Rise of the Commons - UK Parliament Rise of the Commons Elizabethan Parliaments Rise of the Commons Edward III came to the throne in 1327, and from that point the representatives of the counties (knights of the shire) and of the towns (burgesses) became a permanent part of Parliament. After 1332 they sat together in one chamber and were known as the House of Commons. After 1341 these Commons deliberated separately from the King and his nobles. Edward III also stated his resolution that a Parliament should be summoned annually, and between 1327 and 1485 there were only 42 years in which a Parliament did not meet. With increasing regularity during the 14th century, the Lords and particularly the Commons acted on a sense that they should have an active say in government, instead of merely consenting to the taxation decisions of the King. Emergence of a Speaker By 1376 people were getting tired of the elderly Edward III's rule, and the influence of his favourites. In the Parliament of that year the Commons chose Sir Peter de la Mare to act as its spokesman before the King in joining its complaints with that of the Lords.

De la Mare was thus the forerunner of the office of Speaker of the House of Commons - a member selected by the Commons to chair its business and represent its views. The following year Thomas Hungerford was the first spokesman to be termed Speaker in the official record. Good Parliament The Parliament of 1376 was called the Good Parliament. This was because the Commons prosecuted before the nobles some of the King's corrupt ministers, a process known as impeachment. This became a frequent procedure over the following years as Parliament turned against Edward III's successor Richard II. Wonderful Parliament In the Parliament of 1386, called the Wonderful Parliament, the Commons forced Richard II to dismiss his Lord Chancellor, whom it then impeached as well. Merciless Parliament Two years later the Merciless Parliament condemned to death the former Lord Chancellor and other royal officials, and in October 1399, Parliament (packed with supporters of Henry Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV) deposed Richard II by a trial and process, in an assembly which met at Westminster.

Glossary links Speakers of the British House of Commons Speakers of the British House of Commons Virginia House of Burgesses Top Surnames John Green (c.1382 - c.1434) John Greene, Esq., Lord Drayton1,2,3 M, #19680, d. 1433 Father Sir Henry Greene, Lord Drayton b. c 1365 Mother Maud Mauduit b. c 1361 John Greene, Esq., Lord Drayton was born at of Drayton in L... history The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The Speaker presides over the House's debates, determining which members may speak. The Speaker is also responsible for maintaining order during debate, and may punish members who break the rules of the House. Unlike presiding officers of legislatures in many other countries, the Speaker remains strictly non-partisan, and renounces all affiliation with his or her former political party when taking office.

The Speaker does not take part in debate nor vote (except to break ties, and even then, subject to conventions that maintain his or her non-partisan status). Aside from duties relating to presiding over the House, the Speaker also performs administrative and procedural functions, and remains a constituency Member of Parliament (MP). The Speaker has the right and obligation to reside in Speaker's House at the Palace of Westminster. History The office of Speaker is almost as old as Parliament itself. The earliest year for which a presiding officer has been identified is 1258, when Peter de Montfort presided over the Parliament held in Oxford. Early presiding officers were known by the title parlour or prolocutor. The continuous history of the office of Speaker is held to date from 1376 when Sir Peter de la Mare spoke for the commons in the "Good Parliament" as they joined leading magnates in purging the chief ministers of the Crown and the most unpopular members of the king's household. Edward III was frail and in seclusion, his prestigious eldest son, Edward the Black Prince, terminally ill. It was left to the next son, a furious John of Gaunt, to fight back.

He arrested De la Mare and disgraced other leading critics. In the next, "Bad Parliament", in 1377, a cowed Commons put forward Gaunt's steward, Thomas Hungerford, as their spokesman in retracting their predecessors' misdoings of the previous year. Gaunt evidently wanted a 'mirror-image' as his form of counter-coup and this notion, born in crisis, of one 'speaker', who quickly also became 'chairman' and organiser of the Commons' business, was recognised as valuable and took immediate root after 1376-7. Throughout the medieval and early modern period, every speaker was an MP for a county, reflecting the implicit situation that such shire representatives were of greater standing in the house than the more numerous burgess MPs. Although evidence is almost non-existent, it has been surmised that any vote was by count of head, but by the same token perhaps the fact so very little is said about actual votes suggests that most decisions, at least of a general kind, were reached more through persuasion and the weight by status of the county MPs. In such a situation, the influence of the speaker should not be underestimated.

Sir Thomas More was the first speaker to go on to become Lord Chancellor. Until the 17th century, members of the House of Commons often continued to view their Speaker (correctly) as an agent of the Crown. As Parliament evolved, however, the Speaker's position grew into one that involved more duties to the House than to the Crown; such was definitely the case by the time of the English Civil War. This change is sometimes said to be reflected by an incident in 1642, when King Charles I entered the House in order to search for and arrest five members for high treason. When the King asked him if he knew of the location of these members, the Speaker, William Lenthall, famously replied: "May it please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here." The development of Cabinet government under King William III in the late 17th century caused further change in the nature of the Speakership. Speakers were generally associated with the ministry, and often held other government offices.

For example, Robert Harley served simultaneously as Speaker and as a Secretary of State between 1704 and 1705. The Speaker between 1728 and 1761, Arthur Onslow, reduced ties with the government, though the office did remain to a large degree political. The Speakership evolved into its modern form—in which the holder is an impartial and apolitical officer who does not belong to any party—only during the middle of the 19th century. 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. By convention Speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as "Mr Speaker", and their deputies as "Mr Deputy Speaker".

