. He was the son of Sir William Bromley and his wife Ursula and he was born at the family seat at Baginton, Warwickshire, and was baptized on 31 August 1663. In 1679 Bromley entered Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford, Bromley missed the Glorious Revolution because he was travelling in France and Italy, following the death of his first wife in 1688. Upon his return to England he embarked on a political career, throughout his time in public life Bromley was a staunch high church Tory with a reputation for honesty and extreme partisanship. His political rivals sometimes found it useful to allege Jacobite sympathies and to refer to Bromleys travel memoirs Remarks on the Grand Tour of France, in 1690 Bromley was elected to represent the county constituency of Warwickshire in the House of Commons of England. An able debater, his reputation rose rapidly, particularly amongst the Tory squires who shared similar prejudices, in 1696 Bromley refused to take an oath to swear that William III was the rightful and lawful King. As a result, he was incapacitated from serving in Parliament and was not re-elected for Warwickshire in 1698 and he continued to hold one of the universitys two seats for the rest of his life. Bromley promoted several bills to strengthen the law, but they were not adopted, from 1702 to 1705 Bromley was the Chairman of the Committee of Privileges and Elections of the House of Commons. In 1705 he was a candidate for the Speakership, on this occasion a new edition of Bromleys travel memoirs was produced by his political enemies. Bromley did not become Speaker in 1705, following the 1710 election there was a large Tory majority in the House of Commons. On 25 November 1710 Bromley was elected Speaker, without opposition and he was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council in 1711. In his position as Speaker in 1713, Bromley responded to questions from a Scottish MP with the reply that they had catcht hold of Scotland. Thereby given credence to the held belief in Scotland that Union was a means for England to assert her dominance over Scotland. Lockhart Papers In 1713 Bromley left the chair of the House to join the administration as Secretary of State for the Northern Department and he lost that office in 1714, when the new King George I installed a Whig ministry. Bromley never held government office again, but he remained the generally recognised leading Tory in the House of Commons until his health declined in the 1720s, Bromley remained an MP until his death in 1732. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 7, edited by H. C. G
William Bromley (Speaker)
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The Right Honourable Sir William Bromley
137.
Sir Thomas Hanmer, 4th Baronet
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Sir Thomas Hanmer, 4th Baronet was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1714 to 1715, discharging the duties of the office with conspicuous impartiality. He is, however, perhaps best remembered as being one of the editors of the works of William Shakespeare. He was the son of William Hanmer, and of Peregrine, daughter and co-heiress of Sir Henry North, 1st Baronet, of Mildenhall, Sussex. He was born between 10 and 11 p. m. in the house of his grandfather Sir Thomas Hanmer, 2nd Baronet, at Bettisfield Park, near Wrexham, Clwyd, Wales. His father William seems to have died early, and Thomas was educated in Bury St Edmunds, at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, matriculating on 17 October 1693, age 17. His tutor was Robert Freind, D. D. who was later under-master at Westminster in 1699, Hanmer gained his LL. D. however, Com. Reg. from Cambridge University in 1705 and he succeeded as 4th Baronet in 1701 when his uncle, the 3rd Baronet Sir John Hanmer, died in a duel leaving no issue. He was a high church Tory M. P. for Thetford, 1701-2 and 1705-8, for Flintshire, 1702-5, after the death of Queen Anne in August 1714, George I brought in a government composed entirely of Whigs. The Tory party was proscribed from government office until 1760 and the accession of George III and he was one of the founding governors of the Foundling Hospital, a charity set up for Londons abandoned children in 1739, which also became a centre for the arts. Hanmers Shakespeare was published at Oxford in 1743-44, with nearly forty illustrations by Francis Hayman, however, there are some emendations of value that were made by Hanmer which have been accepted into later editions of Shakespeare. He died in 1746 and was buried at Hanmer and he had married in 1697 Isabella FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton, the widow of Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Grafton. There was no heir and so the baronetcy became extinct, london and New York, Frederick Warne
Sir Thomas Hanmer, 4th Baronet
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Sir Thomas Hanmer.
138.
Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington
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Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, KG, KB, PC was a British Whig statesman who served continuously in government from 1715 until his death. He served as the Prime Minister from 1742 until his death in 1743, Compton, the third son of the 3rd Earl of Northampton, was educated at St Pauls and at Trinity College, Oxford. Thereafter he was admitted into Middle Temple and he entered the House of Commons for the first time in 1698, representing Eye in Suffolk. Although his family were High Tories, he turned to the Whigs after a quarrel with his brother, in Parliament he soon stood out as prominent amongst the Whigs and began a partnership with Robert Walpole that would last for over forty years. It is believed that the Tories retained him as they sought to maintain the support of the Compton family, in 1713 Compton re-entered Parliament for East Grinstead and when the Whigs took power in 1715 he was hopeful that he would enter a high office. Instead of the office he had hoped for, Compton became Treasurer to the Prince of Wales. He held this post from 1715 to 1727, one year after his appointment in that capacity and he maintained the role despite the split in the Whigs in 1717 in which he joined the Walpole-Townshend alliance and found himself in opposition to the government of the day. He managed to maintain his position through until 1720, when the split ended, in order to avoid this, Walpole sought to keep Compton on the margins of government, though he was appointed as Paymaster of the Forces, a very lucrative post, from 1722 until 1730. In 1725, Compton entered Walpoles government as Lord Privy Seal and was created a Knight of the Bath. In 1727, George II succeeded to the throne and sought to bring about the change in leadership he had promised, however, Compton was not perceived as a man of great ability. He was described by a contemporary as a plodding, heavy fellow, with great application, in particular he proved unable to compete with Walpoles proposals for an allowance for the King. At a meeting between the three, Compton declared he was not up to the task of government and he maintained a hatred of Walpole for the humiliation. With this passed his last serious chance of holding real control over policy and he remained on very close terms with George, but the era when Kings could personally select their own ministers in defiance of parliament, was ending. He became increasingly associated with the Patriot Whigs, those most critical of Walpole, but in Parliament generally stuck to the official line of the ministry. However, during the Excise Crisis of 1733, he failed to carry through a threat to resign, after being bought off with the promise to him a Knight of the Garter. This further weakened any following he still commanded and he served as Lord President until 1742. He was involved in the creation of the Foundling Hospital in 1739 and this charity became the capitals most fashionable way to prove ones philanthropic credentials and therefore had very notable board members, of whom Wilmington was one. In January 1742 he succeeded Walpole as First Lord of the Treasury, Wilmington was a forceful Prime Minister, and grew notorious amongst his cabinet for taking measures without reaching consensus
Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington
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Wilmington, ca. 1710.
Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington
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Wilmington, ca. 1722-1727.
Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington
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Southern Secretary
Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington
139.
Sir John Cust, 3rd Baronet
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See also John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow. Sir John Cust, 3rd Baronet PC was a British politician and he served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1761 to 1770. Cust was the son of Sir Richard Cust, 2nd Baronet and he was educated at Eton and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Cust was elected to the House of Commons for Grantham in 1743, in 1761 he was appointed Speaker of the House of Commons, which he remained until shortly before his death in 1770. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1762, Cust married Etheldred Payne, daughter of Thomas Payne, in 1743. He died in January 1770, aged 51, and was succeeded in his title by his son Brownlow Cust, who in 1776 was raised to the peerage as Baron Brownlow in recognition of his fathers services
Sir John Cust, 3rd Baronet
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Sir John Cust.
140.
