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92-698: A Select Committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom meets to discuss a ridiculous scandal on which the tabloid press has begun focusing. The papers allege that some mystery woman has accused 128 members of the House of sexual promiscuity. The six members of the Committee look into it so as to maintain the House's good name. Ironically, each member of the committee reminds the secretary, Miss. Madeleine Gotobed, not to bring up their most recent rendezvous. They do not want

184-416: A university constituency if a university graduate. Once elected, Members of Parliament normally continue to serve until the next dissolution of Parliament. But if a member dies or ceases to be qualified (see qualifications below), their seat falls vacant. It is also possible for the House of Commons to expel a member, a power exercised only in cases of serious misconduct or criminal activity. In each case,

276-564: A bill so as to insert a taxation or supply-related provision, but the House of Commons often waives its privileges and allows the Lords to make amendments with financial implications. Under a separate convention, known as the Salisbury Convention , the House of Lords does not seek to oppose legislation promised in the government's election manifesto . Hence, as the power of the House of Lords has been severely curtailed by statute and by practice,

368-470: A bill that seeks to extend a parliamentary term beyond five years requires the consent of the House of Lords. By a custom that prevailed even before the Parliament Acts, only the House of Commons may originate bills concerning taxation or supply . Furthermore, supply bills passed by the House of Commons are immune to amendments in the House of Lords. In addition, the House of Lords is barred from amending

460-563: A citizen of either Britain, a British overseas territory , Ireland , or a member of the Commonwealth of Nations . British citizens living abroad are allowed to vote for 15 years after leaving. It is a criminal offence for a person to vote in the ballot of more than one seat which is vacant at any election. This has not always been the case: before 1948 plural voting was permitted as voters qualified by home ownership or residence and could vote under both entitlements simultaneously, as well as for

552-651: A citizen of the United Kingdom, of a British overseas territory, of the Republic of Ireland , or of a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations . These restrictions were introduced by the British Nationality Act 1981 , but were previously far more stringent: under the Act of Settlement 1701 , only natural-born subjects were qualified. Members of the House of Lords may not serve in the House of Commons, or even vote in parliamentary elections; however, they are permitted to sit in

644-473: A committee on the state of the nation. This motion was defeated by 357 to 178, a division involving the largest number of MPs until the debates over the Reform bill in the early 1830s . Foord comments that "this defeat put an effective end to Tierney's leadership ... Tierney did not disclaim the leadership till 23 Jan. 1821 ..., but he had ceased to exercise its functions since the great defeat". Between 1821 and 1830

736-452: A majority of the Commons. Although the House of Commons does not formally elect the prime minister, by convention and in practice, the prime minister is answerable to the House, and therefore must maintain its support. In this way, the position of the parties in the House is an overriding importance. Thus, whenever the office of prime minister falls vacant, the monarch appoints the person who has

828-548: A new mechanism which remains in force) three days after becoming prime minister. The new session of Parliament was delayed to await the outcome of his by-election, which happened to be already under way due to a recent death. As anticipated, he won that election, which was for the highest-majority seat in Scotland among his party; otherwise he would have been constitutionally obliged to resign. Since 1990, almost all cabinet ministers, save for three whose offices are an intrinsic part of

920-540: A new tax targeting wealthy landowners. This measure failed in the heavily Conservative House of Lords, and the government resigned. The resulting general election returned a hung parliament , but Asquith remained prime minister with the support of the smaller parties. Asquith then proposed that the powers of the Lords be severely curtailed. Following a further election in December 1910 , the Asquith Government secured

1012-638: A non-binding statement released by parliament after the debate. This new technique was used to pass the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019 in March, as well as the No. 2 Act in September, both relating to Brexit . 2019 was the year Labour and Co-operative MPs became the fourth-largest political group in the House of Commons. In 2020, new procedures for hybrid proceedings were introduced from 22 April. These mitigated

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1104-529: A number of theories, including the suggestion that it was to coincide with market day; this would ease voting for those who had to travel into the towns to cast their ballot. A candidate for a seat must submit nomination papers signed by ten registered voters from that area, and pay £500, which is refunded if the candidate wins at least five per cent of the vote. Such a deposit seeks to discourage frivolity and very long ballot papers which would cause vote splitting (and arguably voter confusion). Each constituency

