Under the Triennial Act, the Parliament was due to expire, if not dissolved sooner, at the end of the term of three years from the first meeting.

[1] This was largely due to anti-Government feelings caused by the trial of Henry Sacheverell for verbally attacking dissenters and a growing anti-war sentiment.

William Bromley, Member of Parliament for Oxford University, was installed as Speaker of the House of Commons.

At the start of the second session the terms of a peace deal with France were defeated by the Whigs.

Harley then adroitly engineered condemnation of Britain's allies in the peace talks and by the end of the second session had got decisive backing for his policy of acting alone.