William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville
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William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, PC, FRS, PC was a British Whig statesman. He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807 as head of the Ministry of All the Talents, Grenville was the son of Whig Prime Minister George Grenville. His mother Elizabeth was daughter of the Tory statesman Sir William Wyndham Bart and he had two elder brothers Thomas and George - he was thus uncle to the 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. Grenville was educated at Eton, Christ Church, Oxford, Grenville entered the House of Commons in 1782. He soon became an ally of the Prime Minister, his cousin William Pitt the Younger. In 1789 he served briefly as Speaker of the House of Commons before he entered the cabinet as Home Secretary. He became Leader of the House of Lords when he was raised to the peerage the next year as Baron Grenville, the next year, in 1791, he succeeded the Duke of Leeds as Foreign Secretary. Grenvilles decade as Foreign Secretary was a one, seeing the Wars of the French Revolution. Grenville left office with Pitt in 1801 over the issue of Catholic Emancipation and he did part-time military service at home as Major in the Buckinghamshire Yeomanry cavalry in 1794 and as Lieutenant-Colonel in the South Buckinghamshire volunteer regiment in 1806. In his years out of office, Grenville became close to the opposition Whig leader Charles James Fox, grenvilles cousin William Windham served as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, and his younger brother, Thomas Grenville, served briefly as First Lord of the Admiralty. The Ministry ultimately accomplished little, failing either to make peace with France or to accomplish Catholic emancipation and it did have one significant achievement, however, in the abolition of the slave trade in 1807. In the post-war years, Grenville gradually moved closer to the Tories. His political career was ended by a stroke in 1823, Grenville also served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1810 until his death in 1834. Dropmore House was built in the 1790s for Lord Grenville, the architects were Samuel Wyatt and Charles Tatham. Grenville knew the spot from rambles during his time at Eton College, on his first day in occupation, he planted two cedar trees. At least another 2,500 trees were planted, by the time Grenville died, his pinetum contained the biggest collection of conifer species in Britain. Part of the restoration is to use what survives as the basis for a collection of some 200 species. Lord Grenville married the Honourable Anne, daughter of Thomas Pitt, 1st Baron Camelford and he died in January 1834, aged 74, when the barony became extinct
William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville
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The Right Honourable The Lord Grenville PC PC (Ire)
William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville
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A caricature of Saartjie Baartman, Lord Grenville, and Richard Sheridan by William Heath
141.
Charles Abbot, 1st Baron Colchester
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Charles Abbot, 1st Baron Colchester PC, FRS was a British barrister and statesman. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1802 and 1817, born in Abingdon, Abbot was the son of Dr John Abbot, rector of All Saints, Colchester, and, by his mothers second marriage, step-brother of Jeremy Bentham. From Westminster School he passed to Christ Church, Oxford, where he matriculated on 14 June 1775, there he gained the chancellors prize for Latin verse as well as the Vinerian Scholarship. He was granted a BCL in 1783 and a DCL in 1793, on 14 February 1793, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. To the latter committee, and a committee which he proposed some years later, it is owing that copies of new statutes were thenceforth sent to all magistrates. His speeches against the Roman Catholic claims were published in 1828, in 1796, he had married, in London, Elizabeth Gibbes, the elder daughter of Sir Philip Gibbes, 1st Baronet, of Springhead, Barbados, by whom he had two sons. He was succeeded by his elder son Charles, Postmaster General in 1858 and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Colchester, Charles Abbot, 1st Baron. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Abbot. Archival material relating to Charles Abbot, 1st Baron Colchester
Charles Abbot, 1st Baron Colchester
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Lord Colchester by John Hoppner, c. 1802 (Palace of Westminster)
142.
