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
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 (346); HM Most Loyal Opposition Labour Party (201); Other opposition Scottish National Party (43); Liberal Democrats (15); Democratic Unionist Party (7); Plaid Cymru (3); Alba Party (2); SDLP (2); Alliance Party (1); Green Party (1); Reform UK (1); Workers Party (1); Independents (18); Abstentionists Sinn Féin (7); Presiding officer Speaker (1); Vacant seats Vacant (1);
Length of term	Up to five years
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/

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.

[3] 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.

[5] 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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