House of Commons of the United Kingdom

The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled
The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled
59th Parliament
	Logo of 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
Chairman of Ways and Means	Nus Ghani, Conservative ; since 23 July 2024
Prime Minister	Sir Keir Starmer, Labour ; since 5 July 2024
Leader of the House	Lucy Powell, Labour ; since 5 July 2024
Government Chief Whip	Sir Alan Campbell, Labour ; since 5 July 2024
Leader of the Opposition	Kemi Badenoch, Conservative ; since 2 November 2024
Shadow Leader of the House	Jesse Norman, Conservative ; since 5 November 2024
Opposition Chief Whip	Dame Rebecca Harris, Conservative ; since 3 November 2024
Structure
Seats	650
Political groups	HM Government Labour Party (406); HM Most Loyal Opposition Conservative Party (121); Other opposition Liberal Democrats (72); Scottish National Party (9); Democratic Unionist Party (5); Independent Alliance (5); Green Party of England and Wales (4); Plaid Cymru (4); Reform UK (4); Social Democratic and Labour Party (2); Alliance Party (1); Traditional Unionist Voice (1); Ulster Unionist Party (1); Independents (7); Presiding officer Speaker (1); Abstentionists Sinn Féin (7);
Length of term	Up to five years
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	4 July 2024
Next election	On or before 15 August 2029
Redistricting	Every eight years, proposed by the boundary commissions
Meeting place
	House of Commons chamber; Palace of Westminster; City of Westminster; London, England; United Kingdom
Website
	www.parliament.uk/business/commons/

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), who 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.

^ "About: Members of Parliament". Co-operative Party. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
^ 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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[1] "About: Members of Parliament". Co-operative Party. Retrieved 10 May 2024.

[4] 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.

[6] 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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