Evolution of the British Parliament: Key Milestones
Evolution of the British Parliament
Born in 1265, the British Parliament summoned representatives from cities and counties to the Magnum Concilium. The tendency of the clergy and nobility to join in isolation led to bicameralism, formalized in 1343. The advent of the Tudor dynasty in 1485 with Henry VII marks the beginning of the New Monarchy, equipped with a modern state organization and strong centralized power.
The spirit of this stage is the rise of the middle class, which destroyed medieval institutions but welcomed instruments of the state. The Privy Council (Curia Regis), the most important institution of the epoch, separated from Parliament and expanded its functions to become a body of ministers without opposition to the King, acting as the channel through which royal orders passed. The judicial function was key; in 1553, Edward VI divided the Council into 5 committees, creating an independent central court of justice called the Star Chamber. Parliament was used by the monarchy, and the Tudors expressed all their actions as fundamental decisions of Parliament. The new middle class, represented in Parliament, sought to impose their will on the king. The confrontation led, after the arrival of the Stuart dynasty, to the English Revolution. James I, King of Scotland and heir to the Tudors, was proclaimed sovereign in 1604. This stage is characterized by the Crown’s struggle to maintain its preeminence, both in Parliament and on Common Law. With the arrival of Charles I, these differences were emphasized because of the royal jurisdiction (Star Chamber) and the creation of new taxes. Forced by Parliament, in 1628 the King signed the Petition of Right, which reaffirmed parliamentary sovereignty over taxation and guaranteed the right to personal liberty, including parliamentary matters. Parliament tried to regain the fullness of their duties at the expense of the Privy Council and influence the appointment of the King’s Directors.
The English Civil War and the Commonwealth
From 1642 to 1649, after failing to convene parliament in 11 years, a civil war erupted between King and Parliament, culminating in the execution of the king and the end of the monarchy. The civil war ended up being a religious struggle between Anglicanism and Puritanism. The House of Lords was abolished, and a Council of State was established, chosen on behalf of Parliament, which had to act in accordance with instructions from the House of Commons. Under the dictatorship of Cromwell from 1653 to 1658, the Instrument of Government, the first written constitution in the modern state, was promulgated.
The Restoration and the Glorious Revolution
After a brief period of anarchy following Cromwell’s death, the monarchy was restored with Charles II in 1660, establishing a balance between traditional powers, the rule of law, rejection of the arbitrary, and maintaining the gains made by Parliament. There was high instability caused mainly by the religious question. During the restoration, political parties emerged: the Tories (friends of the king, conservative) and the Whigs (dissidents, liberals). The revolution confirmed the supremacy of law due to the systematic violation of it by the King. When James II came to power, he inherited an almost despotic throne. His marriage to a Catholic and the annulment of a Declaration of Indulgence in 1687 led Parliament to defend the Anglican Church, forcing him to use the army. Due to the mistrust generated by his army and the abandonment of support for the monarch, he fled to France.
The Rise of Constitutional Government
In 1688, with the Glorious Revolution, Parliament was victorious when the rest of Europe was under absolute monarchies. Parliament invoked tradition to dethrone the monarch. The first elections were convened in 1679, from which emerged the first constitutional government. Parliament elected in 1689 produced the Habeas Corpus, which crippled arbitrary imprisonment and paved the way for a regime of freedoms.