Betty Boothroyd was, at her request, addressed as "Madam Speaker". When Betty Harvie Anderson had served in the 1970s as a Deputy Speaker, on the other hand, she had been addressed as "Mr Deputy Speaker". The Parliament of the Rats and Mice MIDDLE ENGLISH COMPLAINT LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION The Parliament of the Rats and Mice Allegory was a way to voice commentary from a safe distance to avoid reprisals, as was the dream-vision form such as Langland’s Piers Plowman, which employs both. Not all allegory was as topical as On the King’s Ministers but more veiled, as in the fable of the mice and rats that appears in the Prologue to Piers Plowman and a sermon by Thomas Brinton, preached in 1376, contemporary with Langland’s B-text (dated c. 1377-79). 1 The fable of the parliament of the rats and mice is as old as Aesop, and has often been adapted to express social commentary.

Critics generally see it as an observation on the problem of controlling central power and authority, which resonates with the political turmoil during the reign of Richard II (1377-99). Schmidt suggests that Langland's version of the tale has "general validity" but that its "topical application should not be overdone” (306n). However, despite his caveat to avoid overemphasizing a historical reading of the passage, he also points to allusions to the Good Parliament in his dating of the B-text (xvi). Parliament was called in late April 1376 in an atmosphere of discontent over royal administration, diplomatic tensions and military failures. The commons presented 146 petitions that complained about disorder and abuse at every level of government. Three main speakers called for relieving taxation on the commons, much of which had been improperly used, and having the king bear the expense of war. They also requested support of the commons by the lords through a council of four each of bishops, earls and barons; the king consented, expecting the facilitation of his request for a grant of supplies.

In May, the commons reappeared with the accusation against certain royal councilors and advisers for the burden of taxation, two of whom were named. Weeks later the commons demanded the removal of the king’s mistress, Alice Perrers, from court, and reform of the king’s council, to which the king agreed. There was then a long trial during which officials accused of corruption were eventually impeached (the first instance of the not yet established procedure), and the king was granted only a small portion of his financial request. The action taken against presumably corrupt officials and the seeming victory of the commons gave the proceedings the name “Good Parliament.” It had been led by the very powerful and equally unpopular John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and son of Edward III, and thus Richard II’s uncle. The actions of the Good Parliament were perceived by the royal family as a threat to the power of the crown, so later that year the great council met and the proceedings of the Good Parliament were reversed, its main supporters penalized by various means from arrest to loss of office, title, and property, and Alice Perrers was returned to court.

Critics generally interpret Langland’s allegorical figures of the rats and mice as the houses of parliament, the cat as John of Gaunt, the kitten as the young Richard, and the “rat of renown” as possibly Peter de la Mare, Speaker of the House of Commons during the Good Parliament. 2 The fable begins after the Dreamer in the poem has surveyed a “fair field full of folk” (Prol. 17) and seen the corruption of society, learned how the social structure had been created, and heard a debate on the manner in which the king should administer law and justice. The Parliament of the Rats and Mice With that there ran a company of rats at once, with small mice among them, more than a thousand. They were coming to have a council for the common good, for a cat of the court came whenever he liked and leapt on them easily and seized them at his will, and played with them perilously and batted them about. They said, “We are so full of fear that we dare not speak out!

And if we complain about his game he will give us all grief; he will scratch or claw us and hold us in his clutches, and make our life hateful before he lets us pass. If we had the wit to withstand his will, we could be lofty lords and live at our ease.” A rat of renown, most eloquent of speech, presented an excellent remedy to them all. “I have seen men in the city of London wearing bright necklaces around their necks, and some craftily worked collars. They go about unleashed both in warren and wasteland wherever they like, and elsewhere at other times, as I hear tell. Were there a bell on their necklace, by Jesus, it seems to me that men might know where they were and run away. “And so,” said the rat, “reason tells me to buy a bell of brass or bright silver and fasten it on a collar for our common good and hang it on the cat’s neck; then we can hear whether he rides, rests, or roams about to play.

If he wishes to amuse himself, then we can appear in his presence, and if he is angry, we can be wary and shun his way.” All the rats agreed with this reasoning, but although the bell was brought and hung on the necklace, there wasn’t a rat in the company, for all the realm of France or England, that dared to bind the bell about the cat’s neck, but they held themselves to be weak and their council feeble, and let their labors and long study be lost. A mouse that showed much good sense, as it seemed to me, strode forth sternly and stood before them all and said these words to the company of rats: “Though we had killed the cat, another would come to catch us and all our kind, although we creep under benches. Therefore I advise all the commons to let the cat alone, and that we never be so bold as to show him the bell. While he catches conies or feeds on venison, he doesn’t covet our carcasses. We should never defame him, for a little loss is better than a long sorrow of confusion among us all though we are rid of an evil one!

I heard my father say seven years ago, ‘Where the cat is a kitten, the court is wretched.’ That is witnessed in Holy Writ, to whoever will read it: ‘Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child.’ 3 No man there would rest at night because of rodents, for we mice would destroy many men’s malt, and you rats would tear men’s clothes were it not for the cat of the court who can pounce on you. If you rats had your way, you could not rule yourselves. “For myself,” said the mouse, “I foresee such consequences that I will never offend the cat or kitten with my counsel, or carp of this collar. Though it cost me my goods, I would not make it known but allow him to do as he likes—leashed or unleashed to catch what he may. Therefore, I warn each wise man to keep to his own!” Piers Plowman (B Prol.

