How many members are there in the UK House of Commons?
House of Commons
In the UK and Canada, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the respective upper house of parliament. The leader of the majority party in the House of Commons usually becomes the prime minister. Since 2010 the House of Commons of the United Kingdom has had 650 elected members, and since 2015 the House of Commons of Canada has had 338 members. The Commons' functions are to consider through debate new laws and changes to existing ones, authorise taxes, and provide scrutiny of the policy and expenditure of the Government. It has the power to give a Government a vote of no confidence.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
There are numerous qualifications that apply to Members of Parliament. Most importantly, 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 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 (just as the Queen does not vote); however, they are permitted to sit in the chamber during debates (unlike the Queen, who cannot enter the chamber).
Member of parliament
The Parliament of Canada consists of the monarch, the Senate (the upper chamber), and the House of Commons (the lower chamber). Only members of the lower house are referred to as "members of Parliament" (), while members of the upper house are called "senators" (). There are currently 105 seats in the Senate and 338 in the House of Commons. Members of Parliament are elected, while senators are appointed by the governor general on behalf of the sovereign at the direction of the Prime Minister of Canada. Retirement is mandatory for senators upon reaching the age of 75 years.
Members' Expenses Committee
The Members' Expenses Committee, until July 2011 called the Members' Allowances Committee, is a select committee of the British House of Commons, the lower house of the United Kingdom Parliament. The committee advises the Members Estimates Committee and the Leader of the House of Commons on any potential developments in the allowances system for members of the Commons.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known internationally as the UK Parliament, British Parliament, or Westminster Parliament, and domestically simply as Parliament, is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and the British Overseas Territories. It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and the overseas territories. Parliament is bicameral but has three parts, consisting of the Sovereign (the Queen-in-Parliament), the House of Lords, and the House of Commons (the primary chamber). The two houses meet in the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster, one of the inner boroughs of the capital city, London.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Both Houses may decide questions by voice vote; members shout out "Aye!" and "No!" in the Commons—or "Content!" and "Not-Content!" in the Lords—and the presiding officer declares the result. The pronouncement of either Speaker may be challenged, and a recorded vote (known as a division) demanded. (The Speaker of the House of Commons may choose to overrule a frivolous request for a division, but the Lord Speaker does not have that power.) In each House, a division requires members to file into one of the two lobbies alongside the Chamber; their names are recorded by clerks, and their votes are counted as they exit the lobbies to re-enter the Chamber. The Speaker of the House of Commons is expected to be non-partisan, and does not cast a vote except in the case of a tie; the Lord Speaker, however, votes along with the other Lords.
England
As part of the United Kingdom, the basic political system in England is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system. There has not been a government of England since 1707, when the Acts of Union 1707, putting into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union, joined England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. Before the union England was ruled by its monarch and the Parliament of England. Today England is governed directly by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, although other countries of the United Kingdom have devolved governments. In the House of Commons which is the lower house of the British Parliament based at the Palace of Westminster, there are 532 Members of Parliament (MPs) for constituencies in England, out of the 650 total.
List of United Kingdom MPs by seniority
In the United Kingdom, the Members of Parliament (MPs) are ranked by the beginning of their terms in office, in the House of Commons.
Constitution of the United Kingdom
The prime minister and all other Ministers normally serve concurrently as members of the House of Commons or House of Lords, and are obliged by collective responsibility to cast their Parliamentary votes for the Government's position, regardless of their personal feelings or the interests of their constituents. The prime minister is normally a member of the House of Commons. The last prime minister to be a member of the House of Lords was Alec Douglas-Home; however, he resigned from the Lords and became a member of the Commons shortly after his appointment as prime minister in 1963 (for about two weeks he served as prime minister despite belonging to neither House). The last prime minister to serve a full administration from the House of Lords was Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, who served until 1902.
Belfast (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Under the Act of Union 1800 the Parliament of Ireland was merged with the Parliament of Great Britain to form the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The 300 members of the Irish House of Commons were reduced to 100 Irish members of the United Kingdom House of Commons. As part of that process "Belfast" lost one of its seats.
Number of Westminster MPs
The House of Commons was increased from 635 to 650.
MPs first elected in 2010 to the 55th UK Parliament
The fifty-fifth Parliament of the United Kingdom was the legislature of the United Kingdom following the 2010 general election of members of parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons. Parliament, which consists of the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons, was convened on 25 May 2010 at the Palace of Westminster by Queen Elizabeth II. It was dissolved on 30 March 2015, being 25 working days ahead of the 2015 general election on 7 May 2015.
List of MPs elected in the 2010 United Kingdom general election
The fifty-fifth Parliament of the United Kingdom was the legislature of the United Kingdom following the 2010 general election of Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons. Parliament, which consists of the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons, was convened on 25 May 2010 at the Palace of Westminster by Queen Elizabeth II. It was dissolved at the beginning of 30 March 2015, being 25 working days ahead of the 2015 general election on 7 May 2015.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created on 1 January 1801, by the merger of the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union 1800. The principle of ministerial responsibility to the lower House did not develop until the 19th century—the House of Lords was superior to the House of Commons both in theory and in practice. Members of the House of Commons (MPs) were elected in an antiquated electoral system, under which constituencies of vastly different sizes existed. Thus, the borough of Old Sarum, with seven voters, could elect two members, as could the borough of Dunwich, which had almost completely disappeared into the sea due to land erosion.
