Their attitude was further hardened by the King's alliance with the Scots, which resulted in the Second Civil War during 1648, and by his refusal to compromise in negotiations for a settlement even when the Royalists had been defeated a second time. By then the attention of the Army radicals had shifted to the removal of MPs opposed to bringing the King to account. In November 1647, Lieutenant-Colonel Jubbes proposed the purging of Parliament at the Putney Debates. This display of force coerced many Presbyterians into withdrawing from Parliament, leaving the House of Commons for a time with an Independent majority whose views were broadly in line with those of the Army.

On 20 August 1647, Cromwell stationed a cavalry regiment at Hyde Park and marched under armed escort to take his seat in the House of Commons. Lieutenant-General Cromwell supported the Agitators at this time but a full purge was prevented by the opposition of General Fairfax. The Army occupied London in August, after which Agitators again demanded a purge, resulting in the departure from London of several of the Eleven Members, who were regarded as the Army's leading opponents in Parliament. It was presented to Parliament in June 1647 at a time when Presbyterian MPs were attempting to disband the New Model Army without settlement of the soldiers' grievances. The purging of Parliament was first proposed after the ending of the First Civil War in the manifesto known as the Representation of the Army. The purge cleared the way for the execution of Charles in January 1649, and establishment of the Protectorate in 1653 it is considered the only recorded military coup d'état in English history.The purging of MPs of the Long Parliament hostile to the politicised New Model Army, The next day, soldiers commanded by Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly excluded from the Long Parliament those MPs viewed as their opponents, and arrested 45. The result was the 1648 Second English Civil War, in which he was defeated once again.Ĭonvinced only his removal could end the conflict, senior commanders of the New Model Army took control of London on 5 December. This allowed him to create an alliance with Scots Covenanters and Parliamentarian moderates to restore him to the English throne. Removal from the Long Parliament of members considered to be opponents of the New Model Armyĭespite defeat in the First English Civil War, Charles I retained significant political power. Colonel Pride refusing admission to the secluded members of the Long Parliament.

Pride's Purge by David Underdown