146-208) Langland’s retelling of the traditional tale expands and politicizes Aesop’s brief fable, in which the mice wish to bell the cat so they can hide when they hear him coming, but no one is willing to do the task. Fables usually end with an epimythium, or moral, and one translation of Aesop’s fable closes with, “It is easy to propose impossible remedies.” The Franciscan friar Nicolas Bozon included the fable in his collection, Les contes moralisées, written in Anglo-Norman around 1320 and originally applied to prelates and their parishioners (Krochalis and Peters 164). The moral is a proverb given in French as well as English: “Clym, clam, cat lep over dam” (“Climb, climb, the cat leaps over the fence”) or “Hush, hush, if you want to live in peace” (Krochalis 166). Fables were used as exempla, including in sermons for instruction as well as entertainment to keep the congregants’ attention.

Thomas Brinton, Bishop of Rochester, used the fable in his Sermon 69, which was probably preached on 18 May 1376 to a clerical convocation during the Good Parliament. As a bishop, he was a member of the House of Lords, and in his sermon he attacks the people who administer the government “viciously and scandalously,” but he charges that despite the universal protesting, “we dare not speak the unmitigated truth about the appropriate remedy” (486). 4 In his version of the fable, the inability to find someone in parliament to bell the cat is dismissed as not being resolvable in that body, and presentation of the matter is therefore “unfounded and vain.” However, Brinton refuses to pass the problem of governmental mismanagement onto the commons. He uses the fable as a warning not to follow the example of the rats and mice, but to take action, to be doers not talkers. According to James 1:25: “The doer of the work, this man shall be blessed,” which is the theme of his sermon.

This moral and solution certainly contrast with the inaction that ends the fable in both Aesop’s and Langland’s versions. One reason for the difference may be timing. The delivery of Brinton’s speech, which was concurrent with the parliamentary session, left room for the hope of making an impact on the members. But Piers Plowman was presumably written after the reversal of the Good Parliament, perhaps no more than a year or two later. Parliament had been unable to stand against John of Gaunt in the event, which would make efforts to control him and royal power seem futile. Thus Langland’s mice and rats resign themselves to the status quo of vulnerability and oppression. Notes 1 Langland revised the text of Piers Plowman several times. The main versions studied are the A (unfinished), B, and C, dated approximately 1367-70, 1377-9, 1385-7 respectively. Piers Plowman is written in the complex alliterative verse form, one of the characteristics of which is sound repetition, and the present translation is somewhat more literal than others in the collection to convey a sense of the prosody.

See the Commentary on The Adventures of Arthur in the romance collection of this Special Edition for a detailed description of alliterative verse. For a lively free translation, see Piers Plowman, A New Translation of the B-text, trans. A.V.C. Schmidt (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1992). 2 When the actions of the Good Parliament were reversed, de la Mare was arrested and jailed, and later pardoned and released. The Speakers of the Canadian House of Commons (index-e.htm) The Speakers of the Canadian House of Commons The House of Commons Speaker’s chair Introduction The Speakership of the Canadian House of Commons traces its origins back many centuries in British parliamentary history, but has evolved over the past 140 years as a distinctly Canadian institution. As the presiding officer of our House of Commons, the Speaker is the key to ensuring that this institution, central to Canada’s federal system of government, operates smoothly. The Speaker also performs many other roles and functions, and holds an essential position in our parliamentary system of government. Origins of the Speakership The roots of the Speakership can be traced back in England at least to the 14th century.

In 1376 Sir Peter de la Mare was selected by the House of Commons to be its spokesman, and in 1377 his successor Sir Thomas Hungerford became the first of more than 150 members of the British House of Commons who have been called Speaker. Early Speakers — charged with representing the Commons to the King — were not in an easy position: between 1399 and 1535 seven Speakers were beheaded, one was killed during the Wars of the Roses, and one was murdered. The role of the Speaker crystallized in 1642, when King Charles I entered the House to demand that he be told the whereabouts of five parliamentarians whom he desired to be surrendered to him. Speaker William Lenthall refused to provide the information, in historic words that have been used from time to time in the Canadian House to define the relationship between the House and the Crown: May it please Your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak in this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here; and humbly beg Your Majesty’s pardon that I cannot give any other answer than this to what Your Majesty is pleased to demand of me.

Speakers were a part of early Canadian colonial legislatures. The first Speaker in what would become Canada was Robert Sanderson, a Boston merchant, chosen to chair the first representative House of Assembly of Nova Scotia in 1758. Over the years before Confederation, the Speakers of British North American legislative assemblies strengthened the independence, impartiality and non-partisan nature of their positions, in parallel with developments in the Speaker’s office in the United Kingdom. The British North America Act, 1867 — now the Constitution Act, 1867 — created the Dominion of Canada “with a Constitution similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom.” The Constitution Act, 1867 provides that the House elects its own Speaker, who presides over all its meetings, and that it must elect a new Speaker if the office becomes vacant permanently or temporarily (a provision that changed in 1885 when a Deputy Speakership was created). The Speaker may vote only in case of a tie. Much of the office of Speaker, however, is not set down in any constitutional or statutory documents, but rests on history, practice and convention.

A Uniquely Canadian Speakership Below are several distinguishing features of the Canadian Speakership: Until the mid-1980s, the Prime Minister nominated the prospective Speaker (usually after consulting the Leader of the Opposition), and the House approved the nomination. In 1985 the House introduced the secret ballot for electing the Speaker, a measure assuring the independence of the position. Normally the nominee is a member of the governing political party; on rare occasions a Speaker from a previous administration has been nominated by the different incoming government. Since Confederation, 20 Liberals and 14 Conservatives have held the office. Over time, Canadian Speakers have increasingly withdrawn from partisan activity. Although the Speaker must be a member of Parliament who has nearly always run for election as a member of a political party, he or she is expected to be scrupulously non-partisan. Speakers do not attend caucus meetings or take part in debates in the House of Commons, although such participation is not prohibited. Due to the bilingual nature of Canada, a convention developed (which has not always been observed) of alternating English-speaking and French-speaking Speakers. Despite simultaneous interpretation in the House in recent years, bilingualism remains an asset, if not a requirement, for the Speaker.

