House of Commons of the United Kingdom

The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled
59th Parliament
File:House of Commons of the United Kingdom logo 2018.svg Logo of the House of Commons
Flag of the House of Commons
Type
Type	Lower house of the Parliament of the UK
Leadership
Speaker	Sir Lindsay Hoyle since 4 November 2019
Chairman of Ways and Means	Vacant
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	Rishi Sunak, Conservative since 5 July 2024
Shadow Leader of the House	Chris Philp, Conservative since 8 July 2024
Opposition Chief Whip	Stuart Andrew, Conservative since 5 July 2024
Structure
Seats	650
Political groups	Template:UK Parliament political groups
Length of term	Up to five years[a]
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	4 July 2024
Next election	No later than 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 is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is made up of Members of Parliament elected by the people. Sometimes it is called the 'lower house'. (The 'upper house' is called the House of Lords.) Other countries also have a bicameral parliament with a House of Commons working in the same way.

In the British parliament, there are 650 Members of Parliament or MPs. Each MP represents a constituency, which covers an area of the country. The people of each constituency vote at a general election or a by-election to choose one person to represent them in the House of Commons. Usually, the people choose someone who belongs to a political party. When all the parties get together, the party or coalition with the most members is the government and runs the country. The leader of that party is called the Prime Minister.

The House of Commons hold their meetings in the Palace of Westminster. Their chief officer is the Speaker of the House, who is elected by MPs. The current Speaker is Lindsay Hoyle, who was elected in 2019. The Clerk of the House of Commons is the Principal Adviser to the Speaker. The Serjeant-at-Arms is in charge of the security.

1. ↑ 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.