Kingdom of Great Britain
Legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the same location in Westminster, expanded to include representation from Scotland. As with the former Parliament of England and the modern Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Parliament of Great Britain was formally constituted of three elements: the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Crown. The right of the English peerage to sit in the House of Lords remained unchanged, while the disproportionately large Scottish peerage was permitted to send only 16 representative peers, elected from amongst their number for the life of each parliament. Similarly, the members of the former English House of Commons continued as members of the British House of Commons, but as a reflection of the relative tax bases of the two countries the number of Scottish representatives was reduced to 45. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the automatic right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a separate parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws and system of courts, As its own established Presbyterian Church, and control over its own schools. The social structure was highly hierarchical, and the same elite remain in control after 1707. Scotland continued to have its own excellent universities, and with the strong intellectual community, especially in Edinburgh, The Scottish Enlightenment had a major impact on British, American and European thinking.
List of United Kingdom MPs by seniority, 2017–present
In the House of Commons, the sole mandatory duty of the Father of the House is to preside over the election of a new Speaker whenever that office becomes vacant. The relevant Standing Order does not refer to this member by the title "Father of the House", referring instead to the longest-serving member of the House present who is not a Minister of the Crown (meaning that if the Father is absent or a government minister, the next person in line presides).
List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies 2005–10
There are 650 in the 2010 election constituencies currently represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as at the 2005 general election. Each constituency is represented by a single Member of Parliament (MP).
Devolved English parliament
Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected simultaneously in general elections all over the United Kingdom. There are 533 English constituencies, which because of their large number, form an inbuilt majority in the House of Commons. However, there have been notable occasions - Foundation Hospitals, Top-up fees and the new runway at Heathrow, for example - where MPs elected in England have been outvoted by MPs from the rest of the UK on English-only legislation that is devolved outside England. As the British Government considered Scotland to be over-represented in relation to the other components of the United Kingdom, Clause 81 of the Scotland Act 1998 equalised the English and Scottish electoral quota, and London now provides more MPs per capita than Scotland does.
Government of the United Kingdom
Parliament is split into two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Commons is the lower house and is the more powerful. The House of Lords is the upper house and although it can vote to amend proposed laws, the House of Commons can usually vote to overrule its amendments. Although the House of Lords can introduce bills, most important laws are introduced in the House of Commons – and most of those are introduced by the government, which schedules the vast majority of parliamentary time in the Commons. Parliamentary time is essential for bills to be passed into law, because they must pass through a number of readings before becoming law. Prior to introducing a bill, the government may run a public consultation to solicit feedback from the public and businesses, and often may have already introduced and discussed the policy in the Queen's Speech, or in an election manifesto or party platform.
House of Lords
In August 2014, despite there being a seating capacity of only around 230 to 400 on the benches in the Lords chamber, the House had 774 active members (plus 54 who were not entitled to attend or vote, having been suspended or granted leave of absence). This made the House of Lords the largest parliamentary chamber in any democracy. In August 2014, former Speaker of the House of Commons Betty Boothroyd requested that "older peers should retire gracefully" to ease the overcrowding in the House of Lords. She also criticised successive prime ministers for filling the second chamber with "lobby fodder" in an attempt to help their policies become law. She made her remarks days before a new batch of peers were due to be created.
The Student Room
The "Debate and Discussion" section of the forum also hosts a Model Parliament based on the UK Parliamentary system. The Model House of Commons [MHoC] is run by an elected Speaker and is made up of 50 MPs who create and vote on legislations. Anyone is free to join the MHoC and they can do so by applying to one of the six parties that operate there: the Labour Party, the Conservative & Unionist Party, the Liberal Party, the Libertarian Party, the Socialist Party and National Conservative Party (formerly UKIP). (These parties have no affiliation with any real-life party and can have somewhat different ideological stances to real-life parties of the same name). A governmental term lasts 6 months, and the MHoC is currently in its 26th (XXVI) Parliament. The current government is a Conservative/Liberal/National Conservative minority government with Labour in official opposition.
Member of parliament
The House of Lords is a legislative chamber that is part of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Although they are part of the parliament, its members are referred to as peers, more formally as "Lords of Parliament", not MPs. Lords Temporal sit for life, Lords Spiritual while they occupy their ecclesiastical positions. Hereditary peers may no longer pass on a seat in the House of Lords to their heir automatically. The 92 who remain have been elected from among their own number, following the House of Lords Act 1999 and are the only elected members of the Lords.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Since 1990, almost all ministers, save for three who are an intrinsic part of the House of Lords, have belonged to the Commons.
Ecclesiastical Committee
The Ecclesiastical Committee is a body created by the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919 that comprises 30 members of the United Kingdom Parliament. Its purpose is to review Church of England measures submitted to Parliament by the Legislative Committee of the General Synod. The Lord Speaker appoints 15 members from the House of Lords, and the Speaker of the House of Commons appoints 15 MPs to serve on the committee. Members are appointed to serve for the duration of a parliament.
List of MPs elected in the 2017 United Kingdom general election
The fifty-seventh Parliament of the United Kingdom is the legislature following the 2017 general election of Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons. The State Opening of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster by Queen Elizabeth II was on 21 June 2017. Each of Parliament's 650 constituencies returns one MP to the House of Commons.
Constitution of the United Kingdom
Parliament is bicameral, with two houses — the House of Commons and the House of Lords; the monarch formally forms a third element of Parliament (see Queen-in-Parliament). The House of Commons, which unlike the House of Lords is democratically elected, has supremacy by virtue of the Parliament Act 1911 and Parliament Act 1949. An Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom is primary legislation and Parliament can (and does) alter the British constitution by passing such Acts.
