Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, the Whig member for Sussex, was installed as Speaker of the House of Commons.

The leader of the Whig ministry in the House of Commons was James Stanhope, Secretary of State for the Southern Department.

For the next three years George I's ministry would be led jointly by Lord Sunderland and James Stanhope, with Townshend and Walpole in opposition.

However by 1721, with Sunderland now in the House of Lords, Stanhope dead and the crisis caused by the South Sea Bubble, both Townshend and Walpole had been able to get back into power, Townshend as Secretary of State and Walpole as First Lord of the Treasury in place of Sunderland.

Before the first session closed, the Septennial Act 1716 was passed, lengthening the life of parliaments to seven years.