British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and is now the dominant branch of Parliament. Parliament also includes the Sovereign and the upper house, the House of Lords. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members of Parliament" or "MPs." Members are elected by the first past the post system of election for limited terms, holding office until Parliament is dissolved (a maximum of five years). Each member is elected by, and represents, an electoral district known as a constituency. The House of Commons is the source of the vast majority of government ministers and, since 1963, every Prime Minister.

Procedure

Like the House of Lords, the House of Commons meets in the Palace of Westminster in London. The Commons Chamber is small and modestly decorated in green, in contrast with the large, lavishly furnished red Lords Chamber. There are benches on two sides of the Chamber, divided by a centre aisle. This arrangement reflects the design of St Stephen's Chapel, which served as the home of the House of Commons until destroyed by fire in 1834. The Speaker's chair is at one end of the Chamber; in front of it is the Table of the House, on which the Mace rests. The Clerks sit at one end of the Table, close to the Speaker so that they may advise him or her on procedure when necessary. Members of the Government sit on the benches on the Speaker's right, whilst members of the Opposition occupy the benches on the Speaker's left.

Related Topics:
St Stephen's Chapel - 1834

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In front of each set of benches, a red line is drawn on the carpet. The red lines in front of the two sets of benches are two-sword lengths apart; a Member is traditionally not allowed to cross the line during debates, for he or she is then supposed to be able to attack an individual on the opposite side. Government ministers and important Opposition leaders sit on the front rows, and are known as "frontbenchers." Other Members of Parliament, in contrast, are known as "backbenchers." Oddly, all Members of Parliament cannot fit in the Chamber, which can only seat 437 of the 646 Members. Members who arrive late must stand near the entrance of the House if they wish to listen to debates. Sittings in the Chamber are held each day from Monday to Thursday, and also on some Fridays. During times of national emergency, the House may also sit on Saturdays.

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Due to recent reforms, the House of Commons sometimes meets in another chamber in the Palace of Westminster, known as Westminster Hall. Debates in Westminster Hall are generally uncontroversial or non-partisan; business which leads to actual votes must still be conducted in the main Chamber. Westminster Hall sittings take place each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. A morning session and an evening sitting occurs on each of these days.

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Sittings of the House are open to the public, but the House may at any time vote to sit in private. Traditionally, a Member who desired that the House sit privately could shout "I spy strangers," and a vote would automatically follow. More often, however, this device was used to delay and disrupt debates; it was abolished in 1998. Now, Members seeking that the House sit in private must make a formal motion to that effect. Public debates are broadcast on the radio, and on television by BBC Parliament, and are recorded in Hansard.

Related Topics:
1998 - Radio - Television - BBC Parliament - Hansard

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Sessions of the House of Commons have often been disrupted by angry protesters who hurl objects into the Chamber from the Strangers Gallery and other galleries. Items which have been thrown into the House include leaflets, manure, flour (see Fathers 4 Justice House of Commons protest), and a canister of chlorobenzylidene malonitrile. Even members have been known to disturb proceedings of the House; for instance, in 1976, Conservative MP Michael Heseltine seized and brandished the Mace of the House during a heated debate. Perhaps the most famous disruption of the House of Commons was caused by King Charles I, who entered the Commons Chamber in 1642 with an armed force in order to arrest five Members of Parliament who belonged to an anti-royalist faction. This action, however, was deemed a grave breach of the privilege of Parliament.

Related Topics:
Strangers Gallery - Fathers 4 Justice House of Commons protest - Chlorobenzylidene malonitrile - 1976 - Michael Heseltine - Charles I - 1642

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By a custom which has been strictly maintained since 1642, no monarch has sought to set foot in the Commons Chamber. Another tradition that arose from Charles I's actions involves the State Opening of Parliament, an annual ceremony in the Lords Chamber during which the Sovereign, in the presence of Members of both Houses, delivers an address on the Government's legislative agenda. The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod (a Lords official) is responsible for summoning the Commons to the Lords Chamber; when he arrives to deliver his summons, the doors of the Commons Chamber are shut, symbolising the right of the Lower House to debate without interference. The Gentleman Usher knocks on the door thrice with his Black Rod, and only then is he granted admittance.

