The Origins of Parliament

Résumé du document

Il s'agit d'un exposé sur l'origine du parlement britannique.



Even at the beginning of the monarchy, when the king had absolute power, it was impossible for him to do everything himself. Therefore, he needed group of experienced advisers to help him reach a decision. This group originally composed of the most important noble men is at the origin of the British Parliament.



Chronologique

Extraits

[...] When they were less worse, Parliament met less often. For example, only once in every three years on average between 1453 and 1509. By the 15th century, the important noble men of the kingdom had established themselves into a hierarchy that was going to exist until the reform of the House of Lords in 1999.Important members of the Church were also members of the House of Lords. And perhaps surprisingly supported Henry VIII in his declaration of Independence from the Catholic Church, and the creation of the Church of England in 1534. [...]

[...] The party has its origins in the old Liberal party of the 19th century, and which was recreated after the split of 1916. The liberal party was never able to form a gvt after that date, remaining much less important than the other two parties which led the British parliamentary establishment being called the two party system. After WW2, the party had a series of interesting leaders especially Jeremy Thorpe who became the star of the gutter press in a series of homosexual sex scandals in 1960's. [...]

[...] The party's name was adopted in 1906. Before 1914, most Labour were concerned with a limited number of questions, for example, the right of trades unions, or working day of 8 hours. The old liberal party had split in 1916 and the Labour party took the opportunity to become the second biggest party in Parliament, also it had little success in the elections before the WW2. In 1945, the Labour Party had a massive majority and was able to put into practice some of its socialist ideology. [...]

[...] This group originally composed of the most important noble men is at the origin of the British Parliament. Members of the Church and the army were also part of this assembly which became a formal part of the state. The first recorded example was known as the Witan or Grand Council which we find in late Saxon England during the reign of King Offa in the 8th century. By the 10th century, this assembly was much bigger and became a real institution with the ability to pass laws and issue Charters. [...]

[...] The theme of New Labour was “Cool Britannia” a United Kingdom in favour of Europe, and where women and young people were to be given priority. However, power very quickly became concentred in the hands of a few people. Mr Blair trusted and these became known as his croneys by press which created the expression cronyism (copinage). Following the US example, Mr Blair employed public relations experts to communicate his policies and these people had been given the name “spin doctors”, spin meaning to get the message across by using positive but not always clear language. [...]