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.

Relationship with the Government

Though it does not elect the Prime Minister, the House of Commons indirectly controls the premiership. By convention, the Prime Minister is answerable to, and must maintain the support of, the House of Commons. Thus, whenever the office of Prime Minister falls vacant, the Sovereign appoints the person most likely to command the support of the House—normally, the leader of the largest party in the Lower House. (The leader of the second-largest party becomes the Leader of the Opposition.) In modern times, and practically by convention, the Prime Minister is always a member of the House of Commons, rather than the House of Lords.

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The Prime Minister may only stay in office as long as he or she retains the confidence of the House of Commons. The Lower House may indicate its lack of support for the Government by rejecting a Motion of Confidence, or by passing a Motion of No Confidence. Confidence and No Confidence Motions are sometimes phrased explicitly, for instance: "That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government." Many other motions are considered confidence issues, even though not explicitly phrased as such. In particular, important bills that form a part of the Government's agenda are generally considered matters of confidence, as is the annual Budget. When a Government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, the Prime Minister is obliged to either resign, or request the monarch to dissolve Parliament, thereby precipitating a general election.

Related Topics:
Motion of Confidence - Motion of No Confidence

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Except when compelled to do so by an adverse vote on a confidence issue, the Prime Minister is allowed to choose the timing of dissolutions, and consequently the timing of general elections. The timing reflects political considerations, and is generally most opportune for the Prime Minister's party. However, no parliamentary term can last for more than five years; a dissolution is automatic upon the expiry of this period. Parliament is almost never permitted to sit for the maximum possible term, with dissolutions customarily being requested earlier.

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Whatever the reason—the expiry of Parliament's five year term, the choice of the Prime Minister, or a Government defeat in the House of Commons—a dissolution is followed by general elections. If the Prime Minister's party retains its majority in the House of Commons, then the Prime Minister may remain in power. On the other hand, if his or her party has lost its majority, the Prime Minister is compelled to resign, allowing the Sovereign to appoint a new Prime Minister. One may note that a Prime Minister may resign even if he or she is not defeated at the polls (for example, for personal health reasons); in such a case, the premiership goes to the new leader of the outgoing Prime Minister's party.

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In modern times, the House of Commons rather than the Lords is the source of most government ministers. By constitutional convention, all ministers must be members of the House of Commons or House of Lords. A handful have been appointed who are outside Parliament but in most cases they subsequently entered Parliament either by means of a by-election or receiving a peerage. Since 1902, all Prime Ministers have been members of the Commons (the sole exception, the Earl of Home disclaimed his peerage days after becoming Prime Minister and was elected to the House of Commons as Sir Alec Douglas Home).

Related Topics:
Constitutional convention - 1902 - Earl of Home

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No major cabinet position (except Lord Chancellor and Leader of the House of Lords) has been filled by a Lord since 1982 when Lord Carrington resigned as Foreign Secretary, though some of the middle rank Cabinet posts such as Defence Secretary and International Development Secretary have been filled by peers. The elected status of members of the Commons, as opposed to the unelected nature of members of the Lords, is seen to lend more legitimacy to ministers from the Commons. The Prime Minister chooses the Ministers, and may decide to remove them at any time; the formal appointment or dismissal, however, is made by the Sovereign.

Related Topics:
Cabinet - Lord Chancellor - Leader of the House of Lords - 1982 - Lord Carrington

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The House of Commons scrutinises the Government through "Question Time," a period during which Members have the opportunity to ask questions of the Prime Minister and of other Cabinet Ministers. Prime Minister's Question Time occurs once each week, normally for a half-hour each Wednesday. Questions must relate to the responding Minister's official Government activities, not to his or her activities as a party leader or as a private Member of Parliament. Customarily, members of the Government party and members of the Opposition alternate when asking questions. In addition to questions asked orally during Question Time, Members of Parliament may also make inquiries in writing.

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In practice, the House of Commons' scrutiny of the Government is very weak. Since the First-Past-the-Post electoral system is employed in elections, the governing party tends to enjoy a large majority in the Commons; there is often limited need to compromise with other parties. Modern British political parties are so tightly organised that they leave relatively little room for free action by their MPs. Thus, during the twentieth century, the Government has lost confidence issues only thrice—twice in 1924, and once in 1979.

Related Topics:
1924 - 1979

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The House of Commons technically retains the power to impeach Ministers of the Crown (or any other subject, even if not a public officer) for their crimes. Impeachments are tried by the House of Lords, where a simple majority is necessary to convict. The power of impeachment, however, has fallen into disuse; the House of Commons exercises its checks on the Government through other means such as No Confidence Motions. The last impeachment was that of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in 1806.

Related Topics:
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville - 1806

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