1196-598: A party leader or as a private Member of Parliament. Customarily, members of the Government party/coalition and members of the Opposition alternate when asking questions. Members may also make inquiries in writing. In practice, this scrutiny can be fairly weak. Since the first-past-the-post electoral system is employed, the governing party often enjoys a large majority in the Commons, and ministers and departments practise defensive government, outsourcing key work to third parties. If

1288-694: A play from the 1970s is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . House of Commons of the 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 in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as members of Parliament (MPs), who are elected to represent constituencies by

1380-553: A section of the Whigs were also in opposition to the coalition government. It was during this period that the term "His Majesty's Opposition" for the Opposition was coined, by John Cam Hobhouse . The Duke of Wellington formed a ministry in January 1828 and as a direct effect of adopting in earnest the policy of Catholic Emancipation the opposition became composed of most Whigs with many Canningites and some ultra-Tories. Lord Lansdowne, in

1472-538: A single party wins outright, this is the party leader of the second-largest political party in the House of Commons. The role has since been codified by statute. The Leader of the Opposition is often viewed as an alternative or shadow prime minister , and is appointed to the Privy Council . They lead an Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet , which scrutinises the actions of the Cabinet and offers alternative policies. In

1564-487: A substantive, "the common body of the people of any place; the community or commonalty" in the singular; "the common people, the commonalty; the lower order, as distinguished from those of noble or knight or gentle rank", or "the burgers of a town; the body of free citizens, bearing common burdens, and exercising common rights; (hence) the third estate in the English constitution; the body of people, not ennobled, and represented by

1656-444: A two-thirds supermajority of the house. These provisions were first used by Theresa May to trigger the 2017 snap election . The Recall of MPs Act 2015 created a mechanism for recalling Members of Parliament. Under the act, proceedings are initiated only if an MP is found guilty of wrongdoing fulfilling certain criteria. A petition is successful if at least one in ten voters in the constituency sign. Successful petitions result in

1748-470: Is a maximum: prime ministers can choose to dissolve parliament at earlier times, with the permission of the monarch, and often have. This was a return to the historic system that had been replaced by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 , which fixed the term at five years. As of 9 July 2024, five of the twelve last prime ministers have attained office as the immediate result of a general election;

1840-405: Is also called a seat (as it was in 1885 ), as it returns one member, using the first-past-the-post electoral system, under which the candidate with a plurality of votes wins, that is greatest number of votes. Minors (that is, anyone under the age of 18), members of the House of Lords, and prisoners are not qualified to become members of the House of Commons. To vote, one must be a UK resident and

1932-520: Is dissolved , an action which is part of the royal prerogative . By convention the timing of the dissolution is chosen by the Prime Minister (see relationship with the Government above). Under the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 , if no early election is called, dissolution is automatic on the fifth year after its first meeting day. This Act effectively postponed the automatic date of

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2024-475: Is more serious. The House of Commons technically retains the power to impeach Ministers of the Crown (or any other subject, even if not a public officer) for their crimes. Impeachments are tried by the House of Lords, where a simple majority is necessary to convict. This power has fallen into disuse, however; the House of Commons exercises its checks on the government through other means, such as no confidence motions;

2116-496: Is pre-eminent and has always held the primary title. The Leader of the Opposition is entitled to a salary in addition to their salary as a Member of Parliament . In 2019, this additional entitlement was available up to £65,181. The role is considered by those who have held it as the worst and most difficult job in politics, with Prime Minister Tony Blair and then-Leader of the Opposition William Hague agreeing that

2208-465: The Oxford English Dictionary , the historical dictionary of the English language, can only attest to the word meaning advocated by Pollard from the 19th and 20th centuries onwards, whereas sources for the meaning given in the previous section date from the late Middle Ages, i.e. the time of the establishment of the House of Commons. The current Commons' layout is influenced by the use of

2300-553: The Acts of Union 1800 brought about the abolition of the Parliament of Ireland and enlarged the Commons at Westminster with 100 Irish members, creating the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Middle English word common or commune , which is derived from the Anglo-Norman commune , meant "of general, public, or non-private nature" as an adjective and, as

2392-854: The Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act . Since 1950, every constituency has been represented by a single Member of Parliament. There remains a technical distinction between county and borough constituencies ; its only effects are on the amount of money candidates are allowed to spend during campaigns and the rank of the local authority co-opted Returning Officer who presides over the count. Geographic boundaries are determined by four permanent and independent Boundary Commissions , one each for England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland . The commissions conduct general reviews of electoral boundaries once every 8 to 12 years, and interim reviews. In drawing boundaries, they are required to prefer local government boundaries, but may deviate from these to prevent great disparities in electorate; such disparities are given

