First Parliament of Great Britain Facts for Kids

The First Parliament of Great Britain was a very important meeting. It started in 1707. This happened after the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland joined together. They formed a new country called the Kingdom of Great Britain.

This Parliament was actually a continuation of the English Parliament. No new elections were held in England or Wales. The existing members of the English Parliament simply became members of the new British Parliament. In Scotland, things were a bit different. Before the two countries officially joined, the Scottish Parliament chose 16 nobles and 45 other members. These Scottish representatives then joined their English friends in Westminster.

How the Parliament Was Formed
When the Parliament Met
Political Groups in Parliament
Members of Parliament (MPs) by Region
Leaders and Government
See also
Sources

How the Parliament Was Formed

The joining of England and Scotland was set out in the Treaty of Union. This treaty said that the new United Kingdom of Great Britain would have one single Parliament. This Parliament would be called the Parliament of Great Britain.

The treaty also explained how the first members would be chosen. The Queen could decide if the current English Parliament members would join the new British Parliament. Queen Anne decided that they should.

The Scottish Parliament then passed its own law. This law explained how to choose the 16 nobles and 45 commoners from Scotland. These people would represent Scotland in the new Parliament. They were chosen from the members of the existing Scottish Parliament. The Kingdom of Great Britain officially began on May 1, 1707.

When the Parliament Met

The members of the last English Parliament were chosen in 1705. The last general election in Scotland was in 1702. The Scottish Parliament met until March 1707.

The First Parliament of Great Britain met for the first time on October 23, 1707. If it was seen as a continuation of the English Parliament, it should have ended by June 14, 1708. This was because of a law that said parliaments could only last for three years.

The Parliament's only session ended on April 1, 1708. It was officially closed down on April 15, 1708. New elections were then called for a new Parliament.

Political Groups in Parliament

Back then, political parties were not as organized as they are today. It was hard to say exactly who belonged to which group. However, we can still make some guesses.

Important families often formed groups of relatives and supporters. These groups then formed larger factions. They usually supported a powerful person who wanted to gain favor with the Queen. These factions generally leaned towards being Whig or Tory.

Besides Whig and Tory, there were also "Court" and "Country" groups. "Court" supporters usually backed the Queen's ministers. "Country" members tended to oppose the government.

In Scotland, the political groups were similar. They also had a special group called the Squadrone Volante. This group was named after a type of cavalry. They had first been against the Union, but later became moderate supporters of it.

After the 1705 election, the English Parliament had about 267 Tory members and 246 Whig members.

Members of Parliament (MPs) by Region

This table shows how many members came from different parts of Great Britain.

Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type and country
Country	Constituencies					Members
Country	Boro'	Shire	Univ.	Co.	Total	Boro'	Shire	Univ.	Scots	Total
England	202	39	2	—	243	404	78	4	—	486
Wales	13	13	—	—	26	13	14	—	—	27
Scotland	—	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	45	45
Total	215	052	002	001	270	417	092	004	045	558

This table shows how many MPs each type of area sent to Parliament.

Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country
Country	Borough constituencies					Shire and county constituencies				University const'ies		Co-opted const'y		Total consts	Total MPs
Country	1 MP	2 MPs	4 MPs	No.	MPs	1 MP	2 MPs	No.	MPs	2 MPs	MPs	45 MPs	MPs	Total consts	Total MPs
England	4	196	2	202	404	—	39	39	78	2	4	—	—	243	486
Wales	13	—	—	13	13	12	1	13	14	—	—	—	—	26	27
Scotland	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	45	1	270	558

Leaders and Government

Sidney Godolphin, a key government leader.
William Cowper, who led the House of Lords.

William Cowper became the first Lord Speaker of the House of Lords of Great Britain. He was in charge of leading discussions in the House of Lords.

John Smith was chosen as the first Speaker of the House of Commons of Great Britain. He had been the Speaker of the English House of Commons since 1705.

At this time, there was no single "Prime Minister" like we have today. The government was a mix of different political groups. It was led by three main figures:

Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin (who managed the country's money)
Robert Harley (a top government official)
John Churchill (a famous military leader)

These leaders worked together to run the country. There was a big political problem in February 1708. Queen Anne wanted to remove Godolphin from power. But Godolphin and Marlborough worked together to stop her. In the end, Harley was removed instead. Godolphin stayed in his role.

The War of the Spanish Succession was happening during this Parliament. Many discussions in Parliament were about the war. In March 1708, James Francis Stuart, also known as the "Old Pretender," tried to invade Scotland with French help. This attempt failed.

This Parliament passed several important laws. One law got rid of the separate Privy Council of Scotland. This created one single privy council for both England and Scotland. Other laws helped extend English legal systems to Scotland. They also set rules for how Scottish nobles and MPs would be elected. The Parliament also approved the joining of the East India companies. This created one big company again. It also passed a law about how the Bank of England would be run.

Sources

The Treaty of Union of Scotland and England 1707, edited by George S. Pryde (Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd 1950)
British Historical Facts 1688–1760, by Chris Cook and John Stevenson (The Macmillan Press 1988)

Preceded by New Parliament	Parliament of Great Britain 1707–1708	Succeeded by 2nd Parliament

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First Parliament of Great Britain facts for kids

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