Pride’s Purge

In Pride’s Purge in 1648, the army removed MPs who opposed its plans, leaving the reduced Commons known as the Rump Parliament. This helped clear the way for Charles’s trial. The army had moved from fighting on Parliament’s behalf to determining which MPs could exercise parliamentary authority.

In December 1648, the Army removed MPs who supported further negotiations in Pride’s Purge. Rather than persuading the whole Parliament to abandon negotiation, it excluded opponents of its preferred course. The reduced body became known as the Rump Parliament: it was what remained of the Long Parliament, not a newly elected assembly.