Liaison Committee
The Liaison Committee is a committee of the British House of Commons, the lower house of the United Kingdom Parliament. The committee consists of the chairs of the 32 Commons Select Committees and the chairmen of the Joint Committee on Human Rights.
Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919
The Act creates an Ecclesiastical Committee, consisting of fifteen members of the House of Lords chosen by the Lord Speaker, and fifteen members of the House of Commons, chosen by the Speaker of the House of Commons. The members are appointed for the duration of each parliament, and vacancies may be filled by the speaker of the relevant House. A quorum for business is twelve members.
House of Commons of Great Britain
The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the Parliament of Scotland, as one of the most significant changes brought about by the Union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain.
In the course of the 18th century, the office of Prime Minister developed. The notion that a government remains in power only as long as it retains the support of Parliament also evolved, leading to the first ever motion of no confidence, when Lord North's government failed to end the American Revolution. The modern notion that only the support of the House of Commons is necessary for a government to survive, however, was of later development. Similarly, the custom that the Prime Minister is always a Member of the Lower House, rather than the Upper one, did not evolve until the twentieth century.
Women in the House of Lords
The first women in the House of Lords took their seats in 1958, forty years after women were granted the right to stand as MPs in the House of Commons. There are 209 female peers out of 798 in the House of Lords today, up from 199 out of 826 (24%) in 2015, 176 out of 771 (23%) in 2013, and 164 out of 777 (21%) in 2010. Women make up 25% of the total members, compared with 32% for women in the House of Commons.
House of Commons Commission
The House of Commons Commission is the overall supervisory body of the House of Commons Administration in the United Kingdom. The Commission is a corporate body established by the House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978 (c.36). The Commission continues to exist during the dissolution period and the person who was Speaker continues in office as a member of the Commission until a Speaker is chosen by the new Parliament.
Women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
In February 2018 the Electoral Reform Society reported that hundreds of seats were being effectively 'reserved' by men, holding back women’s representation. Their report states that 170 seats are being held by men first elected in 2005 or before – with few opportunities for women to take those seats or selections. Broadly speaking, the longer an MP has been in Parliament, the more likely they are to be male.In the 2015 general election, 191 women were elected, making up 29% of the House of Commons; up from 141 and 23% before the election.
As elected in the 2010 general election.
Women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
All-women shortlists are a method of affirmative action which has been used by the Labour Party to increase the representation of women in Parliament. As of 2015, 117 Labour MPs have been elected to the House of Commons after being selected as candidates through an all-women shortlist. In 2002 this method of selection was ruled to breach the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. In response to this ruling the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002 legalised all-women short lists as a method of selection. The Equality Act 2010 extends this exemption from discrimination law to 2030.
List of female Members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
This is a list of women who have been elected as Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
All legislation must be passed by the House of Commons to become law and it controls taxation and the supply of money to the government. Government ministers (including the Prime Minister) must regularly answer questions in the House of Commons and there are a number of select committees that scrutinise particular issues and the workings of the government. There are also mechanisms that allow members of the House of Commons to bring to the attention of the government particular issues affecting their constituents.
Public Accounts Commission
The Commission comprises nine MPs, including the Leader of the House of Commons and the Chair of the Public Accounts Select Committee, who serve "ex officio". The remaining seven, who may not be Ministers of the Crown, are chosen by the House of Commons. The Commission elects its chair from among its numbers. Members continue to serve despite a dissolution of Parliament, but—excepting the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee—are required to resign if they are not standing or are defeated for re-election. As of 4 September 2012, the members of the Commission are as follows:
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The House of Lords includes two different types of members: the Lords Spiritual, consisting of the most senior bishops of the Church of England, and the Lords Temporal, consisting mainly of life peers, appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister, and of 92 hereditary peers, sitting either by virtue of holding a royal office, or by being elected by their fellow hereditary peers. Prior to the opening of the Supreme Court in October 2009, the House of Lords also performed a judicial role through the Law Lords.
West Lothian question
During the existence of the Parliament of Northern Ireland (1922–1972), the number of MPs elected from Northern Ireland to Westminster was below the standard ratio of MPs compared with the rest of the UK. During periods when the predominantly unionist MPs from Northern Ireland deprived Labour of working majorities, Conservatives supported the principle that "every member of the House of Commons is equal to every other member of the House of Commons". Scotland traditionally enjoyed a greater number of MPs per head of population than the rest of the UK, but this advantage was reduced significantly at the 2005 UK general election. Under boundary reforms proposed by the Conservatives, there would be 50 Scottish seats out of a UK total of 600. An argument against the idea of having a lower number of MPs, in return for more devolved powers, is that if the national parliament takes important decisions (such as waging war) then people should be fully represented.
List of members of the House of Commons at Westminster 1705–1708
This is a list of members of the House of Commons who met at the Palace of Westminster between 14 June 1705 and 15 April 1708, initially as the House of Commons of England, then after the Acts of Union 1707 as the House of Commons of Great Britain.
List of ethnic minority politicians in the United Kingdom
At the 2001 general election, the Parliament of the United Kingdom had twelve ethnic minority Members of Parliament, and after the 2005 general election; that number increased to fifteen. With the 2010 general election, the Parliament of the United Kingdom reported that the number of ethnic minority MPs increased by nearly three-quarters, to a total of 26. The first three Muslim female MPs were elected. All ethnic minority MPs were either Labour (15) or Conservative (11). In October 2013, the UK Parliament reported that the number of ethnic minority MPs stood at 27, 4.2% of the total.