Speakers of the Canadian House of Commons have averaged a relatively short tenure in the Chair, compared to those of the United Kingdom House of Commons. In 1965 a change in the Standing Orders strengthened the authority of the Speaker by eliminating appeals to the House from the Speaker’s decisions. But the real source of his or her authority is the confidence of members of the House of Commons. The Speaker is, as William Lenthall said, the servant of the House. He or she can set the tone of the proceedings by maintaining decorum and order, but the Speaker cannot impose his or her will on the House. Duties of the Speaker The House of Commons Speaker’s parade The most visible element of the Speaker’s work in the Canadian House of Commons is his or her procedural duties while presiding over debates from the Speaker’s Chair. It is here that the importance of the position becomes clear: ensuring that the nation’s business is conducted efficiently, and balancing the rights and interests of both the majority and the minority. The Speaker is responsible for interpreting and enforcing all rules and practices, and for acting as the guardian of the rights and privileges of individual Members and of the House itself.

As a representative of the House of Commons, the Speaker has a number of traditional ceremonial and diplomatic duties. He or she is the spokesperson for the House in its dealings with the Senate, the Crown and other bodies outside Parliament. When entering or leaving the House, the Speaker is always preceded by the Sergeant-at-Arms carrying the Mace, the symbol of the Speaker’s authority. A day on which the House is sitting always begins with the Speaker’s Parade, in which the Speaker walks in procession through the Hall of Honour and into the Chamber. Members rise while the Speaker proceeds to the Chair and the Sergeant-at-Arms places the Mace on the Table. Once satisfied that the constitutionally required minimum of at least 20 members of Parliament is present, the Speaker reads the prayer (part of the daily proceedings of the House since 1877) and formally opens the sitting. The Speaker leads the procession when the House is summoned to the Senate to attend the Queen or Governor General, both at the beginning of a new session of Parliament and when there is a ceremony to grant Royal Assent to bills. The Speaker also has extensive administrative and financial duties, being responsible for the overall direction and management of the House of Commons.

Matters of administrative and financial policy affecting the House are overseen by the Board of Internal Economy, which is chaired by the Speaker. The management of the staff of the House of Commons falls under the Speaker, although the Clerk of the House and its senior officials generally manage them on a day-to-day basis. The Speaker oversees the premises of Parliament, as well as matters of security and policing within the parliamentary precincts. In addition, along with the Speaker of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Commons oversees the direction and control of the Library of Parliament. In a diplomatic capacity, the Speaker receives foreign visitors on Parliament Hill, including ambassadors, heads of state, and parliamentary delegations from other nations. He or she regularly leads delegations to Parliaments in other countries. Serving Canadians The House of Commons Chamber The brief biographical notes that follow offer perspectives on the careers of all Speakers of the Canadian House of Commons elected from 1867 to date. They illustrate the variety of backgrounds — in terms of occupation, income and education, among other things — from which Speakers have come. Many Speakers assumed office after acquiring substantial political experience at the federal, provincial (for early Speakers, in legislative assemblies and executive councils) and/or municipal levels.

For some, the Speakership was the height of his or her political career; for others, distinguished careers followed the departure from the Chair. Until the second half of the 20th century, the Speakership was often a stepping stone to Cabinet. Several Speakers went on to be eminent judges, and two recent Speakers were appointed Governors General of Canada. A few Speakers, however, ended up in relative poverty or obscurity. Some have served long terms, while others have chaired the House for less than a year. Each brought individual strengths to the position, such as deep knowledge of parliamentary procedure, impeccable judgement, an ability to defuse tense situations, or a congenial manner that fostered co-operation. Only 34 of 4,089 members of Parliament have been nominated and elected as Speakers of the Canadian House of Commons. Their personal qualities and experience led each of them to fulfil the office differently. Each one presided at a unique time and dealt with a different composition of the House and specific issues and challenges. Whatever the reason for his or her election to the office, each of the men and women serving as Speaker has had an important part in the orderly passage of the laws that affect all Canadians and the operation of our House of Commons.

The following biographical sketches pay tribute to the distinguished Canadians who have served in this important office and made a contribution to Canada’s Parliament and the country. © Library of Parliament | Revised: 2011-12 House of Commons of the United Kingdom House of Commons of the United Kingdom The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled Type Lower House Speaker Michael Martin, No party since October 23, 2000 Leader Harriet Harman, ( Labour ) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader Theresa May, ( Conservative ) since May 5, 2005 Members 646 Political groups Labour Party Social Democratic and Labour Party Ulster Unionist Party United Kingdom Web site The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords (the upper house). Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster . The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as " Members of Parliament" or MPs.

Members are elected, through the first-past-the-post system, by electoral districts known as constituencies, and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved (a maximum of five years). The House of Commons evolved at some point during the 14th century and has been in continuous existence since. The House of Commons was originally far less powerful than the House of Lords, but today its legislative powers exceed those of the Lords. Under the Parliament Act 1911, the Lords' power to reject most legislative bills was reduced to a delaying power. Moreover, the Government is primarily responsible to the House of Commons; the Prime Minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains its support. Almost all government ministers are drawn from the House of Commons and, with one brief exception, all Prime Ministers since 1902. The full, formal style and title of the House of Commons is The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. History Today's Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland largely descends from the Parliament of the Kingdom of England. That Parliament developed from the council that advised the English monarch in medieval times.