2484-624: The Leader of the Opposition , is the person who leads the Official Opposition in the United Kingdom . The position is seen as the shadow head of government of the United Kingdom and thus the shadow prime minister of the United Kingdom . Originally by convention , the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest political party in the House of Commons that is not in government . When

2576-468: The Parliament Act 1949 ). Since the passage of these Acts, the House of Commons has become the dominant branch of Parliament. Since the 17th century, government ministers were paid, while other MPs were not. Most of the men elected to the Commons had private incomes, while a few relied on financial support from a wealthy patron. Early Labour MPs were often provided with a salary by a trade union, but this

2668-558: The coronavirus pandemic with measures including a limit of 50 MPs in the chamber, physical distancing and remote participation using video conferencing . Hybrid proceedings were abolished in August 2021. Later in December 2020, the Conservative government published a draft Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill, later retitled the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill when it

2760-400: 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,

2852-478: The " alternative vote " (AV) method. The proposal to introduce AV was rejected by 67.9% of voters on a national turnout of 42%. The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 was passed by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition , transferring the power to call an early election from the Prime Minister to Parliament, and setting out the procedure for this. Under the act, calling an early election required

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2944-497: The 19th century still retained their ancient right of electing two members, in addition to other boroughs that had never been important, such as Gatton . Among the most notorious of these " rotten boroughs " were Old Sarum , which had only six voters for two MPs, and Dunwich , which had largely collapsed into the sea from coastal erosion . At the same time, large cities such as Manchester received no separate representation (although their eligible residents were entitled to vote in

3036-468: The Commons (as opposed to the unelected Lords) and their direct accountability to that House, together with empowerment and transparency, ensures ministerial accountability. Responsible government is an international constitutional paradigm. The prime minister chooses the ministers, and may decide to remove them at any time, although the appointments and dismissals are formally made by the Sovereign, acting on

3128-507: The House of Commons is clearly the more powerful chamber of Parliament. The British parliament of today largely descends, in practice, from the Parliament of England , although the 1706 Treaty of Union , and the Acts of Union that ratified the Treaty, created a new Parliament of Great Britain to replace the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland , with the addition of 45 MPs and sixteen Scottish representative peers . Later still

3220-449: The House of Commons or the House of Lords. A handful have been appointed from outside Parliament, but in most cases they then entered Parliament in a by-election or by receiving a peerage (being made a peer). Since 1902, all but one prime ministers have been members of the Commons at time of appointment; the sole exception was during the long summer recess in 1963: Alec Douglas-Home , then the 14th Earl of Home, disclaimed his peerage (under

3312-401: The House of Lords by creating pro-Reform peers. To avoid this, the Lords relented and passed the bill in 1832. The Reform Act 1832 , also known as the "Great Reform Act", abolished the rotten boroughs, established uniform voting requirements for the boroughs, and granted representation to populous cities, but still retained some anomalies. In the ensuing years, the Commons grew more assertive,

3404-534: The House of Lords, have belonged to the Commons. Few major cabinet positions (except Lord Privy Seal , Lord Chancellor and Leader of the House of Lords ) have been filled by a peer in recent times. Notable exceptions are Sir Alec Douglas-Home ; who served as Foreign Secretary from 1960 to 1963; Peter Carington, 6th Lord Carrington , who also served as Foreign Secretary from 1979 to 1982; David Cameron , former Prime Minister who served as Foreign Secretary from 2023 to 2024; David Young, Lord Young of Graffham , who

3496-474: The House of Lords. The Lords may not delay a money bill (a bill that, in the view of the Speaker of the House of Commons, solely concerns national taxation or public funds) for more than one month. Moreover, the Lords may not delay most other public bills for more than two parliamentary sessions, or one calendar year. These provisions, however, only apply to public bills that originate in the House of Commons. Moreover,

3588-522: The Lower House of Parliament" in the plural. The word has survived to this day in the original Anglo-Norman phrase soit baillé aux communes , with which a bill is transmitted from the House of Lords to the House of Commons. The historian Albert Pollard held a somewhat different view on the word's origins in 1920. He agreed that commons could be derived from Anglo-Norman communes , but that it referred to "civil associations" or "the counties". However,