Women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Between 1918 and 2015, a total of 450 women have been elected as Members of the House of Commons, which is fewer than the number of men (459) in the 2015 Parliament. The longest-serving female member of Parliament is currently informally known as the Mother of the House.
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain. In 1801, with the union of Great Britain and Ireland, that house was in turn replaced by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
Legislatures of the United Kingdom
The European Parliament (EP) is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union. Together with the Council of the European Union (the Council) and the European Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU. The Parliament is composed of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), who represent the second-largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world (375 million eligible voters in 2009).
List of United Kingdom MPs who only sat in the 29th Parliament
General elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom were held in January 1910 and again in December 1910. There were 23 Members of the 1910 Parliament who were not members of any preceding or following Parliament. Their tenure as MPs therefore lasted at most 286 days, making them among the shortest-serving MPs in history. On only one other occasion in the 20th century, 1974, have two British general elections taken place in the same year.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
The rule that precludes certain Crown officers from serving in the House of Commons is used to circumvent a resolution adopted by the House of Commons in 1623, under which members are not permitted to resign their seats. In practice, however, they always can. Should a member wish to resign from the Commons, he or she may request appointment to one of two ceremonial Crown offices: that of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, or that of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead. These offices are sinecures (that is, they involve no actual duties); they exist solely to permit the "resignation" of members of the House of Commons. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible for making the appointment, and, by convention, never refuses to do so when asked by a member who desires to leave the House of Commons.
Bicameralism
The best known example is the British House of Lords, which includes a number of hereditary peers. The House of Lords is a vestige of the aristocratic system that once predominated in British politics, while the other house, the House of Commons, is entirely elected. Over the years, some have proposed reforms to the House of Lords, some of which have been at least partly successful. The House of Lords Act 1999 limited the number of hereditary peers (as opposed to life peers, appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister) to 92, down from around 700. Of these 92, one is the Earl Marshal, a hereditary office always held by the Duke of Norfolk, one is the Lord Great Chamberlain, a hereditary office held by turns, currently by the Marquess of Cholmondeley, and the other 90 are elected by all sitting peers. Hereditary peers elected by the House to sit as representative peers sit for life; when a representative peer dies, byelections occur to fill the vacancy. The ability of the House of Lords to block legislation is curtailed by the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949. Peers can introduce bills except Money Bills, and all legislation must be passed by both Houses of Parliament. If not passed within two sessions, the House of Commons can override the Lords delay by invoking the Parliament Act. Certain legislation, however, must be approved by both Houses and can't be forced through by the Commons under the Parliament Act. These include any bill that would extend the time length of a Parliament, private bills, bills sent to the House of Lords less than one month before the end of a session, and bills that originated in the House of Lords.
Politics of England
English members of parliament are elected at the same time as those for the rest of the UK. There are 533 English constituencies. Because of their large number, they form an inbuilt majority in the House of Commons. Even though Clause 81 of the Scotland Act 1998 equalised the English and Scottish electoral quota, and thereby reduced the number of Scottish members in the House of Commons from 72 to 59 MPs.
House of Lords
Unlike the elected House of Commons, all members of the House of Lords (excluding 90 hereditary peers elected among themselves and two peers who are "ex officio" members) are appointed. The membership of the House of Lords is drawn from the peerage and is made up of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. The Lords Spiritual are 26 bishops in the established Church of England. Of the Lords Temporal, the majority are life peers who are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. However, they also include some hereditary peers including four dukes.
Politics of the United Kingdom
The Countries of the United Kingdom are divided into parliamentary constituencies of broadly equal population by the four Boundary Commissions. Each constituency elects a Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons at general elections and, if required, at by-elections. As of 2010 there are 650 constituencies (there were 646 before that year's general election). Of the 650 MPs, all but one - Lady Sylvia Hermon - belong to a political party.
List of MPs elected in the 1959 United Kingdom general election
Note: This is not the official seating plan of the House of Commons, which has five rows of benches on each side, with the government party to the right of the Speaker and opposition parties to the left, but with room for only around two-thirds of MPs to sit at any one time.
UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP ) is a hard Eurosceptic, right-wing political party in the United Kingdom. It currently has one representative in the House of Lords and seven Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). It has four Assembly Members (AMs) in the National Assembly for Wales and one member in the London Assembly. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Members of Parliament and was the largest UK party in the European Parliament.
List of Labour Party (UK) MPs
This is a list of United Kingdom Labour Party MPs. It includes all Members of Parliament (MPs) elected to the British House of Commons representing the Labour Party from 1900 to 1923 and since 1992. Members of the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly or the European Parliament are not listed. Those in italics are overall leaders of the Labour Party, those in bold are Prime Ministers.
House of Commons
The House of Commons of the Kingdom of England evolved from an undivided parliament to serve as the voice of the tax-paying subjects of the counties and of the boroughs. Knights of the shire, elected from each county, were usually landowners, while the borough members were often from the merchant classes. These members represented subjects of the Crown who were not Lords Temporal or Spiritual, who themselves sat in the House of Lords. The House of Commons gained its name because it represented communities ("communes"). Members of the Commons were all elected, while members of the upper house were summoned to parliament by the monarch, usually on the basis of a title which would be inherited after the holder's death, or because they held a position in the realm that warranted special recognition, such as the bishops of the English and Welsh dioceses. After the Reformation, these bishops were those of the Church of England.
