At first the burgesses were almost entirely powerless, and while the right to representation of each English county quickly became indisputable, the monarch could enfranchise or disfranchise boroughs at pleasure.

During the Good Parliament of 1376, the Commons appointed Peter de la Mare to convey to the Lords their complaints of heavy taxes, demands for an accounting of the royal expenditures, and criticism of the King's management of the military.

The influence of the Crown was increased by the civil wars of the late fifteenth century, which significantly diminished the power of the great noblemen.

The Reformation Parliament, called by Henry VIII after Cardinal Wolsey failed to secure a divorce from Catherine of Aragon and sitting from 1529 to 1536 made laws affecting all aspects of national life, but especially with regard to religious matters previously reserved to the church.

Though acting at the behest and under the direction of the King and his leading minister, Thomas Cromwell, Parliament was acquiring universal legal competence and responsibility for all matters affecting the realm.

When the House of Stuart came to the English throne in 1603, the dependence of the Crown on Parliament for sufficient revenue to fund the operations of government returned as an issue and point of leverage.

The first two Stuart monarchs, James I and Charles I, provoked conflicts with the Commons over issues such as taxation, religion, and royal powers.