Westminster System

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of the nation generally. The precedent of 1265, although not regularly followed for many years afterwards, laid the groundwork for a representative House of Commons which advises on the wider issues of State.

The two Houses of the British Parliament we know today emerged sometime between Edward I's "Model Parliament" in 1295 and 1347. Under Edward I (1272-1307), the Parliament (then more of an event than an institution) comprised three estates who sat and voted separately:


knights sitting with the greater barons and religious leaders;

the clergy; and

the burgesses.
By 1347, the knights had detached from the greater barons and, along with the clergy, combined with the burgesses to form the House of Commons. Commons originally meant "communities" (and not "commoners" as is often thought), as members of the House of Commons were the community representatives of cities, shires and boroughs. The House of Lords comprised religious leaders (Lords Spiritual) and magnates (Lords Temporal), later known as "peers" - equal among themsel...