This royal council, meeting for short periods, included ecclesiastics, noblemen, as well as representatives of the counties (known as " knights of the shire"). The chief duty of the council was to approve taxes proposed by the Crown. In many cases, however, the council demanded the redress of the people's grievances before proceeding to vote on taxation. Thus, it developed legislative powers. In the " Model Parliament" of 1295, representatives of the boroughs (including towns and cities) were also admitted. Thus, it became settled practice that each county send two knights of the shire, and that each borough send two burgesses. At first, the burgesses were almost entirely powerless; whilst county representation was fixed, the monarch could enfranchise or disfranchise boroughs at pleasure. Any show of independence by burgesses would have led to the exclusion of their towns from Parliament. The knights of the shire were in a better position, though less powerful than their aristocratic counterparts in the still unicameral Parliament. The division of Parliament into two houses occurred during the reign of Edward III : the knights and burgesses formed the House of Commons, whilst the clergy and nobility became the House of Lords.

Though they remained subordinate to both the Crown and the Lords, the Commons did act with increasing boldness. During the Good Parliament (1376), the Speaker of the House of Commons , Sir Peter de la Mare, complained of heavy taxes, demanded an accounting of the royal expenditures, and criticised the King's management of the military. The Commons even proceeded to impeach some of the King's ministers. The bold Speaker was imprisoned, but was soon released after the death of King Edward III. During the reign of the next monarch, Richard II , the Commons once again began to impeach errant ministers of the Crown. They insisted that they could not only control taxation, but also public expenditures. Despite such gains in authority, however, the Commons still remained much less powerful than the Lords and the Crown. The influence of the Crown was increased by the civil wars of the late fifteenth century, which destroyed the power of the great nobles. Both houses of Parliament held little power during the ensuing years, and the absolute supremacy of the Sovereign was restored. The domination of the monarch grew further under the Tudor dynasty in the sixteenth century.

This trend, however, was somewhat reversed when the House of Stuart came to the English Throne in 1603. The first two Stuart monarchs, James I and Charles I , provoked conflicts with the Commons over issues such as taxation, religion, and royal powers. The differences between Charles I and Parliament were great, and resulted in the English Civil War , in which the armed forces of Parliament were victorious. In December 1648 the House of Commons was purged by the New Model Army, which was supposed to be subservient to Parliament. Pride's Purge was indeed the first and only military coup in English history. Subsequently, King Charles I was beheaded and the Upper House was abolished. The unicameral Parliament that remained was later referred to by critics as the Rump Parliament, as it consisted only of a small selection of Members of Parliament approved by the army - some of whom were soldiers themselves. In 1653, when leading figures in this Parliament began to disagree with the army, it was dissolved by Oliver Cromwell . However, the monarchy and the House of Lords were both restored with the Commons in 1660.

The influence of the Crown had been decreased, and was further diminished when James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The House of Commons in the early 19th century. The eighteenth century saw the development of the office of Prime Minister. The notion that a government remains in power only as long as it retains the support of Parliament evolved, leading to history's 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 to a government, 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 immediately. The House of Commons experienced an important period of reform during the nineteenth century. Over the years, several anomalies had developed in borough representation. The constituency boundaries had not been changed since 1660, so many towns that were once important but had declined by the nineteenth century still retained their ancient right of electing two members. The most notorious of these " rotten boroughs" were Old Sarum, which had only six voters for two MPs, and Dunwich which had fallen into the sea.

At the same time, large cities such as Manchester received no separate representation (although their eligible residents were able to vote in 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 were forced to relent when the Prime Minister, Lord Grey, advised King William IV to flood 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 many pocket boroughs. In the ensuing years, the Commons grew more assertive, 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 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 the latter half of the nineteenth 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 the following year replaced almost all multi-member constituencies with single-member constituencies. The old Chamber of the House of Commons built by Sir Charles Barry was destroyed by German bombs during the Second World War. The essential features of Barry's design were preserved when the Chamber was rebuilt. Progress continued in the early twentieth century. In 1908, the Liberal Government under 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 a new tax targeting wealthy landowners. The unpopular measure, however, 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. After a further election in December 1910, the Asquith Government secured 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 the Parliament Act 1949). Since the passage of these Acts, the House of Commons has become the dominant branch of Parliament, both in theory and in practice.

Since the 17th century, MPs had been unpaid. 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 was declared illegal by a House of Lords judgement of 1910. Consequently a clause was included in the Parliament Act 1911 introducing salaries for MPs. Government ministers had always been paid. Members and elections Since 1948, each Member of Parliament represents a single constituency. There remains a technical distinction between county constituencies and borough constituencies, but the only effect of this difference is the amount of money candidates are allowed to spend during campaigns. The boundaries of the constituencies 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, as well as a number of interim reviews. In drawing boundaries, they are required to take into account local government boundaries, but may deviate from this requirement in order to prevent great disparities in the populations of the various constituencies.