James Abercromby, 1st Baron Dunfermline
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James Abercromby, 1st Baron Dunfermline PC, was a British barrister and Whig politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1835 and 1839, Abercromby was the third son of General Sir Ralph Abercromby, who fell at the Battle of Alexandria, and Mary, 1st Baroness Abercromby, daughter of John Menzies of Fernton, Perthshire. He was the brother of George Abercromby, 2nd Baron Abercromby and Sir John Abercromby. He attended the Royal High School, Edinburgh, and was called to the English Bar, Lincolns Inn and he became a commissioner of bankruptcy and later appointed steward of the Duke of Devonshires estates. Abercromby sat as Whig Member of Parliament for Midhurst between 1807 and 1812 and for Calne between 1812 and 1830 and he brought forwards two motions for bills to change the representation for Edinburgh in parliament. He received great support but no change was made until the Reform Act 1832, in 1827 he sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Judge-Advocate-General by George Canning, a post he held until 1828, the last months under the premiership of Lord Goderich. In 1830 Abercromby was made Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer in Scotland, a position he retained until 1832 and he received a pension of £2,000 a year. In 1832 returned to the House of Commons as one of two members for Edinburgh, whose representation had now increased from one to two members. In July 1834 he entered Lord Melbournes cabinet as Master of the Mint, but only held the post until November of the same year, Abercromby was considered for the speakership of the House of Commons by his party in 1833, but Edward Littleton was eventually chosen instead. However, in 1835 he was chosen as the Whig candidate, due to an evenly balanced House of Commons the election rendered great interest and was fiercely contested. On 19 February 1835 Abercromby was elected, defeating Manners-Sutton by 316 votes to 306, the Dictionary of National Biography writes that As speaker Abercromby acted with great impartiality while he possessed sufficient decision to quell any serious tendency to disorder. During his tenure a number of reforms for the introduction of bills were made. In spite of failing health Abercromby continued as speaker until 1839, on his retirement he was raised to the peerage as Baron Dunfermline, of Dunfermline in the County of Fife. After his retirement Abercromby continued to take an interest in public affairs and he was one of the originators of the United Industrial School for the support and training of destitute children. In 1841 he was elected as Dean of Faculty at the University of Glasgow and he also wrote a biography of his father, published posthumously in 1861. Lord Dunfermline married Mary Anne, daughter of Egerton Leigh, of West Hall, in High Legh and he died at Collinton House, Midlothian, in April 1858, aged 81, and was buried at Grange cemetery, Edinburgh. Lady Dunfermline died in August 1874 and he was the nephew of Robert Bruce, Lord Kennet. Burke, John, History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. iii, London,1838, anderson, William, The Scottish Nation, Edinburgh,1867, vol. iv, p.105
James Abercromby, 1st Baron Dunfermline
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The Right Honourable The Lord Dunfermline PC
143.
Charles Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Viscount Eversley
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Charles Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Viscount Eversley, GCB, PC was a British Whig politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1839 to 1857 and he is the second-longest serving Speaker of the House of Commons, behind Arthur Onslow. Shaw-Lefevre was the son of Charles Shaw-Lefevre by his wife Helena and his younger brother, Sir John Shaw-Lefevre, was a senior civil servant and one of the founders of the University of London, while his nephew, George, was a Liberal politician. He was educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1819 he was called to the Bar, Lincolns Inn. Shaw-Lefevre was the son-in-law of the sister of Lord Grey, the Whig Prime Minister, a Whig, he was Member of Parliament for Downton from 1830 to 1831, for Hampshire from 1831 to 1832 and for North Hampshire from 1832 to 1857. During the 1830s he was chairman of a committee on petitions for private bills and his report from the latter position was not accepted by the House of Commons but was published as a pamphlet addressed to his constituents. He acquired, says the Encyclopædia Britannica, a reputation in the House of Commons for his judicial fairness, combined with singular tact. When James Abercromby retired as Speaker of the House of Commons in 1839, Shaw-Lefevre was put forward as the Whig candidate and he was sworn of the Privy Council at the same time. Shaw-Lefevre remained speaker until 1857, by time he was second-longest-serving speaker ever, after Arthur Onslow. On his retirement in 1857 he was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Eversley and he attended the House of Lords infrequently, with his last recorded speech in July 1873. Shaw-Lefevre was director of the insurance company Sun Fire Office from 1815 to 1841, Recorder of Basingstoke 1823-35 and he also served in the North Hampshire Yeomanry Cavalry as a Lieutenant in 1821, and was twice Lieutenant-Colonel in its command in 1823-27 and 1831. In 1857 he was appointed Governor of the Isle of Wight and he was also an ecclesiastical commissioner and a trustee of the British Museum. In 1885 he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, Lord Eversley married Emma Laura, daughter of Samuel Whitbread and Lady Elizabeth Grey, in 1817. They had three sons, who all died in infancy, and two daughters, the family lived at Heckfield Place in Hampshire, which was previously the seat of his maternal grandfather. Lady Eversley died in June 1857, Lord Eversley survived her by over thirty years and died in December 1888, aged 94. He is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London, as he had no surviving sons, the title became extinct on his death. The Eversley title was revived in 1906 in favour of his nephew, hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by Charles Shaw-Lefevre Archival material relating to Charles Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Viscount Eversley. Works by or about Charles Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Viscount Eversley in libraries
Charles Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Viscount Eversley
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Lord Eversley in the 1860s.
