Elizabethan Parliament

• Made up of: House of Lords; 60 Lord Temporal (hereditary), includes 2 Archbishops and 24 Bishops (spiritual lords) nd House of Commons; 400 MPs
• Elizabeth only called 10 parliaments (13 sessions) in a 45 year reign; far less than the 26 sessions in the first 30 years before 1558, an average of 3 years passed between each session with the longest break between being 26 years
• Only 10% of MPs ever spoke in debates and only 47% of MPs voted, MPS did become more educated in Elizabeth’s reign - in 1553 only 26% of MPs had legal training, in 1593 this had risen to 44%, so were more able to question bills
• Elizabeth's Parliaments averaged 33 acts per session (more than any other Tudor monarch); used Royal Veto 34 times to stop laws, only 5 were State Matters, others due to poorly worded legislation or as they weren't public interest
• Year: 1559

  Date: 25 Jan - 8 May

  Key Issues: 1559 Religious Settlement and Start of reign supplies granted
• Year: 1563-7

  Date: 1st: 12 Jan - 10 April (63) 2nd: 30 Sept (66) - 2 Jan (67)

  Key Issues: Pressure on Elizabeth over the succession and Supplies required for foreign policy v the Auld Alliance
• Year: 1571

  Date: 2 April - 29 May

  Key Issues: Rising fear of Catholicism after the Northern Rising and the excommunication of Elizabeth by the Pope, also no supplies requested
• Year: 1572-81

  Date: 1st: 8 May - 30 June (72) 2nd: 8 Feb - 15 Mar (76)

  Key Issues: Peace time supplies requested
• Year: 1584-5

  Date: 1st: 16 Jan - 18 Mar (81) 2nd: 23 Nov (84) - 23 Mar (87)

  Key Issues: Concerns over the Queen’s safety, William of Orange assassinated and Babington Plot v Elizabeth
• Year: 1586-7

  Date: 29 Oct (86) - 23 Mar (85)

  Key Issues: The fate of Mary, Queen of Scots
• Year: 1589

  Date: 4 Feb - 29 Mar

  Key Issues: Supplies required to finance the Spanish War
• Year: 1593

  Date: 19 Feb - 10 April

  Key Issues: Supplies required to finance the Spanish War
• Year: 1597-8

  Date: 24 Oct (97) - 9 Feb (98)

  Key Issues: Supplies required to finance the Spanish War
• Year: 1601

  Date: 17 Oct - 19 Dec

  Key Issues: Supplies required to finance the Spanish War and Monopolies Crisis
• Some MPs felt Elizabeth should name a suitor to marry and produce an heir in order to secure the line of succession; signed petitions for it in 1559 and 1562
• Some Puritans MPs were unhappy about the Religious Settlement; n 1576 the Puritan MP, Peter Wentworth, complained that MPs about lack of freedom of discussion and 1586 Antony Cope attempted to eliminate bishops
• Towards the end of Elizabeth’s reign some MPs felt monopolies were unfair and were being abused; they protested against them in 1597-8 and 1601 and would not grant taxes until they had been withdrawn