The proposals of the Boundary Commissions are subject to parliamentary approval, but may not be amended. After the next general review of constituencies, the Boundary Commissions will be absorbed into the Electoral Commission, which was established in 2000. Currently the United Kingdom is divided into 646 constituencies, with 529 in England, 40 in Wales, 59 in Scotland, and 18 in Northern Ireland. General elections occur whenever Parliament is dissolved by the Sovereign. The timing of the dissolution is normally chosen by the Prime Minister (see relationship with the Government below); however, a parliamentary term may not last for more than five years, unless a Bill extending the life of Parliament passes both Houses and receives Royal Assent. The House of Lords, exceptionally, retains its power of veto over such a Bill. The date of a General Election is the choice of the Prime Minister, but traditionally, it tends to be a Thursday. Each candidate must submit nomination papers signed by ten registered voters from the constituency, and pay a deposit of £500, which is refunded only if the candidate wins at least five per cent of the vote. The deposit seeks to discourage frivolous candidates.

Each constituency returns one Member, using the first-past-the-post electoral system, under which the candidate with a plurality of votes wins. Minors, Members of the House of Lords, prisoners, and insane persons are not qualified to become Members of the House of Commons. In order to vote, one must be a resident of the United Kingdom as well as a citizen of the United Kingdom , 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 moving from the United Kingdom. No person may vote in more than one constituency. Once elected, Members of Parliament normally continue to serve until the next dissolution of Parliament. If a Member, however, dies or ceases to be qualified (see qualifications below), his or her seat falls vacant. It is also possible for the House of Commons to expel a Member, but this power is exercised only in cases of serious misconduct or criminal activity. In each case, a vacancy may be filled by a by-election in the appropriate constituency, with the same electoral system as in general elections.

The term "Member of Parliament" is normally used only to refer to Members of the House of Commons, even though the House of Lords is also a part of Parliament. Members of the House of Commons may use the post-nominal letters "MP". The annual salary of each Member is currently £59,095. Members may also receive additional salaries in right of other offices they hold (for instance, the Speakership). Most Members also claim between £100,000 and £150,000 for various office expenses (staff costs, postage, travelling, etc.) and, in the case of non-London Members, for the costs of maintaining a home in the capital. Qualifications There are numerous qualifications that apply to Members of Parliament. Most importantly, one must be aged at least 18 (the limit 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; however, they are permitted to sit in the chamber during debates. A person may not sit in the Commons if he or she is the subject of a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order (applicable in England and Wales only), or if he or she is adjudged bankrupt (in Northern Ireland), or if his or her estate is sequestered (in Scotland). Also, lunatics are ineligible to sit in the House of Commons. Under the Mental Health Act 1983, two specialists must report to the Speaker that a Member is suffering from mental illness before a seat can be declared vacant. There also exists a common law precedent from the 18th century that the "deaf and dumb" are ineligible to sit in the Lower House; this precedent, however, has not been tested in recent years. Jack Ashley continued to serve as an MP for 25 years after becoming profoundly deaf.

Anyone found guilty of high treason may not sit in Parliament until he or she has either completed 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. Finally, the Representation of the People Act 1983 disqualifies for ten years those found guilty of certain election-related offences. 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. 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 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 in order 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. Officers The Speaker presides over debates in the House of Commons, as depicted in the above print commemorating the destruction of the Commons Chamber by fire in 1834. The House of Commons elects a presiding officer, known as the Speaker, at the beginning of each new parliamentary term. If the incumbent Speaker seeks a new term, then the House may re-elect him or her merely by passing a motion; otherwise, a secret ballot is held. A Speaker-elect cannot take office until he or she has been approved by the Sovereign; the granting of the royal approbation, however, is a formality.

The Speaker is assisted by three Deputy Speakers, the most senior of which holds the title of Chairman of Ways and Means. The two other Deputy Speakers are known as the First and Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means. These titles derive from the Committee of Ways and Means, a body over which the Chairman once used to preside; even though the Committee was abolished in 1967, the traditional titles of the Deputy Speakers are still retained. The Speaker and the Deputy Speakers are always Members of the House of Commons. Whilst presiding, the Speaker or Deputy Speaker wears a ceremonial black robe. The presiding officer may also wear a wig, but this tradition has been abandoned by the present Speaker, Michael Martin, and by his predecessor, Betty Boothroyd. The Speaker or deputy presides from a chair at the front of the House. The Speaker is also chairman of the House of Commons Commission, which oversees the running of the House, and he or she controls debates by calling on members to speak. If a member believes that a rule (or Standing Order) has been breached, he or she may raise a "point of order," on which the Speaker makes a ruling that is not subject to any appeal.

The Speaker may discipline members who fail to observe the rules of the House. Thus, the Speaker is far more powerful than his Lords counterpart, the Lord Speaker, who has no disciplinary powers. Customarily, the Speaker and the deputies are non-partisan; they do not vote, or participate in the affairs of any political party. By convention, a Speaker seeking re-election to parliament is not opposed in his or her constituency by any of the major parties. The lack of partisanship continues even after the Speaker leaves the House of Commons. The Clerk of the House is both the House's chief adviser on matters of procedure and Chief Executive of the House of Commons. He is a permanent official, not a Member of the House itself. The Clerk advises the Speaker on the rules and procedure of the House, signs orders and official communications, and signs and endorses bills. He chairs the Board of Management, which consists of the heads of the six departments of the House. The Clerk's deputy is known as the Clerk Assistant. Another officer of the House is the Serjeant-at-Arms, whose duties include the maintenance of law, order, and security on the House's premises.