List of members of the House of Commons at Westminster 1705–1708
The Commons of the second English Parliament of Queen Anne had been elected in May and June 1705. By proclamation of 29 April 1707 this parliament was declared to be the first Parliament of Great Britain. In February 1707 the shire commissioners and burgh commissioners of the last Parliament of Scotland in Edinburgh had elected 45 of their number (30 for the shires and 15 for the burghs) to represent Scotland in the House of Commons of Great Britain, and these new members took their seats at Westminster in November 1707. This brought the total number of Members of Parliament to 558, representing 314 constituencies. The Parliament was dissolved on 15 April 1708, triggering the first general election to the Parliament of Great Britain.
List of UK minor party and independent MPs elected
This is a list of members of the United Kingdom House of Commons who were elected as an independent or as a member of a minor political party.
Women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
The representation of Women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom has been an issue in the politics of the United Kingdom at numerous points in the 20th and 21st centuries. Originally debate centered on whether women should be allowed to vote and stand for election as Members of Parliament. The Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act 1918 gave women over 21 the right to stand for election as a Member of Parliament.
Culture of the United Kingdom
According to 2016 figures from the Ministry of Justice, there is a 35% chance of people in England and Wales being summoned for jury duty over the course of their lifetime. In Scotland the percentage is higher due to Scotland having a lower population as well having juries made up of fifteen people as opposed to twelve in England and Wales.
The 17th-century English patriot John Hampden was a leading parliamentarian involved in challenging the authority of Charles I when he refused to be taxed for ship money in 1637, and was one of the Five Members whose attempted unconstitutional arrest by the King in the House of Commons in 1642 sparked the English Civil War. The wars established the constitutional rights of parliament, a concept legally established as part of the Glorious Revolution in 1688 and the subsequent Bill of Rights 1689. Since that time, no British monarch has entered the House of Commons when it is sitting. Hampden is annually commemorated at the State Opening of Parliament by the British monarch when the doors of the House of Commons are slammed in the face of the monarch's messenger, symbolising the rights of Parliament and its independence from the monarch.
Other important British political figures include Sir Edward Coke, 17th-century jurist; the legal directive that nobody may enter a home, which in the 17th-century would typically have been male owned, unless by the owners invitation or consent, was established as common law in Coke's "Institutes of the Lawes of England". "For a man's house is his castle, et domus sua cuique est tutissimum refugium [and each man's home is his safest refuge]." It is the origin of the famous dictum, “an Englishman’s home is his castle”. Sir William Blackstone, 18th-century jurist, judge and politician best known for his "Commentaries on the Laws of England", containing his formulation: "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer", a principle that government and the courts must err on the side of innocence, Emmeline Pankhurst, leading suffragette which helped win women the right to vote, William Wilberforce, leading parliamentary abolitionist. An influential thinker in the history of liberalism, 19th century philosopher, political economist and politician John Stuart Mill justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state and social control. A member of the Liberal Party, he was also the first Member of Parliament to call for women's suffrage.
Robert Walpole is generally regarded as the first British Prime Minister (1721–1742). Twice Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, founded the Conservative party (which was expanded by Benjamin Disraeli), and created the modern police force. Margaret Thatcher was the first female British Prime Minister (1979–1990). She became known as the "Iron Lady", a term coined by a Soviet journalist for her uncompromising politics and leadership style. In 1938, Neville Chamberlain believed he had secured "Peace for our time" with Germany, a year before WWII broke out. Nigel Farage, founding member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) that advocated British withdrawal from the European Union, has been dubbed "Mr Brexit". He succeeded in his overriding ambition – to see the UK vote to leave the European Union.
List of MPs for constituencies in England 2010–15
This is a list of Members of Parliament (MPs) elected to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom by English constituencies for the Fifty-Fifth Parliament of the United Kingdom (2010 to present).
Parliament of Southern Ireland
The House of Commons of Southern Ireland as established under the original version of Fourth Home Rule Bill was intended as the sole chamber of the Parliament; however the final version of the bill established two chambers with the House of Commons as the lower house of the Parliament. It consisted of 128 members who were styled as being members of parliament and whose presiding officer was to be known as the Speaker of the House of Commons. The basic features of the House were constructed from those of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom which was structured in a similar manner. The franchise was the same as for Westminster elections under the Representation of the People Act 1918: men over 21 and women over 30. The voting method for the election of MPs was the Single transferable vote with the bill prescribing 16 members being elected from multimember borough constituencies, 104 from multi-member county constituencies and 8 being elected from graduates of Irish Universities, with all members having equal standing in the eyes of the House. The borough and county constituencies replaced those used for Westminster elections with new multi-member ones. The University seats were broken down into 4 for the University of Dublin and 4 for the National University of Ireland.
Panel of Chairs
The Panel of Chairs (formerly the Chairmen's Panel) are members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom responsible for chairing public bill committees and other General Committees, as well as debates in Westminster Hall, the parallel debating chamber. The three Deputy Speakers, who are automatically members, are responsible for chairing Committees of the Whole House. Other members may act as temporary chairs of Committees of the Whole House. The Panel is not itself generally thought of as a committee, but it does have the power to meet to consider matters relating to procedure in the general committees and report its findings to the House of Commons.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Prior to July 2006, the House of Lords was presided over by a Lord Chancellor (a Cabinet member), whose influence as Speaker was very limited (whilst the powers belonging to the Speaker of the House of Commons are vast). However, as part of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the position of Speaker of the House of Lords (as it is termed in the Act) was separated from the office of Lord Chancellor (the office which has control over the judiciary as a whole), though the Lords remain largely self-governing. Decisions on points of order and on the disciplining of unruly members are made by the whole body, but by the Speaker alone in the Lower House. Speeches in the House of Lords are addressed to the House as a whole (using the words "My Lords"), but those in the House of Commons are addressed to the Speaker alone (using "Mr Speaker" or "Madam Speaker"). Speeches may be made to both Houses simultaneously.