3680-445: The MP vacating the seat, triggering a by-election. In 2019, MPs used "standing order 24" (a parliamentary procedure that triggers emergency debates) as a means of gaining control of the parliamentary order paper for the following day, and passing legislation without the incumbent government's consent. This unusual process was achieved through tabling amendments to the "motion in neutral terms",

3772-581: The Opposition (United Kingdom) King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The Leader of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition , more commonly referred to as

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3864-507: The Speaker that the member was suffering from a mental disorder. However, this disqualification was removed by the Mental Health (Discrimination) Act 2013 . There also exists a common law precedent from the 18th century that the deaf-mute are ineligible to sit in the Lower House; this precedent, however, has not been tested in recent years. Anyone found guilty of high treason may not sit in Parliament until she or he has either completed

3956-550: The Speakership). Most members also claim for various office expenses (staff costs, postage, travelling, etc.) and, in the case of members for seats outside London, for the costs of maintaining a home in the capital. There are numerous qualifications that apply to Members of Parliament. One must be aged at least 18 (the minimum age was 21 until s.17 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 came into force), and must be

4048-502: The Talents ministry, Lord Grenville had led his eponymous faction from the House of Lords . Meanwhile, the government leader of the House of Commons, Viscount Howick (later known as Earl Grey and the political heir of Charles James Fox who had died in 1806), led his faction, the Foxite whigs, from the House of Commons. Howick's father, the 1st Earl Grey died on 14 November 1807. As such

4140-525: The Whig Commons leadership was left vacant. The leadership in the House of Lords was not much more effective: in 1824 Grey retired from active leadership, asking the party to follow the Marquess of Lansdowne "as the person whom his friends were to look upon as their leader". Lansdowne disclaimed the title of leader, although in practice he performed the function. Following the retirement of Lord Liverpool from

4232-466: The absence of any alternative, remained the leading figure in the Whig opposition. In 1830 Grey returned to the front rank of politics. On 30 June 1830, he denounced the government in the House of Lords. He rapidly attracted the support of opponents of the ministry. The renewal of organized opposition was also bolstered earlier in the year by the election of a new leader of the opposition in the House of Commons,

4324-530: The audience, nor does it make use of particular theatrical conventions, or even parody to any great extent the genre of the sex farce, surely fruitful ground for Stoppard's ironic talent. Instead, the play is a fairly straightforward duplication of a recognisable type, with the slight difference that assumptions about the dumb blonde usually prominent in this kind of play are overturned". However, Hahn praised New-Found-Land for its "clever manipulation of props" and its "conciseness and economy". This article on

4416-524: 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

4508-731: The chamber during debates (unlike the King, who cannot enter the chamber). A person may not sit in the Commons if they are the subject of a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order (applicable in England and Wales only), or if they are adjudged bankrupt (in Northern Ireland), or if their estate is sequestered (in Scotland). Previously, MPs detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 for six months or more would have their seat vacated if two specialists reported to

4600-449: The corresponding county seat). Also notable were the pocket boroughs , small constituencies controlled by wealthy landowners and aristocrats, whose "nominees" were invariably elected. The Commons attempted to address these anomalies by passing a Reform Bill in 1831. At first, the House of Lords proved unwilling to pass the bill, but it was forced to relent when the prime minister, Charles, 2nd Earl Grey , advised King William IV to flood

4692-571: The first leader of the opposition in the House of Commons. Ponsonby, an Irish lawyer who was the uncle of Grey's wife, had been Lord Chancellor of Ireland during the Ministry of all the Talents and had only just been re-elected to the House of Commons in 1808 when he became leader. Ponsonby proved a weak leader but as he could not be persuaded to resign and the duumvirs did not want to depose him, he remained in place until he died in 1817. Lord Grenville retired from active politics in 1817, leaving Grey as

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4784-549: The fixed election date of the first Thursday in May five years after the previous election, which occurred (as a special case) on 7 May 2015 . As an ordinary Act, it was also possible for parliament to bypass it with a special purpose Act of Parliament passed by simple majorities in both houses, which occurred in 2019 . All general elections in the UK since 1935 have been held on a Thursday. The origins of this convention are unknown but there are

4876-582: The following year replaced almost all multi-member constituencies with single-member constituencies. In 1908, the Liberal Government under H. H. Asquith introduced a number of social welfare programmes, which, together with an expensive arms race , forced the Government to seek higher taxes. In 1909, the Chancellor of the Exchequer , David Lloyd George , introduced the "People's Budget", which proposed