The Serjeant-at-Arms carries the ceremonial Mace, a symbol of the authority of the Crown and of the House of Commons, into the House each day in front of the Speaker, and the Mace is laid upon the Table of the House during sittings. The Librarian is head of the House of Commons Library, the House's research and information arm. Procedure Like the Lords, the Commons meets in the Palace of Westminster in London. The Commons chamber is small and modestly decorated in green, in contrast with the large, lavishly furnished red Lords chamber. There are benches on two sides of the chamber, divided by a centre aisle. This arrangement reflects the design of St Stephen's Chapel, which served as the home of the House of Commons until destroyed by fire in 1834. The Speaker's chair is at one end of the Chamber; in front of it is the Table of the House, on which the Mace rests. The Clerks sit at one end of the Table, close to the Speaker so that they may advise him or her on procedure when necessary. Members of the Government sit on the benches on the Speaker's right, whilst members of the Opposition occupy the benches on the Speaker's left.

In front of each set of benches, a red line is drawn on the carpet—and members are traditionally not allowed to cross the line during debates. The red lines in front of the two sets of benches are said to be set two sword-lengths apart; a Member is thus supposed to be unable to attack an individual on the opposite side. This, however, is a picturesque fiction. Government ministers and important Opposition leaders sit on the front rows, and are known as "frontbenchers". Other Members of Parliament, in contrast, are known as "backbenchers". Oddly, all Members of Parliament cannot fit in the Chamber, which can seat only 427 of the 646 Members. Members who arrive late must stand near the entrance of the House if they wish to listen to debates. Sittings in the Chamber are held each day from Monday to Thursday, and also on some Fridays. During times of national emergency, the House may also sit at weekends. Sittings of the House are open to the public, but the House may at any time vote to sit in private.

(This has been done only twice since 1950.) Traditionally, a Member who desired that the House sit privately could shout "I spy strangers" and a vote would automatically follow. In the past, when relations between the Commons and the Crown were less than cordial, this procedure was used whenever the House wanted to keep its debate private. More often, however, this device was used to delay and disrupt proceedings; as a result, it was abolished in 1998. Now, Members seeking that the House sit in private must make a formal motion to that effect. Public debates are broadcast on the radio , and on television by BBC Parliament, and are recorded in Hansard. Sessions of the House of Commons have sometimes been disrupted by angry protesters throwing objects into the Chamber from the galleries—items thrown include leaflets, manure, flour (see Fathers 4 Justice House of Commons protest), and a canister of chlorobenzylidene malonitrile (tear gas). Even members have been known to disturb proceedings of the House; for instance, in 1976, Conservative MP Michael Heseltine seized and brandished the Mace of the House during a heated debate.

However, perhaps the most famous disruption of the House of Commons was caused by King Charles I , who entered the Commons Chamber in 1642 with an armed force in order to arrest five members for high treason. This action was deemed a breach of the privilege of the House, and has given rise to the tradition that the monarch may not set foot in the House of Commons. Each year, the parliamentary session begins with the State Opening of Parliament, a ceremony in the Lords Chamber during which the Sovereign, in the presence of Members of both Houses, delivers an address outlining the Government's legislative agenda. The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod (a Lords official) is responsible for summoning the Commons to the Lords Chamber. When he arrives to deliver his summons, the doors of the Commons Chamber are traditionally slammed shut in his face, symbolising the right of the Lower House to debate without interference. The Gentleman Usher then knocks on the door thrice with his Black Rod, and only then is granted admittance. He then informs the MPs that the Monarch awaits them, and they proceed to the House of Lords for the Queen's Speech.

During debates, Members may speak only if called upon by the Speaker (or a Deputy Speaker, if the Speaker is not presiding). Traditionally, the presiding officer alternates between calling Members from the Government and Opposition. The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and other leaders from both sides are normally given priority. Formerly, all Privy Counsellors were also granted priority; however, the modernisation of Commons procedure in 1998 led to the abolition of this tradition. Speeches are addressed to the presiding officer, using the words "Mr Speaker," "Madam Speaker," "Mr Deputy Speaker," or "Madam Deputy Speaker." Only the presiding officer may be directly addressed in debate; other Members must be referred to in the third person. Traditionally, Members do not refer to each other by name, but by constituency, using forms such as "the Honourable Member for [constituency]," or, in the case of Privy Counsellors, "the Right Honourable Member for [constituency]." Mostly, members of the House refer to each other as "my Honourable friend". The Speaker enforces the rules of the House, and may warn and punish Members who deviate from them.

Disregarding the Speaker's instructions is considered a severe breach of the rules of the House, and may result in the suspension of the offender from the House. In the case of grave disorder, the Speaker may adjourn the House without taking a vote. The Standing Orders of the House of Commons do not establish any formal time limits for debates. The Speaker may, however, order a Member who persists in making a tediously repetitive or irrelevant speech to stop speaking. The time set aside for debate on a particular motion is, however, often limited by informal agreements between the parties. Debate may also be restricted by the passage of "Allocation of Time Motions", which are more commonly known as " Guillotine Motions". Alternatively, the House may put an immediate end to debate by passing a motion to invoke the Closure. The Speaker is allowed to deny the motion if he or she believes that it infringes upon the rights of the minority. Today, Bills are scheduled according to a Timetable Motion, which the whole House agrees in advance, obviating use of the guillotine. When the debate concludes, or when the Closure is invoked, the motion in question is put to a vote.