List of Speakers of the British House of Commons
The Kingdom of Great Britain was created by the Acts of Union 1707. At the beginning of 1801, Great Britain was combined with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a single House of Commons serving the whole kingdom.
List of United Kingdom MPs by seniority, 2015–17
The House of Commons of the 56th Parliament of the United Kingdom was elected on 7 May 2015 and first met on 18 May 2015. Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (as amended) the next general election was scheduled to be on 7 May 2020. An early election or one delayed by up to two months were possible in certain circumstances. In the event an early general election was authorised, by a two-thirds vote of the House of Commons, with the election being arranged for 8 June 2017. The formal dissolution of Parliament takes place twenty-five working days before the polling day to elect the new Parliament.
List of United Kingdom MPs who only sat in the 32nd Parliament
General elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom were held in November 1922 and again in December 1923. There were 56 Members of the 1922–23 Parliament who were not members of any preceding or following Parliament. Their tenure as MPs lasted at most 361 days, making them among the shortest-serving MPs in history.
List of MPs elected in the 1950 United Kingdom general election
Note: This is not the official seating plan of the House of Commons, which has five rows of benches on each side, with the government party to the right of the Speaker and opposition parties to the left, but with room for only around two-thirds of MPs to sit at any one time.This is a complete list of Members of Parliament elected to the 39th Parliament of the United Kingdom at the 1950 general election, held on 23 February 1950.
House of Lords
In April 2011, a cross-party group of former leading politicians, including many senior members of the House of Lords, called on the Prime Minister David Cameron to stop creating new peers. He had created 117 new peers since becoming prime minister in May 2010, a faster rate of elevation than any PM in British history. The expansion occurred while his government had tried (in vain) to reduce the size of the House of Commons by 50 members, from 650 to 600.
List of Speakers of the House of Commons of England
For Speakers of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801, see List of Speakers of the British House of Commons.
United Kingdom
The UK has a parliamentary government based on the Westminster system that has been emulated around the world: a legacy of the British Empire. The parliament of the United Kingdom meets in the Palace of Westminster and has two houses: an elected House of Commons and an appointed House of Lords. All bills passed are given Royal Assent before becoming law.
Culture of the United Kingdom
The UK has a parliamentary government based on the Westminster system that has been emulated around the world – a legacy of the British Empire. The Parliament of the United Kingdom that meets in the Houses of Parliament has two houses: an elected House of Commons and an appointed House of Lords, and any Bill passed requires Royal Assent to become law. It is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Kingdom: the devolved parliaments and assemblies in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are not sovereign bodies and could be abolished by the UK Parliament, despite each being established following public approval as expressed in a referendum.
The UK's two major political parties are the Labour Party and the Conservative Party, who between them won 580 out of 650 seats in the House of Commons at the most recent general election. The Scottish National Party (Scotland only) lost 21 of their seats in the House of Commons from the previous election; they remained the third-largest party by seats held, despite the Liberal Democrats making gains. The remaining seats were won by smaller parties, such as The Green Party; and UKIP lost their sole seat. Regional parties such as Plaid Cymru (Wales), Democratic Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party, Ulster Unionist Party, and Sinn Féin (Northern Ireland) also made gains.
A prominent part of British political culture, Prime Minister's Questions – often referred to as "PMQs" – is held every Wednesday at noon when the House of Commons is sitting. The Prime Minister spends around half an hour responding to questions from Members of Parliament (MPs). In questioning the policies of government ministers, MP Amber Rudd states “PMQs is central to our democracy.” Due to the drama of the sessions, PMQs is among the best-known parliamentary business in the country. It is broadcast live on BBC News, Sky News and BBC Parliament television channels.
Parliamentary Committees of the United Kingdom
The Parliamentary Committees of the United Kingdom are sub-legislative organizations each consisting of small number of Members of Parliament from the House of Commons, or peers from the House of Lords, or a mix of both appointed to deal with particular areas or issues; most are made up of members of the Commons. The majority of parliamentary committees are Select Committees. The remit of these committees vary depending on whether they are committees of the House of Commons or the House of Lords.
List of United Kingdom MPs by seniority, 2017–present
This is the list of United Kingdom MPs by seniority, 2017–present. The Members of Parliament (MPs) are ranked by the beginning of their terms in office, in the House of Commons.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
The House of Commons of England evolved in the 13th and 14th centuries. It eventually became the House of Commons of Great Britain after the political union with Scotland in 1707, and 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. 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. Accordingly, the House of Commons assumed its current title.
List of Speakers of the British House of Commons
This is a list of Speakers of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801.
Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)
The Speaker is also responsible for overseeing the administration of the House. They chair the House of Commons Commission, a body that appoints staff, determines their salaries, and supervises the general administration of those who serve the House. Furthermore, the Speaker controls the parts of the Palace of Westminster used by the House of Commons. Also, the Speaker is the "ex officio" Chairman of the four boundary commissions (for England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland), which are charged with redrawing the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies to reflect population changes. However, the Speaker normally does not attend meetings of the boundary commissions; instead, the Deputy Chairman of the Commission (usually a judge) normally presides.
