House of Commons of the United Kingdom information
Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
"British House of Commons" redirects here. For the House of Commons from 1707 to 1800, see House of Commons of Great Britain. For other bodies in British history and abroad, see House of Commons.
The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled
58th UK Parliament
Logo used to represent the House of Commons
Flag of the House of Commons
Type
Type
Lower house
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Leadership
Speaker
Sir Lindsay Hoyle since 4 November 2019
Deputy Speaker
Dame Eleanor Laing, Conservative since 8 January 2020
Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak, Conservative since 25 October 2022
Leader of the House
Penny Mordaunt, Conservative since 6 September 2022
Government Chief Whip
Simon Hart, Conservative since 25 October 2022
Leader of the Opposition
Sir Keir Starmer, Labour since 4 April 2020
Shadow Leader of the House
Lucy Powell, Labour since 4 September 2023
Opposition Chief Whip
Sir Alan Campbell, Labour since 9 May 2021
Structure
Seats
650
Political groups
HM Government
Conservative Party (348)
HM Most Loyal Opposition
Labour Party (200)[a]
Other opposition
Scottish National Party (43)
Liberal Democrats (15)
Democratic Unionist Party (8)
Plaid Cymru (3)
Alba Party (2)
SDLP (2)
Alliance Party (1)
Green Party (1)
Reform UK (1)
Workers Party (1)
Independents (16)[b]
Abstentionists
Sinn Féin (7)
Presiding officer
Speaker (1)
Vacant seats
Vacant (1)
Length of term
Up to five years[c]
Elections
Voting system
First-past-the-post
Last election
12 December 2019
Next election
No later than 28 January 2025
Redistricting
Recommendations by the boundary commissions; confirmation by King-in-Council.
Meeting place
House of Commons chamber Palace of Westminster City of Westminster London, England United Kingdom
Website
www.parliament.uk/business/commons/
This article is part of a series on the
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Logo of the House of Commons
Members
Current members of the 58th Parliament
2019 general election
England
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales
Leadership
Speaker
Leader
Shadow Leader
Father of the House
Committees
Committees of the House of Commons
Places
Palace of Westminster
House of Commons Chamber
Portcullis House
Library
Virtual House
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e
The House of Commons[d] is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as members of Parliament (MPs). MPs are elected to represent constituencies by the first-past-the-post system and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved.
The House of Commons of England began to evolve in the 13th and 14th centuries. In 1707 it became the House of Commons of Great Britain after the political union with Scotland, and from 1801 it also became the House of Commons for Ireland after the political union of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, the body became the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland after the independence of the Irish Free State. Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, the Lords' power to reject legislation was reduced to a delaying power. The government is solely responsible to the House of Commons and the prime minister stays in office only as long as they retain the confidence of a majority of the Commons.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^Forsyth, Christopher (1 January 2011). "The definition of Parliament after Jackson: Can the life of Parliament be extended under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949?". International Journal of Constitutional Law. 9 (1). Oxford University Press: 132–143. doi:10.1093/icon/mor019. OCLC 5113464158. S2CID 144226994.
^Foreign Affairs Committee; Gapes, Mike (2008). Overseas Territories: Seventh Report of Session 2007–08. Vol. 2. London: The Stationery Office. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-215-52150-7. OCLC 940357336.
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