industry

• According to Asa Briggs, what was the key to holding the balance of political power between the King and Parliament together?

  Patronage
• According to Briggs, what support did ministers need to carry out the King's wishes?

  Parliament's support
• What type of government did Britain have by 1783?

  Constitutional monarchy
• Who was the monarch of Britain in 1783?

  King George III
• What was the King bound by oath to govern according to?

  Statutes in Parliament and laws
• In what document was the principle of the supremacy of Parliament over the monarch established?

  Bill of Rights
• In what year was the Bill Of Rights passed?

  1689
• Which Stuart King was forced to abdicate during the Glorious Revolution?

  James II
• What did the Bill of Rights aim to prevent?

  Monarch interfering with the law
• According to the text, who made laws and took decisions on taxation?

  Parliament
• As head of state, what power did the monarch retain?

  To choose and dismiss ministers
• What rights did the monarch retain regarding Parliament?

  Summon and dissolve it
• Upon whom was the monarch financially dependent?

  Parliament
• What action had to be taken if Parliament was dissolved?

  A general election was called
• How did Parliament grant funds to the monarch?

  On an annual basis
• What was the name of the fund by which Parliament granted money to the monarch?

  The civil list
• What power did the monarch retain regarding legislation, though unlikely to use?

  The power to veto it
• What principle had the Bill of Rights of 1689 established?

  Supremacy of Parliament
• Despite the Bill of Rights, what was still shared between the King and Parliament?

  Political power
• What were the two houses of Parliament?

  Lords and Commons
• Which was the upper house?

  House of Lords
• Which was the lower house?

  House of Commons
• How was the House of Lords composed?

  Unelected hereditary peers
• What power did the House of Lords have?

  To block measures
• Who could create new peers?

  The monarch
• How was the House of Commons composed?

  Elected assembly
• Was the House of Commons democratic?

  No, few could vote
• Who mostly sat in the House of Commons?

  The gentry
• How did many MPs regard a seat in Parliament?

  Opportunity for advantage
• Who did some MPs represent?

  Landowners and gentry
• What did the Commons control?

  Taxation
• What influence did the House of Lords maintain?

  Influence in the Commons
• What was the Commons' main duty?

  Act as a check
• What did the Commons act as a check on?

  The executive (ministers)
• What made it difficult to achieve a stable majority in the Commons?

  Different factions and interest groups
• What strengthened the Commons in the late eighteenth century?

  Growth of parties
• What did the Prime Minister need to carry on government?

  Support of the Commons
• Where did much political power rest within Parliament?

  With the Lords
• Whose influence was increasing by the late eighteenth century?

  The House of Commons
• What was the group of advisors to the monarch traditionally known as?

  The Privy Council