Houses of Parliament The Houses of Parliament were the two houses of England ' s , later the United Kingdom ' s , legislature : the House of Commons and the House of Lords . ( GAME : " The Gunpowder Plot " ) These were built in a way that made them appear balanced across two axes , land to river , and from the Commons ' Speaker ' s Chair to the Lords ' Woolsack . ( PROSE : " The Book of the War " ) Parliament ratified laws and gave assent to British monarch if they wished to raise taxes . ( GAME : " The Gunpowder Plot " ) When Faction Paradox made the Gregorian Compact with George II , the Houses of Parliament became the centre of their Eleven - Day Empire . ( PROSE : " Interference " ) History . In the 13th century , a Rutan ship containing two doomsday weapons that targeted Sontaran DNA crashlanded beneath the future site of Parliament . ( GAME : " The Gunpowder Plot " ) In November 1605 , Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes plotted to blow up Parliament as he opposed King James I ' s anti - Catholic regime . Lady Winters , a Rutan from the crashed ship , awoke from suspended animation and attempted to use the Gunpowder Plot to her advantage by propelling her ship with the explosion . The Eleventh Doctor safely placed Parliament in Earth orbit , while he used a handful of gunpowder barrels belonging to the plotter Guy Fawkes to allow the ship still be launched . Having traced Winters ' distress call , Sontarans and Rutans fought with one another inside Parliament while searching for these weapons , but were forced into ceasefire when the Doctor reprogrammed one of weapons to target the Rutans , risking one of the two species to kill their own kind . The Doctor returned Parliament to its rightful place and Fawkes was caught by the king ' s men before he could light the remaining 36 gunpowder barrels . ( GAME : " The Gunpowder Plot " ) The days 2 - 14 September 1752 were " lost " with the conversion from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar . The London existence of that period was purchased from George II by Grandfather Paradox on behalf of Faction Paradox in the Gregorian Compact , and became their heartland known as the Eleven - Day Empire . The Empire was governed from the chamber of the House of Commons ; the speaker ' s chair was empty , waiting for Grandfather Paradox ' s return . ( PROSE : " Interference - Book One " ) In the 1890s , the Danger Thinkers attacked the Houses of Parliament with their mind powers , but were stopped by the Paternoster Gang . ( PROSE : " The Insidious Ideas of the Danger Thinkers " ) In 1941 , during the London Blitz , the Daleks sent an electrical wave that turned on all electronic devices , making the Houses of Parliament and the rest of London light up . ( TV : " Victory of the Daleks " ) In 1965 , there were less than a dozen women serving in either House of Parliament . ( AUDIO : " Manhunt " ) In the early morning of 1 January 2005 , the newly regenerated Eleventh Doctor flew west over the Houses of Parliament whilst clinging by his fingers from his TARDIS ' doorway . He narrowly escaped ramming the clock tower , before climbing back aboard and being thrown nearly nine years back in time . ( TV : " The Eleventh Hour " ) In 2009 , in an alternate timeline created by Sarah Jane ' s actions in 1951 in which the world was destroyed , Luke , Sarah and the Trickster stood at the remains of the Houses of Parliament . ( TV : " The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith " ) In 2014 , a Kharitite broke into the building to feast on the negative emotions released during Prime Minister ' s Questions . ( COMIC : " After Life " ) Parliament was an early target of the Dalek s in the 2157 invasion ; the politicians were rounded up and exterminated in Parliament Square . ( PROSE : " Alien Bodies " ) Westminster still standing circa 2167 , with Dalek s patrolling the adjacent Westminster Bridge . ( TV : " The Dalek Invasion of Earth " ) For decades after the liberation of Earth , parliament didn ' t exist and Britain was split into " domains " ; in 2199 , the Houses were still being restored . ( PROSE : " Legacy of the Daleks " ) Eleven - Day Empire . Though the Eleven - Day Empire was purchased in 1752 , its Parliament buildings were based on the ones built at Westminster after the old Parliament burned down during the Star Chamber ' s attack on the Empire on 16 October , 1834 . Godfather Morlock said this was because the newer Parliament buildings " cast longer shadows " . 630 Fathers and Mothers of the Faction sat in the House of Commons . They were presided over by the Acting Speaker , since the actual Speaker ' s Chair was traditionally left empty for Grandfather Paradox . However , not even the highest - ranking members of the Faction would cross the threshold into the House of Lords , and no one would say what lay within . The only person to have entered and left was Cousin Anastasia , who emerged after an hour covered in blood and missing one finger , declaring the formation of the Thirteen - Day Republic . The Rump Parliament was the Parliament ' s honorary successor in the City of the Saved . ( PROSE : " The Book of the War " ) References . In 2005 , after finding he had a listening device planted on him , the Eighth Doctor joked , " If we ' re going to blow up Parliament , we ' ll need some first - rate gunpowder and some trustworthy Catholic horse s . " ( COMIC : " The Flood " ) In 2011 , Clyde Langer objected to letting Sky Smith , who could manipulate electronic devices , enter a power station , comparing it to a " Houses of Parliament tour with Guy Fawkes " . ( TV : " Sky " )