The first Parliament of the newly formed Great Britain met initially on October 23, 1707. The first session began in earnest two days later. The Act of Union 1707 had merged the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, and the Kingdom of Great Britain had sprung into existence on May 1.

England's House of Commons ceased to exist but sent its members wholesale to sit in the House of Commons of Great Britain. Scotland's Parliament appointed 61 representatives to join the new Parliament of Great Britain.

John Smith, who had represented Andover since 1695, was elected the first Speaker of the House of Commons of Great Britain. Smith had been the Speaker of England's House of Commons since 1705.

The first Lord Speaker of the House of Lords of Great Britain was William Cowper, who had since late 1705 been Lord Keeper of the Seal, a high-ranking member of the government charged with keeping custody of the Great Seal of England.

The first Parliament of Great Britain had no Prime Minister. The post did not yet exist. (The first Prime Minister of Great Britain was Robert Walpole, who began serving in that capacity in 1721.)

Queen Anne was the official head of government. A three-person "advisory council"–consisting of John Churchill, Sidney Godolphin, and Robert Harly–nominally ran the government.