In Great Britain, the monarch heads parliament, can convene and dissolve it, annually opens a parliamentary session in the House of Lords, approves laws - without royal assent, the law has no legal force

Composition of the UK Parliament

Lower House (House of Commons)

It is formed on the basis of direct elections by secret ballot for a period of 5 years.

650 deputies according to the number of electoral districts:
533 from England
59 from Scotland
40 from Wales
18 from Northern Ireland

Functions of the House of Commons

Adopts bills and submits them (all except financial ones) for approval to the House of Lords. Adopts the budget and reviews financial bills. Has the exclusive right to approve taxation and government spending.

About 1550 people

Party composition

According to the latest, 55th convocation (2010)

306 conservatives
258 Labor
57 liberal democrats
8 Democratic Unionists
6 Scottish nationalists
5 Irish Republicans (Sinn Fein)
3 Welsh nationalist (Plaid Cymru)
3 from the Social Democrats and Labor Party
1 from "Alliance"
1 from the Green Party
1 independent MP
1 speaker

Speaker- the chairman of the House of Commons, leading the meetings and representing the chamber in its relations with the queen, the House of Lords and other government bodies. After his resignation, he receives the title of Viscount and a seat in the House of Lords.


Upper House (House of Lords)

Formed on a non-elective basis

774 people who have the right to take part in the work of the chamber

Functions of the House of Lords

Reviews and amends bills passed by the House of Commons, with the exception of financial bills. Considers appeals against court decisions in civil and criminal cases. The verdict of the House of Lords is final.

Number of service personnel- about 450 people

Compound

26 spiritual lords ( Lords Spiritual) - representatives of the clergy of the Church of England
87 hereditary peers(title obtained by birth: Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount or Baron)
661 life peers(a title without the right of hereditary transfer was assigned by the monarch for special services to the state)

The oldest parliament in the world- Icelandic Althing - was founded in 930. Created in 979, the Isle of Man's parliament, the Tynwald, is the oldest continuously functioning parliament.

Has been in the US Senate for almost 50 years "candy table" tradition. In 1965, it was introduced by sweet-toothed senator George Murphy, who treated his colleagues. There were many Murphy followers at the desk, all of whom fed the senators, who currently consume about 180 kg of candy and chocolate a year from sponsors.

The territory on which it stands Australian Parliament, occupies 32 hectares. The building consists of 4,500 rooms with a total area of ​​250,000 m2.

In the House of Commons of the British Parliament eat twice as much as they did 20 years ago: In the early 1990s, 4,000 meals were prepared daily, which increased to 8,000 in the 2010s.

San Marino has two heads of state- captain-regents elected by the Council of State (unicameral parliament) for 6 months from competing parties.

Parliament size

14 members- Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia (the smallest parliament in the world)
63 - Althing, Iceland
100 - Seimas, Latvia
601 - 2nd Constituent Assembly of Nepal
620 - Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (170 - in the Federation Council, 450 - in the State Duma)
687 - Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK
2987 - National People's Congress (the largest parliament in the world)

Salaries of parliamentarians

(in US dollars and rubles per month)

~ $21,000 (~ RUB 750,000) - in Japan (the highest paid deputies in the world)
~ $15,300 (~ RUB 546,500) - in Australia
$14,500 (~ RUB 517,650) - in the USA
~ $11,765 (RUB 420,000) - in the Russian Federation (from September 1, 2014)
~ $11,060 (~ RUB 395,000) - in Germany
~ 9445 $ (~ 337,000 rub.) - in the UK
$6,250 (~ RUB 223,100) - in Kenya (cut from $10,000 in 2013)
$370 (~ RUB 13,200) - in Zimbabwe (one of the lowest salaries)

By the beginning of the 13th century. In England, objective prerequisites are emerging for the transition to a new form of feudal state - a monarchy with class representation. The result of the struggle against the politics of royal power in the 13th century. are the conflict that ended with the adoption of the Magna Carta, and the civil war of 1258-1267. The most important result of the civil war was the convening of the first estate-representative institution in the history of England - parliament (1265). Representatives from the knights and the most significant cities were invited to it, along with the barons and spiritual feudal lords.

In 1295, a “model” parliament was created, the composition of which served as a model for subsequent parliaments in England. In addition to the large secular and spiritual feudal lords personally invited by the king, it included two representatives from 37 counties (knights) and two representatives from cities. The creation of parliament entailed a change in the form of the feudal state, the emergence of a monarchy with class representation. Until the middle of the 14th century. The English estates sat together and then split into two houses. At the same time, 1) the knights from the counties began to sit together with representatives of the cities in one chamber (the House of Commons) and separated from 2) the largest magnates, who formed the upper house (the House of Lords). The higher clergy sat together with the barons, and the lower - in the House of Commons.

