15-591: The Septennial Act 1715 ( 1 Geo. 1. St. 2 . c. 38), sometimes called the Septennial Act 1716 , was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain . It was passed in May 1716. It increased the maximum length of a parliament (and hence the maximum period between general elections ) from three years to seven. This seven-year ceiling remained in law from 1716 until 1911. The previous limit of three years had been set by
30-411: A distinction between "a Constitution established by the people and unalterable by the government, and a law established by the government and alterable by the government." The Act was also criticized by Thomas Paine and Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke . In Dissertation upon Parties , Bolingbroke wrote that the "constitution is the rule by which our princes ought to govern at all times". During
45-555: Is a complete list of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the year 1714 . For acts passed until 1707, see the list of acts of the Parliament of England and the list of acts of the Parliament of Scotland . See also the list of acts of the Parliament of Ireland . For acts passed from 1801 onwards, see the list of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . For acts of the devolved parliaments and assemblies in
60-661: The First World War , a series of Acts was passed to prolong the life of the parliament elected in December 1910 until the end of the war in 1918. A series of annual Acts was also passed during the Second World War to prolong the parliament elected at the 1935 general election until the war in Europe had ended in mid-1945. 1 Geo. 1. St. 2 Interregnum (1642–1660) Rescinded (1639–1651) This
75-479: The Triennial Act 1694 , enacted by the Parliament of England . The act's ostensible aim was to reduce the expense caused by frequent elections. It did not require Parliament to last for a full term, but merely set a maximum length on its life. Most parliaments in the remainder of the eighteenth century did indeed last for six or seven years, with only two lasting for a shorter time. In the nineteenth century,
90-597: The list of acts of the Parliament of Scotland . For acts passed from 1707 to 1800, see the list of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain . See also the list of acts of the Parliament of Ireland . For acts of the devolved parliaments and assemblies in the United Kingdom, see the lists of acts of the Scottish Parliament , the list of acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly , and the list of acts and measures of Senedd Cymru ; see also
105-413: The Parliament of Great Britain were deemed to have come into effect on the first day of the session in which they were passed. Because of this, the years given in the list below may in fact be the year before a particular act was passed. The second session of the 4th Parliament of Great Britain , which met from 1 August 1714 until 25 August 1714. There were no private acts in this session. This session
120-485: The Parliament of the United Kingdom This is a list of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from its establishment in 1801 up until the present. Note that the first parliament of the United Kingdom was held in 1801; parliaments between 1707 and 1800 were either parliaments of Great Britain or of Ireland . For acts passed up until 1707, see the list of acts of the Parliament of England and
135-530: The Septennial Act 1715 in its entirety. It has since been reenacted, with minor differences, as section 4 of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 . The text of the act is very short. As originally in force, it stated: The act overturned certain provisions of the Triennial Act 1694 . The ostensible aim of the Septennial Act 1715 was, by reducing the frequency of elections, to reduce
150-428: The United Kingdom, see the list of acts of the Scottish Parliament , the list of acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly , and the list of acts and measures of Senedd Cymru ; see also the list of acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland . The number shown after each act's title is its chapter number. Acts are cited using this number, preceded by the year(s) of the reign during which the relevant parliamentary session
165-520: The average length of a term of the Parliament of the United Kingdom was four years. One of the demands of the mid-nineteenth century Chartists —the only one that had not been achieved by the twentieth century—was for annually elected parliaments. The Septennial Act 1715 was amended on 18 August 1911 by section 7 of the Parliament Act 1911 to reduce the maximum term of a parliament to five years. The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 repealed
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#1732766223717180-509: The cost during a given period of holding them. However, it may have had the effect of keeping the Whig party, which had won the 1715 general election , in power for a longer time. The Whigs won the following general election in 1722 . James Madison used the Septennial Act 1715 as an illustrative example of the difference between the traditional British system and the revolutionary new American constitution . In Federalist No. 53 Madison drew
195-547: The first session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom are both cited as "41 Geo. 3". Acts passed by the Parliament of Great Britain did not have a short title ; however, some of these acts have subsequently been given a short title by acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (such as the Short Titles Act 1896 ). Before the Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793 came into force on 8 April 1793, acts passed by
210-511: Was also traditionally cited as 1 Geo. 1 , 1 Geo. 1. st. 1 , 1 Geo. 1. Stat. 1 , 1 Geo. 1. stat. 1 , 1 G. 1 , 1 G. 1. St. 1 , 1 G. 1. st. 1 , 1 G. 1. Stat. 1 or 1 G. 1. stat. 1 . The first session of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain , which met from 17 March 1715 until 26 June 1716. This session was also traditionally cited as 1 Geo. 1. st. 2 , 1 Geo. 1. Stat. 2 , 1 Geo. 1. stat. 2 , 1 G. 1. St. 2 , 1 G. 1. st. 2 , 1 G. 1. Stat. 2 or 1 G. 1. stat. 2 . List of acts of
225-479: Was held; thus the Union with Ireland Act 1800 is cited as "39 & 40 Geo. 3. c. 67", meaning the 67th act passed during the session that started in the 39th year of the reign of George III and which finished in the 40th year of that reign. Note that the modern convention is to use Arabic numerals in citations (thus "41 Geo. 3" rather than "41 Geo. III"). Acts of the last session of the Parliament of Great Britain and
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