Septennial Act 1716
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| Long title | An Act for enlarging the Time of Continuance of Parliaments, appointed by an Act made in the Sixth Year of the Reign of King William and Queen Mary, intituled An Act for the frequent meeting and calling of Parliaments |
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| Citation | 1 Geo 1 St 2 c 38 |
| Introduced by | Duke of Devonshire |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales and Scotland |
| Dates | |
| Repealed | 15 September 2011 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Parliament Act 1911 |
| Repealed by | Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 |
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Status: Repealed
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| Text of the Septennial Act 1716 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk | |
The Septennial Act 1716 (1 Geo 1 St 2 c 38), also known as the Septennial Act 1715, 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 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, 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 was amended on 18 August 1911 by section 7 of the Parliament Act 1911 to reduce the maximum term of parliament to five years.
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 repealed the Septennial Act in its entirety.
The text of the act is very short. As originally in force, it stated:
Be it enacted ... that this present Parliament, and all Parliaments that shall at any time hereafter be called, assembled, or held, shall and may respectively have continuance for seven years, and no longer, to be accounted from the day on which by the writ of summons this present Parliament hath been, or any future Parliament shall be, appointed to meet, unless this present or any such Parliament hereafter to be summoned shall be sooner dissolved by his Majesty, his heirs or successors.
The act overturned the provisions of the Triennial Act 1694.
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