Mhairi Black
Black is the current Baby of the House as the youngest member in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. When elected in May 2015, she was 20 years and 237 days old, making her the youngest ever Member of Parliament (MP) elected to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since at least the Reform Act of 1832, replacing James Dickson who was 21 years and 67 days old when elected in 1880.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
By convention, ministers are members of the House of Commons or House of Lords. A handful have been appointed who were outside Parliament, but in most cases they then entered Parliament in a by-election or by receiving a peerage (being made a life peer). Exceptions include Peter Mandelson, appointed Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in October 2008 before his peerage. Since 1902, all prime ministers have been members of the Commons; the sole exception was during the long Summer Recess in 1963, the 14th Earl of Home, disclaimed his peerage (under a new mechanism which remains in force), three days after becoming prime minister, thereby becoming Sir Alec Douglas-Home. The new session of Parliament was delayed to await the outcome of his by-election which happened to be underway from a recent death. As anticipated, he won the pending by-election which was for the highest-majority seat in Scotland among his party, else would have been constitutionally obliged to resign.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Once the division concludes, the tellers provide the results to the presiding officer, who then announces them to the House. If there is an equality of votes, the Speaker or Deputy Speaker has a casting vote. Traditionally, this casting vote is exercised to allow further debate, if this is possible, or otherwise to avoid a decision being taken without a majority (e.g. voting 'No' to a motion or the third reading of a bill). Ties rarely occur—the last one was in July 1993. The quorum of the House of Commons is 40 members for any vote, including the Speaker and four tellers. If fewer than 40 members have participated, the division is invalid.
4th Parliament of Great Britain
The composition of the new House of Commons was the result of an even greater Tory landslide than at the previous election, with 369 pro-government Tories, 162 Whigs plus 13 Whig supporters and 14 others. Sir Thomas Hanmer, Bt, member for Suffolk, was installed as Speaker of the House of Commons.
Highland (council area)
In the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom the Highland area is represented by Members of Parliament (MPs) elected from three constituencies: Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross; Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey; and Ross, Skye and Lochaber. Each constituency elects one MP by the first past the post system of election.
As of the United Kingdom General Election, 2017 the members of parliament are as follows
Multi-member constituencies in the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Multi-member constituencies in the UK Parliament (and its predecessor bodies in the component parts of the United Kingdom) existed from the earliest era of elected representation in Parliament until the last of them were abolished prior to the UK general election, 1950, with the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1948. Since 1950, all members of the House of Commons have been elected from single-member constituencies, also conveniently termed seats.
Unreformed House of Commons
"Unreformed House of Commons" is a name given to the House of Commons of Great Britain and (after 1800) the House of Commons of the United Kingdom before it was reformed by the Reform Act 1832.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The House of Lords Act 1999 removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords, although it made an exception for 92 of them to be elected to life-terms by the other hereditary peers, with by-elections upon their death. The House of Lords is now a chamber that is subordinate to the House of Commons. Additionally, the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 led to abolition of the judicial functions of the House of Lords with the creation of the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in October 2009.
List of women members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland
The House of Commons had 52 members, known as MPs. They were elected in the 1921 and 1925 elections by single transferable vote (STV), and from 1929 onwards by first-past-the-post, except for the 4-seat Queen's University of Belfast constituency which retained STV until its abolition in 1969.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Constitutionally, the UK is a "de jure" unitary state, its parliament and government in Westminster. In the House of Commons – the lower house of the UK parliament – Wales is represented by 40 MPs (out of 650) from Welsh constituencies. At the 2017 general election, 28 Labour and Labour Co-op MPs were elected, eight Conservative MPs and four Plaid Cymru MPs. The Wales Office is a department of the United Kingdom government responsible for Wales, whose minister the Secretary of State for Wales sits in the UK cabinet. Alun Cairns has been Secretary of State for Wales since March 2016.
Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)
Over 150 individuals have served as Speaker of the House of Commons. Their names are inscribed in gold leaf around the upper walls of Room C of the House of Commons Library. The three most recent Speakers have been notable for a series of firsts. Betty Boothroyd, elected in 1992, was the first woman Speaker. Michael Martin, elected in 2000, was the first Roman Catholic Speaker since the Reformation. John Bercow, elected in 2009, is the first Jewish Speaker.
Records of members of parliament of the United Kingdom
Prior to the Acts of Union, the youngest known person to have sat in the House of Commons of England was Christopher Monck, elected MP for Devon in 1667, "probably without a contest", at the age of 13. He sat in the House for three years, before being elevated to the House of Lords upon his father's death. He is said to have been "moderately active during his short period of membership, sitting on seven committees".
Standards and Privileges Committee
The Standards and Privileges Committee of the United Kingdom House of Commons was established in 1995 to replace the earlier Committee of Privileges. Ten Members of Parliament sit to make recommendations to the House on complaints of breach of Parliamentary privilege. It was itself replaced on 7 January 2013, when it was split into the Committee on Standards and the Committee of Privileges.
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster. Officially, the full name of the house is the Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled.
List of MPs elected in the February 1974 United Kingdom general election
The forty-sixth Parliament of the United Kingdom was the legislature of the United Kingdom following the February 1974 general election of Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons. Parliament, which consists of the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons, was convened on 12 March 1974 at the Palace of Westminster by Queen Elizabeth II. It was dissolved just over six months later on 20 September 1974, making it the shortest UK parliament in history and the shortest parliament to sit at Westminster since 1681.
