Useless Parliament

[3] Thomas Crewe was again elected as Speaker of the House of Commons, having served in that office previously, but this led Sir John Eliot to refer to the position as "frequently filled by nullities, men selected for mere Court convenience".

[7] The king was greatly troubled and provoked by this, as tonnage and poundage had long provided the Crown's main source of income.

Some parliamentarians were anxious about the king's wish to send forces to take part in the Thirty Years' War on the continent of Europe and also about his reputation for extravagance,[7] but it is now argued that their collective intention was to review such duties generally, giving the king tonnage and poundage for a year pending negotiations on reform.

[5] At the end of July, a severe intensification of the bubonic plague in London led to the king's court and Parliament being temporarily moved to Oxford.

[9] After the parliament was dissolved, the king's favourites encouraged his belief in having a divine right to rule his kingdoms as he wished and urged him to do without the constitutional means of raising revenue, instead using arbitrary measures which in some cases were of uncertain lawfulness.