4968-697: The formal term malapportionment . The proposals of the Boundary Commissions are subject to parliamentary approval, but may not be amended. After their next Periodic Reviews, the Boundary Commissions will be absorbed into the Electoral Commission , which was established in 2000. As of 2024, the UK is divided into 650 constituencies , with 543 in England, 32 in Wales, 57 in Scotland, and 18 in Northern Ireland. General elections occur whenever Parliament

5060-417: The government and the other the opposition. These parties were expected to have recognized leaders in the two Houses, so there was normally no problem in identifying who led the opposition in each House. The constitutional convention developed in the nineteenth century was that if one of the leaders was the last prime minister of the party, then he would be considered the overall leader of his party . If that

5152-407: The government has a large majority, it has no need or incentive to compromise with other parties. Major modern British political parties tend to be so tightly orchestrated that their MPs often have little scope for free action. A large minority of ruling party MPs are paid members of the Government. Since 1900 the Government has lost confidence motions thrice—twice in 1924, and once in 1979. However,

5244-460: The government in the Ministry of All the Talents formed in 1806 and died later that year. For there to be a recognized Leader of the Opposition, it is necessary for there to be a sufficiently cohesive opposition to need a formal leader. The emergence of the office thus coincided with the period when wholly united parties ( Whig and Tory , governments and oppositions) became the norm. This situation

5336-449: The government's agenda. The annual Budget is still considered a matter of confidence. When a government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, the prime minister is expected either to resign, making way for another MP who can command confidence, or request the monarch to dissolve Parliament, thereby precipitating a general election. Since the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 Parliament sits for up to five years. This

5428-414: The heir of Earl Spencer, Viscount Althorp . In November 1830 Grey was invited to form a government and resumed the formal leadership of the party and as such Wellington and Peel became the leaders of the opposition in the two Houses, from November 1830. In the period of 1830–1937, the normal expectation was that there would be two leading parties (often with smaller allied groups), of which one would form

5520-511: The house between the government and opposition benches is 13 feet (3.96 m), said to be equivalent to two swords' length, though this is likely to be purely symbolic given weapons have been banned in the chamber for hundreds of years. The House of Commons underwent an important period of reform during the 19th century. Over the years, several anomalies had developed in borough representation. The constituency boundaries had not been changed since 1660, so many towns whose importance had declined by

5612-461: The influence of the House of Lords having been reduced by the Reform Bill crisis, and the power of the patrons reduced. The Lords became more reluctant to reject bills that the Commons had passed with large majorities, and it became an accepted political principle that the confidence of the House of Commons alone was necessary for a government to remain in office. Many more reforms were introduced in

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5704-408: The last impeachment was that of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in 1806. Bills may be introduced in either house, though bills of importance generally originate in the House of Commons. The supremacy of the Commons in legislative matters is assured by the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 , under which certain types of bills may be presented to the sovereign for royal assent without the consent of

5796-539: The latter half of the 19th century. The Reform Act 1867 lowered property requirements for voting in the boroughs, reduced the representation of the less populous boroughs, and granted parliamentary seats to several growing industrial towns. The electorate was further expanded by the Representation of the People Act 1884 , under which property qualifications in the counties were lowered. The Redistribution of Seats Act of

5888-475: The leader of the opposition in the House of Lords. Grey was not a former prime minister in 1817, unlike Grenville, so under the convention that developed later in the century he would have been in the theory of equal status to whoever was a leader in the other House. However, there was little doubt that if a Whig ministry was possible, Grey rather than the less distinguished Commons leaders would have been invited to form that government. In this respect Grey's position

5980-426: The moderates supporting Canning, often called ' Canningites '. As a result, Canning found it difficult to maintain a government and chose to invite a number of Whigs to join his Cabinet, including Lord Lansdowne . After Canning's death, Lord Goderich continued the coalition for a few more months. The principal opposition between April 1827 and January 1828 worked with these brief administrations, although Earl Grey and

6072-506: The new Earl Grey vacated his seat in the House of Commons and moved to the House of Lords. This left no obvious Whig leader in the House of Commons. Grenville's article in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography confirms that he was considered the Whig leader in the House of Lords between 1807 and 1817, despite Grey leading the larger faction. Grenville and Grey, political historian Archibald Foord describe as being " duumvirs of

