House of Commons (United Kingdom)

The House of Commons is the lower branch of the Houses of Parliament which is sited in the Palace of Westminster in London, the legislative branch of the government of the United Kingdom. Unlike the House of Lords' system of appointed Lords, 646 Members of Parliament (MPs) sit in the Commons, and are elected using the first past the post electoral system by a constituency of voters. Almost all of the MPs are a member of a party, and the party which forms the majority of seats in the Commons forms the government, with the head of the majority party. The Opposition sits opposite the Government. The seats in the House of Commons are green, while those in the House of Lords are red. The Monarch, at the request of the Prime Minister, dissolves the Parliament after five years and a General Election is held to decide the makeup of the next Parliament and, by extension, the Government. Debates in Parliament are often broadcast on radio and television, and a formal publication is made daily of the business of both Houses in Hansard.

Under the 1911 Parliament Act, the House of Commons, despite being the lower house, has supremacy and places a limit on the amount of delay that the Lords can have on Bills enacting manifesto pledges. Ultimately, the House of Lords can only hold up, not block, legislation, although legislation which is unpopular in the upper house is often modified in order to satisfy complaints from the Lords. The Parliament Act does not allow the Commons to force the House of Lords to pass legislation which the Lords originated. It has been used a handful of times, most recently with the 2004 Hunting Act, which banned hunting with dogs, and the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, which lowered the age of consent for male homosexuals to 16.

Members of Parliament must be over 18 and a citizen of the UK, an overseas territory, of the Republic of Ireland or of the Commonwealth. Bankrupts, lunatics, members of the House of Lords, those in prison for high treason, judges in high-level courts, civil servants, some officers of the Crown and serving members of the armed forces are not permitted to become MPs

Members of Parliament can introduce legislation to the Commons through a variety of methods, including Early Day Motions and through formal Bills. They also able to sit on a variety of Committees which draft legislation, conduct investigations, listen to testimony from invited speakers and conduct a variety other business.