Rump Parliament - Rump Parliament's Membership, Attendance, and Allegiances

Rump Parliament's Membership, Attendance, and Allegiances

Although an exact number hasn't been pinned down, it is estimated that there were about 210 members of the Rump Parliament. This was approximately a fifty percent decrease from the 470 member enrollment of the Long Parliament before the Purge. Though nine new members were admitted to the Rump parliament, the vast majority of the Rumpers were transferred from the long parliament.

Most Rumpers still regarded many purged colleagues as “members of parliament” and remained hopeful that the excluded members would be readmitted. “The Rump did not think of itself as a corporate political entity distinct in membership, aims and character from the long parliament”. Despite the rump’s lack of distinctiveness, there were a variety of reasons why people wanted to be a part of the Rump Parliament. Some members stayed in the Rump Parliament because they genuinely supported revolutionary changes, while others were only there for financial advantage, civilian power, or to satisfy their relish for political activity. Because of the varied energies within the Rump, the parliament divided into two categories, front benchers and back benchers, meaning, those who attended parliament regularly and those who did not.

Only about one third of the Rump Parliament became front benchers who were consistently present and engaged in their parliamentary position. The other two thirds were back benchers, or essentially, part timers who had inconsistent attendance. Within the active third of the rump, there were many family allegiances, local allegiances and most importantly, common interest groups. The majority of active rumpers could fit into one of the two common interest categories:

1. Members of Parliament who were professional lawyers and cooperated to oppose the reformation of the English Legal System. Some of the best known lawyer allies were Bulstrode Whitelocke and Sir Thomas Widdrington, and Nicholas Lechmere and Lisliborne Long.
2. Members who were particularly concerned with commercial matters and politics in the city of London. Three remarkable pairs of allies in this category are Jon Venn and Miles Corbet, Isaac Pennington and Thomas Atkin, and Frances Allen and Richard Salwey.

Although lawyers and merchants were a minority compared to the large number of rural land lords that occupied the Rump Parliament, their interest groups’ energy and cohesiveness was able largely influence Rump politics.