List of MPs elected in the 2015 United Kingdom general election
The fifty-sixth Parliament of the United Kingdom was the legislature of the United Kingdom following the 2015 general election of Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons. Parliament, which consists of the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons, was convened on 27 May 2015 at the Palace of Westminster by Queen Elizabeth II. It was dissolved just after midnight on 3 May 2017, being 25 working days ahead of the 2017 general election on 8 June 2017. The dissolution was originally scheduled for 2020, but took place almost three years early following a call for a snap election by Prime Minister Theresa May which received the necessary two-thirds majority in a 522 to 13 vote in the House of Commons on 19 April 2017. It was the shortest Parliament since 1974.
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons comprises 338 members, each of whom represents a single electoral district (also called a "riding"). The constitution specifies a basic minimum of 295 electoral districts, but additional seats are allocated according to various clauses. Seats are distributed among the provinces in proportion to population, as determined by each decennial census, subject to the following exceptions made by the constitution. Firstly, the "senatorial clause" guarantees that each province will have at least as many MPs as Senators. Secondly, the "grandfather clause" guarantees each province has at least as many Members of Parliament now as it had in 1985.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Since 1950, each Member of Parliament has represented a single constituency (also known as a seat). There remains a technical distinction between county and borough constituencies; its only effects are 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, as such disparities are given 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 2017, the UK is divided into 650 constituencies, with 533 in England, 40 in Wales, 59 in Scotland, and 18 in Northern Ireland.
Next Speaker of the British House of Commons election
The next election of the Speaker of the House of Commons is due to take place at the first sitting of parliament after the next UK general election (currently scheduled for May 2022) or sooner should the incumbent Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow leave office before the next election. In October 2018, it was reported that Bercow had informed friends of his intention to step down as Speaker in summer 2019 (ten years after becoming Speaker). The last speaker election was held on 13 June 2017 following the 2017 general election, and the last contested election of a Speaker was held on 22 June 2009.
Politics of Wales
Wales elects 40 representatives to the 646-member House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom in London. In the 2010 General Election, the Labour Party lost approximately 12% of the vote across Wales, with losses varying by region. However, Labour managed to mitigate their losses by winning 26 seats. The Conservatives returned the three MP's elected in the 2005 general election as well as adding 5 more. The Liberal Democrats have 3 seats. Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, also have 3 seats after gaining a seat from Labour.
List of United Kingdom MPs who only sat in the 33rd Parliament
General elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom were held in December 1923 and again in October 1924. There were 64 Members of the 1924 Parliament who were not members of any preceding or following Parliament. Their tenure as MPs therefore lasted 275 days, making them among the shortest-serving MPs in history. Two members (both Liberal) did not offer themselves for re-election. The remainder (51 Liberal, 10 Labour, and one Conservative) were candidates for re-election but were not returned.
First Parliament of the United Kingdom
In the first Parliament to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801, the first House of Commons of the United Kingdom was composed of all 558 members of the former Parliament of Great Britain and 100 of the members of the House of Commons of Ireland.
Independence from Europe
The party advocated sweeping reforms of the UK's legislative process. These included a reduction of the number of Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons by one third (650 to 430) and the replacement of the House of Lords with an elected upper chamber. Scheduled debates would have been introduced, upon which members for Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh constituencies would return to their devolved legislatures, leaving the UK Parliament to discuss English affairs exclusively. The party repeatedly advocated the abolition of the National Assembly for Wales, however, at one time adopting the tagline 'Abolish Assembly and leave European Union'; it suggested a referendum be held in Wales over the matter. Devolved legislatures' membership would have no longer consisted of politicians elected specifically to those chambers (i.e. MLAs, MSPs or AMs), but would have instead comprised those UK MPs returning routinely from the national parliament.
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions
Until the 2005 United Kingdom general election the first past the post constituencies were the same as for the House of Commons (United Kingdom Parliament, Westminster), except for Orkney and Shetland, which were separate constituencies at Holyrood, but not at Westminster. The Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004 enabled a new set of House of Commons constituencies to be formed in Scotland in 2005, reducing their number and, therefore, the number of Scottish Members of Parliament (MPs) to 59, without change to the Holyrood constituencies and the number of MSPs.
Number of Westminster MPs
Over the history of the House of Commons, the number of members of parliament (MPs) has varied for assorted reasons, with increases in recent years due to increases in the population of the United Kingdom. There are currently 650 constituencies, each sending one MP to the House of Commons, corresponding to approximately one for every 92,000 people, or one for every 68,000 parliamentary electors.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
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 (see deposit (politics)) seeks to discourage frivolity and very long ballot papers which would cause vote splitting (and arguably voter confusion). Each constituency can be 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, prisoners, and insane persons are not qualified to become members of the House of Commons. To vote, one must be a UK resident and a British citizen, or a citizen of a British overseas territory, of the Republic of Ireland, or of a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. British citizens living abroad are allowed to vote for 15 years after leaving. It is, as is intuitive, 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 as before 1948 plural voting was permitted as voters qualified by home ownership or residence and could vote under both entitlements simultaneously.
List of MPs elected in the 2015 United Kingdom general election
Below is a graphical representation of the House of Commons showing a comparison of party strengths as it was directly after the 2015 general election. This is not a seating plan of the House of Commons, which has five rows of benches on each side, with the government party to the right of the Speaker and opposition parties to the left, but with room for only around two-thirds of MPs to sit at any one time.
This table shows the number of MPs in each party:The following table is a list of MPs elected, ordered by constituency. Names of incumbents are listed where they stood for re-election; for details of defeated new candidates and the incumbent who stood down in those cases see individual constituency articles.