March 1679 English general election

March 1679 English general election

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First party Second party Third party   Leader Anthony Ashley Cooper John Ernle Party Whig Tory Unknown Seats won 218 137 167 Seat change 79 242

The March 1679 English general election resulted in the Habeas Corpus Parliament, named after the Habeas Corpus Act, which it enacted in May, 1679 to define and strengthen the ancient prerogative writ benefitting all subjects. It was dissolved while in recess on 12 July 1679.

On the current issue of excluding the King's younger brother from the succession to the throne, 218 members were in favour of the Exclusion Bill, while 137 were opposed. However, 167 members did not attend the parliament at all, so their view about Exclusion is unknown.