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James II (brother of Charles II) tried to restore Catholicism by rigorous measures, he was very unpopular and finally even lost the support of the Tories. But the throne was offered to Mary and her Protestant husband, William of Orange, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, so James fled to France. This "Glorious Revolution" (1688) marks the end of the old fight between King and Parliament.
The Parliament was supreme - William and Mary, who ruled very jointly, had to sign the
Bill of Rights (1689), giving Parliament all the rights of law-making and taxation. - From now on the Kings formed their Cabinets from the strongest party in Parliament.
Chief provisions of the Bill of Rights:
* Parliament to control legislation and taxation
* No standing army without consent of Parliament
* No excessive fines and cruel punishments
* Free election of members to Parliament
* Freedom of speech, supplemented in 1695 by abolition of censorship in printing
* Parliaments to be held frequently
The Time after the Glorious Revolution saw the end of the idea of the Divine Right of King; the monarch no longer held office by the grace of God, but by the grace of Parliament.
The Cabinet became responsible to Parliament, not to the King. Since 1707 no English monarch has vetoed an Act of Parliament.
The Bill of Rights is the nearest approach to a written constitution of Britain.
A few further Act passed under the rule of William and Mary:
- Toleration Act, (1689), granted Dissenters freedom of worship, in practice also extended to Catholics.
- Triennial Act, (1694), provided that no Parliament should continue longer than three years.
- Act of Settlement, (1701), this act contained important constitutional provisions:
* The Sovereign must be member of the Curch of England
* He must not leave the country without the consent of Parliament
* The nation shall not be involved in any war of defence of territories not belonging to the
Crown of England without the consent of Parliament
* Foreigners shall not be eligible for offices or membership of either House of Parliament or
to have any grant of lands from the Crown.
* Persons holding offices under the Crown or receiving pensions from the Crown shall not
be members of the House of Commons.
The Act of Settlement and other statutes provided for a maximum interval between elections to the House of Commons (still on a very narrow franchise), and declared that new lawes and taxes must be approved by Parliament and by monarch. But there was no formal restriction on the types of laws that might be passed. Any existing law could be replaced by a new one, this provided that it passes through the prescribed process.
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