'Bulmans book gives very welcome attention to the history of institutions and mundane political practice. The diligence and depth of the research he has undertaken on 16th- and 17th-century parliamentary practice is extremely impressive, and it will encourage a more creative understanding of the interaction of parliamentary forms and political outcomes.' Paul Seaward, Parliamentary History
1. Introduction; 2. Consensus in the Commons, 1547–1642; 3. Consensus imperiled, 1640–1641; 4. Consensus destroyed, 1641–1643; 5. Revolutionary decisions, 1643–1660; 6. The majority institutionalized, 1660–1800; 7. Little parliaments in the Atlantic Colonies, 1613–1789; 8. Conclusion.