At first, the ability of parliament to influence the policies of royal power was insignificant. Its functions were limited to determining the amount of taxes on movable property. Gradually, the parliament of medieval England during the period of estate monarchy acquired:

1) the right to participate in the publication of laws;

2) the right to resolve issues of collections in favor of the royal treasury;

3) the right to exercise control over senior officials and act in some cases as a judicial body.

In an effort to subordinate public administration to its control, parliament from the end of the 14th century. gradually introduced the impeachment procedure (It consisted of the House of Commons initiating before the House of Lords, as the highest court of the country, charges against one or another official of the king for abuse of power.).

31. Estates representative monarchy in England.

By the beginning of the 13th century. In England, objective prerequisites are emerging for the transition to a new form of feudal state - a monarchy with class representation. The result of the struggle against the politics of royal power in the 13th century. are the conflict that ended with the adoption of the Magna Carta, and the civil war of 1258-1267. The most important result of the civil war was the convening of the first estate-representative institution in the history of England - parliament (1265). Representatives from the knights and the most significant cities were invited to it, along with the barons and spiritual feudal lords. Its functions: 1) the right to participate in the publication of laws; 2) the right to resolve issues of collections in favor of the royal treasury; 3) the right to exercise control over senior officials and act in some cases as a judicial body.

A new executive body, the Royal Council, is being developed. It was a narrow group of the king's closest advisers, in whose hands the highest executive and judicial powers were concentrated.

The head of the royal administration remains the sheriff, and in the hundred - his assistant, the bailiff. In addition to them, local representatives of the royal administration were coroners and constables. So-called guardians, or justices of the peace, are appointed in the counties. They had police and judicial powers.

Judicial system. The highest courts in England were the Court of Queen's Bench (criminal cases), the Court of Common Pleas (civil cases) and the Court of the Exchequer, which was in charge of civil cases in which the crown was one of the parties. With the development of civil circulation, the Court of the Lord Chancellor emerged from the general system of higher royal courts, which resolved issues “fairly.”

During the reign of Henry III (1216–1272) in England Parliament arose which made royal power limited. Henry III was a sovereign who loved flattery and generously rewarded it with positions and lands. The people closest to him were foreigners who entered the royal service, numerous knights from France and a fairly large number of clergy from Italy, who were sent to England by the popes. I really did not like the whole behavior of the king and his foreign favorites the English nation, formed in the middle of the 13th century. from the merger of the Normans with the Anglo-Saxons. Prelates, barons, knights, and townspeople united in opposition against the king. Henry III convened several times conventions of prelates and barons(“big councils”), which for the most part sharply condemned his policies. The main role in this opposition was played by Simon Montfort, originally a Frenchman (his father was a leader in the crusade against the Albigenses), moved to England, where he received the title of Earl of Leicester and married the king's sister. Having quarreled with Henry III, this talented and energetic nobleman went over to the side of the English barons and even became their leader. First, the larger barons at the "great council" in Oxford(1258) forced the king to admit over himself guardianship of a special committee of 24 barons, but small barons and knights were dissatisfied with this oligarchic form of government and began to complain about its establishment. Henry III refused to fulfill this promise, but Simon Montfort went to war against him, took him prisoner and became the ruler of England. Distinguished by his great statesmanship, he saw, however, that the big barons alone would not be able to manage the country, and therefore convening V 1265 on behalf of the king, a “great council”, he invited not only prelates and barons, but also representatives of shires (counties) and cities(two representatives from each county and the most important cities). This was it first English parliament. By inviting the knighthood and townspeople to participate in the reign, Simon incurred the displeasure of the major barons. They went over to the side of the king, and the eldest son of Henry III (Edward) escaped from captivity and became the leader of the dissatisfied. Simon Montfort was defeated and killed in a battle with the royal army, but the measure he invented, i.e., convening to “great councils”, in addition to prelates and barons, also knighthood and townspeople, came into force, and Parliament in England has existed continuously for more than six centuries.