6164-455: The next election after 2019 by more than half a year, from 2 May 2024 to Tuesday 28 January 2025; but the election was ultimately called for 4 July 2024 . The current regime around dissolution is substantially the same as that established by the Septennial Act 1715 (as amended by the Parliament Act 1911 ), under which that automatic dissolution instead occurred five years after issuance of

6256-414: The nineteenth century, party affiliations were generally less fixed and the leaders in the two Houses were often of equal status. A single and clear Leader of the Opposition was only definitively settled if the opposition leader in the House of Commons or House of Lords was the outgoing prime minister. However, since the Parliament Act 1911 , there has been no dispute that the leader in the House of Commons

6348-527: The opposition role was the harder job of the two positions. The incumbent Leader of the Opposition is Kemi Badenoch , the Leader of the Conservative Party , following the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election . The first modern Leader of the Opposition was Charles James Fox , who led the Whigs as such for a generation, except during the Fox–North Coalition in 1783. He finally rejoined

6440-453: The original St. Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster . The rectangular shape is derived from the shape of the chapel. Benches were arranged using the configuration of the chapel's choir stalls whereby they were facing across from one another. This arrangement facilitated an adversarial atmosphere representative of the British parliamentary approach. The distance across the floor of

6532-404: The others have gained office upon the resignation of a prime minister of their own party. A prime minister will resign after party defeat at an election, if unable to form a coalition , or obtain a confidence and supply arrangement, and may be forced to resign after a successful motion of no confidence (either from the House as a whole, or from their own parliamentary party ). In such cases,

6624-452: The party from 1807 to 1817" and consulted about what was to be done. Grenville was at first reluctant to name a leader of the opposition in the House of Commons, commenting "... all the elections in the world would not have made Windham or Sheridan leaders of the old Opposition while Fox was alive ...". Eventually, they jointly recommended George Ponsonby to the Whig MPs, whom they accepted as

6716-457: The passage of a bill to curtail the powers of the House of Lords after threatening to flood the house with 500 new Liberal peers to ensure the passage of the bill. Thus the Parliament Act 1911 came into effect, destroying the legislative equality of the two Houses of Parliament. The House of Lords was permitted only to delay most legislation, for a maximum of three parliamentary sessions or two calendar years (reduced to two sessions or one year by

6808-629: The play's director, ED Berman MBE). They laud the American nation as a whole, including every American patriotic cliché they can remember. Eventually, the Select Committee returns and tries to reclaim its room. The play ends with Maddie and M.P. French passing a new report that clears all men of having done wrong. Christopher Hahn unfavorably compared Dirty Linen with Stoppard's earlier short plays The Real Inspector Hound and After Magritte , writing that it "establishes no special relationship with

6900-411: The premiership goes to whomever can command a majority in the House, unless there is a hung parliament and a coalition is formed; the new prime minister will by convention be the new leader of the outgoing premier's party. It has become the practice to write the constitutions of major UK political parties to provide a set way to appoint a new party leader. By convention, ministers are members of either

6992-399: The press to get the wrong idea. It turns out that the secretary, who is not very adept at dictation, is the woman who has been spotted with all of these men. The curtain falls and then rises again for New-Found-Land in which an older and a younger man, two Home Office officials, briefly discuss the naturalization of an American into British citizenship (based on the real-life naturalization of

7084-460: The prime minister's advice. The House of Commons formally scrutinises the Government through its Committees and Prime Minister's Questions , when members ask questions of the prime minister; the house gives other opportunities to question other cabinet ministers. Prime Minister's Questions occur weekly, normally for half an hour each Wednesday. Questions must relate to the responding minister's official government activities, not to their activities as

7176-539: The prime ministership in 1827, the party's political situation changed. Neither the Duke of Wellington or Robert Peel agreed to serve under George Canning and they were followed by five other members of the former Cabinet as well as forty junior members of the previous government. The Tory Party was heavily split between the " High Tories " (or "Ultras", nicknamed after the contemporary party in Restoration France ) and

7268-412: The same election), including University constituencies , were abolished. In May and June 2009 revelations of MPs' expenses claims caused a major scandal and loss of confidence by the public in the integrity of MPs, as well as causing the first forced resignation of the Speaker in 300 years. In 2011, a referendum was held, asking whether to replace the present " first-past-the-post " system with

