Westminster's Archaeology

I was down in London yesterday - and stopped in the Museum of London. I'm so excited - I bought the report entitled "The royal palace, abbey and town of Westminster on Thorney Island: Archaeological excavations (1991-8) for the London Underground Limited Jubilee Extension Project". A bit of a mouthful, but what a find. It has maps of the area from prehistory to the modern day. It is possible (thanks to photocopying onto transparencies) to compare each period with the modern streets and buildings. It gives such an insight into the way the area developed (and why).

I hope to share some of the findings over coming weeks.

Coming Soon....

Washminster will return on Saturday 1st September. Initially I am aiming for a post, on average, every other day - but this will increase shortly. Please do pass the message on about the return of this blog.

In particular this blog should be of interest to those

* who are studying Law and Politics - particularly of the US and the UK
* who enjoy British history
* who enjoy US history
* who are interested in French and EU Government, politics and history
* who enjoying thinking about the practical application of political ideas
* who take an interest in UK, US & French election

so if any of those describe YOU - please subscribe to Washminster. If they describe any of your friends or students - drop them an email - or post about Washminster on Facebook or Twitter.

Many thanks

David

Clowance

I spent the last two weeks of 2011 in Clowance, Cornwall - a welcome break after a busy year - and a chance to recharge the batteries for a very exciting & busy 2012. But even in the remote location we were based in, there were links to Parliament (No, I didn't spend the two weeks reading old copies of Hansard - actually that's not entirely true - one evening I spent reading on the archive site speeches and questions relating to Milton Keynes - on Saturday how I wished that the proposed route from Swindon to Milton Keynes to the East Coast ports had actually come to fruition!! - and the history of the Open University).

Our "apartment" was in the old coach house next to the main house at Clowance. (hyperlinks take you to the National Heritage List for England - and the relevant entries). Clowance was the home of the St Aubyn family. From April 1554, when William St Aubyn was returned for Helston (a town we visited a couple of times during the holiday) until Sir John Aubyn, Liberal Unionist MP for St Ives (a town we spent even more time in) was made Lord St Levan in 1887 - the family has had MPs in most parliaments. In my post of 9th December 2008 (we spent the week before Christmas in Clowance that year), I described one of these MPs Sir John Aubyn who  has his own little place in history. While Lord St Levan was a Liberal most of his ancestors were Tories. The 3rd Baronet (profiled in my 2008 post) has been described as "an extreme Tory" and "one of the Tory leaders in the House of Commons under George II". Colonel John St Aubyn (MP Tregony April 1640; Cornwall 1656; St Ives 1659 and 1660) sided with the Parliamentarians in the Civil War, but in 1659 called for a free Parliament and served in the Convention Parliament of 1660.

It is possible now to access "The History of Parliament" via the internet. While some parts remain to be published - it is possible (yes, I was that sad on holiday) to research constituencies and members - or even families of MPs.

The coach house is at the top of the picture - the main house at the bottom right. Between the two is the leisure complex.

Parliament Act 1911

Last week I attended  the  History of Parliament lecture given by Lord Norton of Louth (Philip Norton) "Resisting the Inevitable? The Parliament Act 1911". It was a very informative and interesting speech - which is available on BBC iPlayer at  http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b0170422/.

Can I also recommend taking a look at the History of Parliament website, and at Parliament's webpages with resources on the 1911 Act.
(http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/houseoflords/parliamentacts/)

Lord Norton blogs on both the Lords of the Blog and his own personal blog.

History

A love of history is very useful for studying law and politics. For one thing human nature doesn't change. Lord Acton's dictum that "power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely" was true in Ancient Greece and Rome; in Medieval England - and is true today (which is why law is needed to curb these tendencies).

History is particularly useful for understanding Common Law systems - such as those in the UK and USA. It can explainthe background to current practice - and makes certain odd behaviour - in Parliament and Congress - understandable.

Websites relating to the institutions of Government have history links - follow the links below -

UK Parliament
UK Supreme Court

US Congress - House of Representatives
US Congress - Senate
US Supreme Court

Numbers

A Congress runs from noon on the 3rd January (20th Amendment Section I) in an odd numbered year until it expires exactly two years later. There may be, as this year, a "lame duck" session after the elections until both House and Senate adjourn "Sine Die" (which is done by a concurrent resolution). Unless recalled in an emergency, and the concurrent resolution normally has provisions for recall authority, the Congress then doesn't meet until it automatically expires. The First meeting of the New Congress may be on 3rd January or a later date agreed in advance. Each Congress is numbered, from the first which met in 1789. So the Congress which come into existence in eight weeks time will be the 112th Congress of the United States. The House is renewed for each Congress, but the Senate regards itself as a continuing body. (A very important point, which we will return to in future posts about the Cloture rules).

The dates and numbers of recent Congresses are

Number     Dates       House Majority      Senate Majority

93rd     1973-1975         Dem                        Dem
94th     1975-1977         Dem                         Dem

95th     1977-1979         Dem                         Dem
96th     1979-1981         Dem                         Dem
97th     1981-1983         Dem                         Rep
98th     1983-1985         Dem                         Rep
99th     1985-1987         Dem                         Rep
100th   1987-1989         Dem                         Dem
101st   1989-1991         Dem                         Dem
102nd  1991-1993         Dem                         Dem
103rd  1993-1995         Dem                         Dem
104th   1995-1997         Rep                          Rep
105th   1997-1999         Rep                          Rep
106th   1999-2001         Rep                          Rep
107th   2001-2003         Rep                          Dem/Rep (Jan 20-Jun 6 2001)/Dem
108th   2003-2005         Rep                          Rep
109th   2005-2007         Rep                          Rep
110th   2007-2009         Dem                        Dem
111th   2009-2011         Dem                        Dem
112th   2011-2013         Rep                         Dem

In the United Kingdom the numbers are not so widely used. Instead the common practice is to refer to a Parliament by the year (or of there are two General Elections in one year, by month and year) of its first meeting. However, officuially the current Parliament is recognised as the 55th Parliament of the United Kingdom. (The Printed version of Hansard each Monday begins - "IN THE FIRST SESSION OF THE FIFTY-FIFTH PARLIAMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND [WHICH OPENED 18 MAY 2010]"

No.     Election          Government

46th    Feb 1974       Labour
47th    Oct 1974       Labour
48th    1979              Conservative
49th    1983              Conservative
50th    1987              Conservative
51st    1992              Conservative
52nd   1997              Labour
53rd    2001             Labour
54th     2005             Labour
55th     2010             Conservative/Liberal Democrat

Early Parliaments

English Kings had long taken advice in formal settings. In Anglo Saxon times the 'wise men' of the kingdom [the 'Witan'] met as the Witenagemot to discuss legislation and taxes.

The Norman 'King's Council' carried out similar functions. It was only in the 13th Century that the term "Parliament" came into use - it means talking or discussing.

Simon de Montfort is often credited as being the first to call persons other than the nobility and church leaders to a parliament. In 1264 he summoned burgesses in addition to the normal membership, at a parliament called in the midst of a rebellion against King Henry III. But it was the Model Parliament of 1295 which set the pattern of inviting the nobility; leading churchmen plus two knights from each county and two burgesses from each Borough (Citizens if they were from a city) to a meeting of Parliament.

By 1332 it had become the normal practice for the Knights; Citizens and Burgesses [House of Commons] to meet separetly from the nobles and churchmen [House of Lords].