183. Structure of parliament

The English Parliament was divided into two houses: upper or house of peers(lords), and lower or house of commons. This division, which still exists today, was finally formed only in the middle of the 14th century, eighty years after the convening of the first parliament. Became members of the upper house bishops, abbots And major vassals of the king, each of whom sat in it by virtue of his personal right, and the title of secular lord began to pass by inheritance to the eldest son. The lower house was formed from elected representatives from both minor royal vassals and knights, i.e. vassals, and from the free population of counties and cities. In the counties (shares), representatives were elected at meetings that existed even earlier for various local affairs and for the court, and here it happened merger of small feudal lords with the rest of the free population. The House of Commons has become chamber of all classes, and in this way the English parliament from the very beginning began to differ from other similar assemblies that arose around the same time in different states of the West, where each estate sat separately. (And in the upper house the highest clergy and the highest nobility sat together).


The English Parliament was a specific class-representative body, unlike any representative institution in Europe. It took shape during the civil wars of 1263-1267. These wars were led, on the one hand, by the extremely strengthened royal power and, on the other, by the desire of the English barons to limit it. By the 13th century. The English barons became so strong economically that they felt the need for their own strong political positions. During the civil wars, the stability and balance of political forces characteristic of the English state were seriously undermined.
Civil wars of the 13th century. were already the second deep political crisis in the history of England. The first crisis occurred during the reign of the English king John the Landless(1199-1216), who began to catastrophically quickly lose English possessions in France. The barons took advantage of this situation to demand that the king grant them political rights and political independence. John the Landless was forced to meet them halfway, and in 1215 g. he provided the barons "Magna Carta"- the first constitution of the English feudal monarchy.
Even before the start of the civil wars, in 1258 the barons gathered at a congress in Oxford. This congress was called the “Mad Parliament”. The “Mad Parliament” developed a new constitution - "Oxford Provisions". This constitution established the regime of baronial oligarchy in the country. All power in England was transferred to the “Council of Fifteen Barons”, without the consent of which the king could not make any decisions. Thus, the “Mad Parliament”, without being a constitutionally formalized Parliament, already significantly limited the power of the king. In addition, the “Council of Fifteen Barons” created a commission to carry out political reforms in England. All these events served as a prelude to the creation of a constitutionally formalized English Parliament.
The first English Parliament was convened in 1265 g. It was attended by representatives of various social strata - secular and spiritual feudal lords, knights from counties and representatives from cities. After the end of the civil wars in 1267, Parliament was not abolished. By this time he was already firmly entrenched in the government system of England. From the end of the 13th century. The parliamentary constitutional system was finally established in England.
With the establishment of Parliament, the English feudal state took the form of an estate-representative monarchy.
At Edward I(1272-1307) Parliament was used by the king as a counterbalance to the claims of large feudal lords. Edward I tried to implement tax policy without Parliament. This brought the king into conflict with him, and the king was forced to pass a law called the "Confirmation of the Charter." The law confirmed the Magna Carta of 1215.
In the 14th century, in addition to the function of approving taxes, Parliament sought the right to issue laws - bills. Since 1343, the English Parliament has been formed as a bicameral one: the House of Lords, or peers, and the House of Commons. Large secular and spiritual feudal lords sat in the House of Lords, and knights and townspeople sat in the House of Commons. With each century, Parliament became more and more powerful. The number of the House of Commons was from the very beginning much larger than the House of Lords. The House of Commons acquires strong influence in Parliament - not so much due to numerical superiority, but due to the spirit of agreement that reigned there. An alliance of knights and townspeople early formed in the House of Commons.
With the development of commodity-money relations, with the emergence of elements of capitalism, in the House of Commons, the alliance of knighthood and townspeople became more and more strengthened, leading to a further strengthening of their political positions in Parliament and in the country.
The phenomenon of the English Parliament causes numerous disputes in English and domestic historiography. A number of historians argue that Parliament, from the moment of its inception, has never been a national representative body and has not been an exponent of the national interests of the country. The lower urban population and the peasantry have never been represented in Parliament.
The English Parliament, in its specific actions, expressed the interests of secular and spiritual feudal lords, supporting their anti-peasant policy. With the development of capitalism in England, Parliament adopted strict labor legislation.
Nevertheless, Parliament played a significant political role in the history of England. It was he who, by limiting the power of the king, brought political stability and balance to the country at a new historical stage, which entailed stability in all areas of state life - economics, social relations, culture, etc. By limiting the supreme power, Parliament contributed to centralization and strengthening of the centralized state. The organic binary system of authorities acting from a state position, Parliament - the king, was and remains the main reason for the stability and prosperity of modern England.

