Parliamentary records of the United Kingdom covers the period from the creation of the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, wh ...

in 1707, including records from the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

and of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

Longest Parliament

The longest parliament to ''continuously'' sit in any of the United Kingdom’s constituent countries was England’s

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of C ...

, which sat for nearly 18 years from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. While the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septe ...

''legally'' sat for nearly 20 years from 3 November 1640 until 16 March 1660 (having passed an Act of Parliament stipulating it could not be dissolved except by consent of its members), it did not ''continuously'' sit for that time. It was purged by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...

in 1648 and disbanded in 1653. It reconvened in February 1660 only to dissolve itself the following month. The longest Parliament of the United Kingdom was the 37th Parliament elected at the 1935 election. It sat for almost 10 years throughout the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, being dissolved in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

Shortest Parliament

The aptly named

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks. Af ...

was the shortest parliament to sit in any of the United Kingdom’s constituent countries. It sat for just three weeks from 13 April until 5 May 1640. The shortest Parliament of the United Kingdom was the 3rd Parliament elected at the 1806 election. It sat for 138 days from 15 December 1806 until 27 April 1807.

Longest sitting

The longest single sitting of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

lasted from 16:00 on 31 January 1881 to 09:30 on 2 February, a duration of 41.5 hours. The session centred on "Protection of Person and Property in Ireland". The longest single sitting of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

lasted from 11:00 on 10 March 2005 to 19:31 on 11 March 2005, a duration of 32.5 hours (excluding breaks). The sitting centred on consideration of Commons amendments to the Prevention of Terrorism Bill.

Most divisions

The highest number of divisions in a single day in the House of Commons is 64 on 23–24 March 1971, of which 57 occurred between midnight and noon.

Longest speech

The longest continuous speech on record is that of

Henry Peter Brougham Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, (; 19 September 1778 – 7 May 1868) was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor and played a prominent role in passing the 1832 Reform Act and 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. ...

on 7 February 1828 when he spoke for six hours on law reform. He subsequently set the same record in the

on 7 October 1831 again speaking for six hours during the second reading of the

Reform Act In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

. Since stricter standing orders were introduced, the longest back-bench speech was given by

Ivan Lawrence Sir Ivan John Lawrence (born 24 December 1936) is a former British Conservative Member of Parliament and criminal barrister. Early life and legal career Born in Brighton, Lawrence was the only child of parents of Russian-Romanian Jewish descen ...

on 5–6 March 1985 speaking for 263 minutes against the

Water Fluoridation Bill Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

Most votes cast

The most votes cast in a single division is 660 in the

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

(350-310) against the government of the

Marquess of Salisbury Marquess of Salisbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for the 7th Earl of Salisbury. Most of the holders of the title have been prominent in British political life over the last two centuries, particularly th ...

on 11 August 1892. There were 665 out of 670 Members taking part in the division as each side put up two tellers to count the votes, and the Speaker of the House of Commons remained in the Chair. Two seats were vacant, and only three Members failed to take part, two being ill and one absent in Australia.

Fewest votes cast

The fewest votes cast in a single division is one, in a vote on whether to adjourn debate on the British Railways Bill at 01:33 on 24 July 1974.Hansard for 24 July 1974
at hansard.millbanksystems.com

References

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