144.
Douglas Clifton Brown, 1st Viscount Ruffside
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Colonel Douglas Clifton Brown, 1st Viscount Ruffside PC JP DL was a British politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1943 to 1951, Brown was the son of Colonel James Clifton Brown, grandson of Sir William Brown, 1st Baronet. His mother was Amelia while Howard Clifton Brown was his elder brother and he was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He advanced to major in the regiment, and later became a lieutenant-colonel in the Volunteer force, Brown was Member of Parliament for Hexham from 1918 to 1923 and from 1924 to 1951. He was a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons from 1938 to 1943 and he was sworn of the Privy Council in 1941 and raised to the peerage as Viscount Ruffside, of Hexham in the County of Northumberland, in 1951. Lord Ruffside married Violet Cicely Kathleen Wollaston, daughter of Frederick Eustace Arbuthnot Wollaston, there were no surviving male issue from the marriage. However, their daughter Audrey Clifton Brown married Harry Hylton-Foster, Speaker of the House of Commons, lord Ruffside died in May 1958, aged 78, when the viscountcy became extinct. The Viscountess Ruffside died in November 1969, aged 87, hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by Douglas Clifton Brown Portraits of Douglas Clifton Brown at the National Portrait Gallery, London
Douglas Clifton Brown, 1st Viscount Ruffside
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The Right Honourable The Viscount Ruffside PC DL JP
145.
Harry Hylton-Foster
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Sir Harry Braustyn Hylton Hylton-Foster PC, was a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 1950 until his death. He was also the Speaker of the House of Commons for the six years of his life. He was called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1928, at time he was also working as a legal secretary for Robert Finlay. During World War II Hylton-Foster served in the Royal Air Force volunteer reserve and he also served as a deputy judge advocate, a military judge, in North Africa. After the end of the war, he stood as a candidate for the Shipley seat in the 1945 general election and he was made Kings Counsel in 1947. In 1954 Hylton-Foster was named as the Solicitor General for England and Wales, however, once the controversy died down Hylton-Foster proved to be a popular and respected Speaker. He died suddenly in 1965 whilst still in office and his wife, Audrey, was given a life peerage as Baroness Hylton-Foster in his honour the same year. Hylton-Foster and his wife are buried together in the churchyard of St Barnabas Church, Ranmore Common, leigh Rayments Historical List of MPs Hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by Harry Hylton-Foster
Harry Hylton-Foster
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1960 portrait of Hylton-Foster dressed in the Speaker′s robes.
Harry Hylton-Foster
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Harry Hylton-Foster funerary monument, St Barnabas Church, Ranmore Common, Surrey
146.
Speaker of the British House of Commons
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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
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Incumbent John Bercow since 22 June 2009
Speaker of the British House of Commons
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Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
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William Court Gully
Speaker of the British House of Commons
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Henry Addington in state robes.
147.
Leader of the House of Commons
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The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons. This office does not attract a ministerial salary, and as such it is held jointly with another ministerial position. The Leader is assisted in the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons by the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, at times the nominal leadership was held by the Prime Minister but the day-to-day work was done by a Deputy. At other times a Deputy was appointed merely to enhance an individual politicians standing within the government, however, since 2010 the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons has been a ministerial role at the level of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. The House of Commons devotes approximately three-quarters of its time to Government business, such as introduced by the government. The Leader of the House, with the chief whips, is responsible for organising Government business. The Leader of the House additionally announces the next weeks debate schedule in the Business Statement every Thursday, when there is either no Deputy Prime Minister or First Secretary of State, the Leader of the House may stand in for an absent Prime Minister at Prime Ministers Questions
Leader of the House of Commons
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Incumbent Chris Grayling since 9 May 2015
Leader of the House of Commons
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Robert Walpole
Leader of the House of Commons
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Samuel Sandys
Leader of the House of Commons
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Henry Pelham
148.
Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)
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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 House of Commons (United Kingdom)
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Incumbent John Bercow since 22 June 2009
Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)
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William Court Gully
Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)
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Henry Addington in state robes.