The barons did not want to comply with the demands of the knights, and King Henry III tried to exploit the contradictions between them. He obtained a letter from the Pope, which freed him from any obligations to the dissatisfied. And then in 1263 the civil war began. The rebel army consisted of knights, townspeople (artisans and traders), students of Oxford University, free peasants and a number of barons dissatisfied with the existing order. The rebel army was led by Baron Simon de Montfort. London townspeople sent 15 thousand people to Montfort. The rebels took a number of cities (Gloucester, Bristol, Dover, Sandwich, etc.) and marched on London. Henry III took refuge in Westminster. The royal army was commanded by the heir to the throne, Prince Edward. The rebel army approached the London suburb of Southwark. The townspeople rushed to the aid of Montfort, who was threatened by encirclement by Prince Edward, and the rebels entered the capital.

In May 1264, Montfort's army defeated the royal troops (Battle of Lewis). The king and Prince Edward were captured by the rebels and forced to sign an agreement with them.

  • On January 20, 1265, the first English parliament met in Westminster. In addition to the barons, supporters of Montfort, and the high clergy, it included two knights from each county and two citizens from each major city in England. Thus, during the civil war, class representation arose. True, it was mainly representatives of the city elite who entered parliament from the cities, but in general, the entry of the townspeople and knighthood into the political arena was of great importance. Peasants played a significant role during the war. It was this circumstance that frightened the barons, supporters of Montfort, and they began to move to the king’s camp.
  • On August 4, 1265, the royal army defeated the army of Simon de Montfort (Battle of Ivzema). Montfort himself was killed. The struggle of scattered rebel groups continued until the fall of 1267.

Henry III, who regained power, and then his successor Edward I did not destroy parliament. It continued to exist, playing an increasingly important role, although in the early years of the reign of King Edward I, knights and townspeople were invited mainly to resolve the issue of taxes. For many of them, presence in parliament was a rather burdensome duty, associated with great expense and inconvenience.

King Edward I (1272-1307) relied on class representation, albeit a narrow one, in which he found a good counterbalance to the claims of the secular and ecclesiastical nobility. Active aggressive policy of the 80-90s of the 13th century. caused a strong need for money. The king's attempts to collect taxes without the consent of parliament gave rise to strong discontent among the townspeople and knights. The barons took advantage of dissatisfaction with rising taxes, and in the 90s of the 13th century. the threat of armed uprising again arose.

King Edward I convened a parliament in 1295 on the model of the parliament of 1265 (the “Model Parliament”), and in 1297 issued the “Confirmation of the Charter” (the second version of the charter is called the “Non-Impposition of Taxes” statute). This document stated that no tax would be levied without the consent of Parliament. The king recognized the right of class representatives to approve taxes; this, however, did not mean that taxes could be levied only with the consent of the payers. The bulk of English peasants and townspeople were not represented in Parliament: their consent had no meaning. Taxes were voted only by knights, barons, clergy and wealthy citizens. It was easier for the royal power to collect the tax voted by these classes than to raise money in other ways.

The social nature of the English parliament and its organization.

As already mentioned, in the English parliament, in addition to the secular and spiritual lords, representatives of the knighthood and the city elite sat. England of this time was already characterized by a significant commonality of interests between the knights, who were moving to the management of commercial farming, and the upper strata of the urban population, a commonality that served as the basis for a strong union of these two classes.

At the end of the 13th century. the functions of parliament had not yet been precisely defined. This happened only in the first half of the 14th century. In the 13th century, the competence of parliament, which met once a year, and sometimes much less frequently, was reduced mainly to the fact that it approved taxes, was the highest judicial body and had deliberative rights. The structure of parliament in the 13th century. was also extremely vague; There was still no division into two chambers, although the special position of the nobility, secular and spiritual, was already clearly felt: they were invited to the parliamentary session by letters from the king, while knights and townspeople were summoned through sheriffs; In addition, knights and townspeople did not take part in the discussion of all issues. In the first half of the 14th century. Parliament was divided into two chambers: the House of Lords, in which the highest clergy and secular nobility were represented, who received seats in the chamber by inheritance along with the title, and the House of Commons, in which the knights of the counties and cities were represented, which was a feature of the English estates representation compared, for example, with the French (three-chamber structure of the Estates General).

Historical significance of the creation of parliament.

The emergence of class representation was of great importance in the process of growth centralized state.

With the emergence of parliament in England, a new form of feudal state was born - estate-representative, or estate, monarchy, which is the most important and natural stage in the political development of the country, the development of the feudal state.