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House of Commons of the United Kingdom facts for kids

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House of Commons
of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
58th UK Parliament
House of Commons of the United Kingdom logo 2018.svg

Flag of the House of Commons
Flag of the House of Commons
Type
Type
Leadership
Lindsay Hoyle
Since 4 November 2019
Chairman of Ways and Means
Eleanor Laing, Conservative
Since 8 January 2020
Boris Johnson, Conservative
Since 24 July 2019
Leader of the House
Mark Spencer, Conservative
Since 8 February 2022
Government Chief Whip
Chris Heaton-Harris, Conservative
Since 8 February 2022
Keir Starmer, Labour
Since 4 April 2020
Shadow Leader of the House
Thangam Debbonaire, Labour
Since 9 May 2021
Structure
Seats 650
House of Commons UK.svg
Political groups
HM Government (358)
     Conservative Party (358)
HM Most Loyal Opposition (199)
     Labour Party (199)
     Labour and Co-operative (25)
Other opposition (84)
     Scottish National Party (45)
     Liberal Democrats (13)
     Democratic Unionist Party (8)
     Plaid Cymru (3)
     Social Democratic and Labour Party (2)
     Alba Party (2)
     Alliance Party (1)
     Green Party (1)
     Independent (9)
Abstentionist (7)
     Sinn Féin (7)
Presiding officers
     Speaker (1)
Length of term
Up to 5 years
Elections
First-past-the-post
Last election
12 December 2019
Next election
No later than 24 January 2025
Redistricting Recommendations by the boundary commissions; confirmation by Queen-in-Council.
Meeting place
House of Commons Chamber 1.png
House of Commons chamber
Palace of Westminster
City of Westminster
London, England
United Kingdom

The House of Commons 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 located 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 started 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. It assumed the title of "House of Commons of Great Britain and Ireland" after the political union with Ireland at the start of the 19th century. From 1800, the "United Kingdom" referred to was the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and in 1922 became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland after the independence of the Irish Free State. Accordingly, the House of Commons assumed its current title.

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.

Election Results Since 1945

Year Conservative Labour Liberal & SDP SNP Others
1945 197 393 12 0 38
1950 298 315 9 0 3
1951 321 295 6 0 3
1955 Winston Churchill resigns and Anthony Eden becomes Prime Minister
1955 345 277 6 0 8
1957 Anthony Eden resigns and Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister
1959 365 258 6 0 1
1963 Harold Macmillan resigns and Alec Douglas-Home becomes Prime Minister
1964 304 317 9 0 0
1966 253 364 12 0 1
1970 330 288 6 1 5
1974 297 301 14 7 16
1974 277 319 13 11 15
1976 Harold Wilson resigns and James Callaghan becomes Prime Minister
1979 339 269 11 2 14
1983 397 209 23 2 19
1987 376 229 22 3 21
1988 The Liberal and SDP parties merge and Form The Liberal Democrats
Year Conservative Labour Lib Dems SNP Others
1990 Margaret Thatcher resigns and John Major becomes Prime Minister
1992 336 271 20 3 21
1997 165 418 46 6 24
2001 166 413 52 5 23
2005 198 355 62 4 23
2007 Tony Blair resigns and Gordon Brown Becomes Prime Minister
2010 306 258 57 6 23
2015 330 232 8 56 24
2016 David Cameron resigns and Theresa May becomes Prime Minister
2017 317 262 12 35 24
2019 Theresa May resigns and Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister
2019 365 202 11 47 24

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Cámara de los Comunes del Reino Unido para niños

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