7360-729: The support of the house, or who is most likely to command the support of the house—normally the leader of the largest party in the house—while the leader of the second-largest party becomes the leader of the Opposition . The Commons may indicate its lack of support for the government by rejecting a motion of confidence or by passing a motion of no confidence. Confidence and no confidence motions are phrased explicitly: for instance, "That this House has no confidence in His Majesty's Government." Many other motions were until recent decades considered confidence issues, even though not explicitly phrased as such: in particular, important bills that were part of

7452-532: The term of imprisonment or received a full pardon from the Crown. Moreover, anyone serving a prison sentence of one year or more is ineligible, per Representation of the People Act 1981 . Finally, members of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) and Northern Ireland Assembly are disqualified since 2014. Article 159, Section 2 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 formerly disqualified for ten years those found guilty of certain election-related offences, until this section

7544-517: The threat of rebellions by their own party's backbench MPs often forces governments to make concessions (under the Cameron–Clegg coalition , over foundation hospitals and under Labour over top-up fees and compensation for failed company pension schemes ). Occasionally Government bills are defeated by backbench rebellions ( Terrorism Act 2006 ). However, the scrutiny provided by the Select committees

7636-456: The vacancy is filled by a by-election in the constituency, with the same electoral system as in general elections. The term "Member of Parliament" by modern convention means a member of the House of Commons. These members may, and almost invariably do, use the post-nominal letters "MP". The annual salary of each member is £86,584 effective from 1 April 2023. Members may also receive additional salaries for other offices they hold (for instance,

7728-423: The writ of summons, a slightly longer period. Between 2011 and 2022, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 was in force, under which control of the timing of elections instead lay with the House of Commons, which could pass a motion of no confidence or (as occurred in 2017 ) of early election with a two-thirds majority; absent such motions, Parliament would automatically dissolve 17 working days (about 4 weeks) before

7820-481: Was an Irish Sinn Féin candidate, Constance Markievicz , who therefore became the first woman to be an MP. However, owing to Sinn Féin's policy of abstention from Westminster, she never took her seat. Women were given equal voting status as men in 1928, and with effect from the General Election in 1950 , various forms of plural voting (i.e. some individuals had the right to vote in more than one constituency in

7912-473: Was appointed Employment Secretary in 1985; Lord Mandelson , who served as Business Secretary; Lord Adonis, who served as Transport Secretary; Baroness Amos, who served as International Development Secretary; Baroness Morgan of Cotes , who served as Culture Secretary ; and Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park , who served as Minister of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Minister of State for International Development . The elected status of members of

8004-455: Was declared illegal by a House of Lords judgement of 1909. Consequently, a resolution was passed in the House of Commons in 1911 introducing salaries for MPs. In 1918, women over 30 who owned property were given the right to vote, as were men over 21 who did not own property, quickly followed by the passage of a law enabling women to be eligible for election as members of parliament at the younger age of 21. The only woman to be elected that year

8096-481: Was introduced to the Commons in May 2021, which would repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act in its entirety, restore the monarch's prerogative powers to dissolve Parliament at the prime minister's request, and ensure that a parliamentary term automatically ends five years after Parliament's first meeting and polling day being 25 working days later. The bill was given royal assent on 24 March 2022, becoming

8188-529: Was like that of the Earl of Derby in the Protectionist Conservative opposition of the late 1840s and early 1850s. Earl Grey witnessed a delay of about a year, until 1818, before a new leader of the opposition in the House of Commons was chosen. This was George Tierney who was reluctant to accept the leadership and had weak support from his party. On 18 May 1819, Tierney moved a motion in the Commons for

8280-459: Was normalized in the Parliament of 1807–1812 when the members of the Grenvillite and Foxite Whig factions resolved to maintain a joint, dual-house leadership for the whole party. The Ministry of all the Talents , in which both Whig factions participated fell at the 1807 general election , during which the Whigs had re-adopted traditional factions, forming an opposition. The prime minister of

8372-435: Was not the case then the leaders of both Houses were of equal status. As the monarch retained some discretion as to which leader should be invited to form a ministry, it was not always obvious in advance which one would be called upon to do so. However, as the leadership of the opposition only existed by custom, the normal expectations and conventions were modified by political realities from time to time. From 1830 until 1846

8464-494: Was repealed in 2001. Several other disqualifications are codified in the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 : holders of high judicial offices , civil servants, members of the regular armed forces, members of foreign legislatures (excluding the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth countries), and holders of several Crown offices. Ministers, even though they are paid officers of the Crown, are not disqualified. Leader of

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