Related Topics:
State Opening of Parliament - Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod

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During debates, Members may only speak if called upon by the Speaker (or the Deputy Speaker, if the Speaker is not presiding). Traditionally, the presiding officer alternates between calling Members from the Government and Opposition. The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and other leaders from both sides are normally given priority when more than one Member rises to speak at the same time. Formerly, all Privy Counsellors were granted priority; however, the modernisation of Commons procedure led to the abolition of this tradition in 1998.

Related Topics:
Privy Counsellors - 1998

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Speeches are addressed to the presiding officer, using the words "Mr Speaker," "Madam Speaker," "Mr Deputy Speaker," or "Madam Deputy Speaker." Only the presiding officer may be directly addressed in speeches; other Members must be referred to in the third person. Traditionally, Members do not refer to each other by name, but by constituency, using forms such as "the Honourable Member for ," or, in the case of Privy Counsellors, "the Right Honourable Member for ." The Speaker enforces the rules of the House, and may warn and punish Members who deviate from them. Disregarding the Speaker's instructions is considered a severe breach of the rules of the House, and may result in the suspension of the offender from the House. In the case of grave disorder, the Speaker may adjourn the House without taking a vote.

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The Standing Orders of the House of Commons do not establish any formal time limits for debates. The Speaker may, however, order a Member who persists in making a tediously repetitive or irrelevant speech to stop speaking. The time set aside for debate on a particular motion is, however, often limited by informal agreements between the parties. Debate may, however, be restricted by the passage of "Allocation of Time Motions", which are more commonly known as "Guillotine Motions." Alternatively, the House may put an immediate end to debate by passing a motion to invoke the Closure. The Speaker is allowed to deny the motion if he or she believes that it infringes upon the rights of the minority.

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When the debate concludes, or when the Closure is invoked, the motion in question is put to a vote. The House first votes by voice vote; the Speaker or Deputy Speaker puts the question, and Members respond either "Aye" (in favour of the motion) or "No" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote, but if his or her assessment is challenged by any Member, a recorded vote known as a division follows. (The presiding officer, if he or she believes that the result of the voice vote is so clear that a division is not necessary, may reject the challenge.) If a division does occur, Members enter one of two lobbies (the "Aye" lobby or the "No" lobby) on either side of the Chamber, where their names are recorded by clerks. At each lobby are two Tellers (themselves Members of the House) who count the votes of the Members.

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Once the division concludes, the Tellers provide the results to the presiding officer, who then announces them to the House. If there is an equality of votes, the Speaker or Deputy Speaker has a casting vote. The quorum of the House of Commons is forty members for any vote; if fewer than forty members have participated, the division is invalid. Formerly, if a Member sought to raise a point of order during a division, he was required to wear a hat, thereby signalling that he was not engaging in debate. Collapsible top hats were kept in the Chamber just for this purpose. This custom was discontinued in 1998.

Related Topics:
Casting vote - 1998

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The outcome of most votes is largely known beforehand, since political parties normally instruct members on how to vote. A party normally entrusts some Members of Parliament, known as whips, with the task of ensuring that all party Members vote as desired. Members of Parliament do not tend to vote against such instructions, since those who do so are unlikely to reach higher political ranks in their parties. Errant Members may be deselected as official party candidates during future elections, and, in serious cases, may be expelled from their parties outright. Thus, the independence of Members of Parliament tends to be extremely low, and "backbench rebellions" by Members discontent with their party's policies are rare. In some circumstances, however, parties announce "free votes", allowing Members to vote as they please. Votes relating to issues of conscience such as abortion and capital punishment are typically free votes.

Related Topics:
Whips - Free vote - Abortion - Capital punishment

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