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British House of Commons

House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
56th UK Parliament
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Leadership
John Bercow MP
Since 22 June 2009
David Lidington MP,
Conservative
Since 14 July 2016
Valerie Vaz MP,
Labour
Since 6 October 2016
Structure
Seats 650
House of Commons current.svg
Political groups
HM Government
     Conservative Party (330)
HM Most Loyal Opposition
     Labour Party (229)
Other opposition parties
Speaker
     Speaker (1)
Length of term
up to 5 years
Elections
First-past-the-post
Last election
7 May 2015
Next election
On or before 7 May 2020
Redistricting Boundary Commissions
Meeting place
House of Commons Chamber 1.png
House of Commons chamber
Palace of Westminster
City of Westminster
London
United Kingdom
Website
parliament.uk

The House of Commons of the United Kingdom is the lower house of the country's parliament. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster. Officially, the full name of the house is: The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled.

The House is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as Members of Parliament (MPs). Members are elected to represent constituencies by first-past-the-post and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved.

A House of Commons of England evolved in the 13th and 14th centuries, became the House of Commons of Great Britain after the political union with Scotland in 1707, and assumed its current title after the political union with Ireland at the start of the 19th century. The "United Kingdom" referred to was the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1800, and became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland after the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922.

Under the Parliament Act 1911, the Lords' power to reject legislation was reduced to a delaying power. The Government is primarily responsible to the House of Commons and the prime minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of a majority of its members.


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