Union, Acts of

Act of Parliament of 1707 that brought about the union of England and Scotland; that of 1801 united England and Ireland.

The 1707 act, which abolished the Scottish parliament, decreed that 16 elected peers and 45 members of the House of Commons should represent Scotland at Westminster, but that the Scottish legal system and Presbyterian Church should remain separate. The 1801 act amalgamated the Irish and British parliaments, securing for Ireland a representation of 32 peers and 100 members. Irish representation was later increased to 103; but, since the creation of the independent Irish Free State in 1922 (now the Republic of Ireland), only the British province of Northern Ireland returns members to Westminster.