The House first votes by voice vote; the Speaker or Deputy Speaker puts the question, and Members respond either "Aye" (in favour of the motion) or "No" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote, but if his or her assessment is challenged by any Member or the voice vote is unclear, a recorded vote known as a division follows. (The presiding officer, if he or she believes that the result of the voice vote is clear, may reject the challenge.) When a division occurs, members enter one of two lobbies (the "Aye" lobby or the "No" lobby) on either side of the Chamber, where their names are recorded by clerks. At each lobby are two tellers (themselves Members of the House) who count the votes of the members. 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. If fewer than 40 members have participated, the division is invalid. Formerly, if a Member sought to raise a point of order during a division, suggesting that some of the rules governing parliamentary procedure are violated, he was required to wear a hat, thereby signaling that he was not engaging in debate. Collapsible top hats were kept in the Chamber just for this purpose. This custom was discontinued in 1998. The outcome of most votes is largely known beforehand, since political parties normally instruct members on how to vote. A party normally entrusts some Members of Parliament, known as whips, with the task of ensuring that all party members vote as desired. Members of Parliament do not tend to vote against such instructions, since those who do so jeopardise promotion, or may be deselected as party candidates for future elections. Ministers, junior ministers and parliamentary private secretaries who vote against the whips' instructions usually resign.

Thus, the independence of Members of Parliament tends to be low, although "backbench rebellions" by members discontent with their party's policies do occur. A member is also traditionally allowed some leeway if the interests of her/his constituency are adversely affected. In some circumstances, however, parties announce " free votes", allowing members to vote as they please. Votes relating to issues of conscience such as abortion and capital punishment are typically free votes. Committees The Parliament of the United Kingdom uses committees for a variety of purposes, e.g. for the review of bills. Committees consider bills in detail, and may make amendments. Bills of great constitutional importance, as well as some important financial measures, are usually sent to the "Committee of the Whole House", a body that includes all members of the Commons. Instead of the Speaker, the Chairman or a Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means presides. The Committee meets in the House of Commons Chamber. Most bills were until 2006 considered by Standing Committees, which consisted of between 16 and 50 members. The membership of each Standing Committee roughly reflected the strength of the parties in the House.

The membership of Standing Committees changed constantly; new Members were assigned each time the committee considered a new bill. There was no formal limit on the number of Standing Committees, but usually only ten existed. Rarely, a bill was committed to a Special Standing Committee, which investigated and held hearings on the issues raised. In November 2006, Standing Committees were replaced by Public Bill Committees. The House of Commons also has several Departmental Select Committees. The membership of these bodies, like that of the Standing Committees, reflects the strength of the parties. Each committee elects its own Chairman. The primary function of a Departmental Select Committee is to scrutinise and investigate the activities of a particular government department. To fulfil these aims, it is permitted to hold hearings and collect evidence. Bills may be referred to Departmental Select Committees, but such a procedure is seldom used. A separate type of Select Committee is the Domestic Committee. Domestic Committees oversee the administration of the House and the services provided to Members.

Other committees of the House of Commons include Joint Committees (which also include members of the House of Lords), the Committee on Standards and Privileges (which considers questions of parliamentary privilege, as well as matters relating to the conduct of the members), and the Committee of Selection (which determines the membership of other committees). Legislative functions Bills may be introduced in either house, though controversial bills normally originate in the House of Commons. The supremacy of the Commons in legislative matters is assured by the Parliament Acts, under which certain types of bills may be presented for the Royal Assent without the consent of 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, 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 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, the House of Commons is clearly the more powerful branch of Parliament. Relationship with the Government Although it does not elect the Prime Minister, the position of the parties in the House of Commons is of overriding importance. By convention the Prime Minister is answerable to, and must maintain the support of, the House of Commons. Thus, whenever the office of Prime Minister falls vacant, the Sovereign appoints the person most likely to command the support of the House—normally the leader of the largest party in the Commons.

(The leader of the second-largest party becomes the Leader of the Opposition.) In modern times, by convention, the Prime Minister is always a member of the House of Commons, rather than the House of Lords. The Lower House 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 sometimes phrased explicitly, for instance: "That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government." Many other motions are considered confidence issues, even though not explicitly phrased as such. In particular, important bills that form a part of the Government's agenda are generally considered matters of confidence, as is the annual Budget. When a Government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, the Prime Minister is obliged to either resign, or request the monarch to dissolve Parliament, thereby precipitating a general election. Except when compelled to do so by an adverse vote on a confidence issue, the Prime Minister is allowed to choose the timing of dissolutions with the permission of the Monarch, and consequently the timing of general elections. The timing reflects political considerations, and is generally most opportune for the Prime Minister's party.

However, no parliamentary term can last for more than five years; a dissolution is automatic upon the expiry of this period unless an act of Parliament is passed extending the maximum term as happened during both World Wars. Parliament almost never sits for the maximum possible term, with dissolutions customarily being requested earlier. A Prime Minister may resign even if he or she is not defeated at the polls (for example, for personal health reasons); in such a case, the premiership goes to the new leader of the outgoing Prime Minister's party. Until 1965, the Conservative Party had no mechanism for electing a new leader and when Anthony Eden resigned as PM in 1957 without recommending a successor, the party was unable to nominate one. It fell to the Queen to appoint Harold Macmillan as the new Prime Minister, after taking the advice of ministers. By convention, all ministers must be members of the House of Commons or House of Lords. A handful have been appointed who are outside Parliament but in most cases they subsequently entered Parliament either by means of a by-election or receiving a peerage.

Since 1902, all Prime Ministers have been members of the Commons (the sole exception, the Earl of Home, disclaimed his peerage days after becoming Prime Minister, and was immediately elected to the House of Commons as Sir Alec Douglas-Home). In modern times, a vast majority of ministers belong to the Commons rather than the Lords. No major cabinet position (except Lord Privy Seal, Lord Chancellor and Leader of the House of Lords) has been filled by a Lord since Lord Carrington resigned as Foreign Secretary in 1982. The elected status of members of the Commons, as opposed to the unelected nature of members of the Lords, is seen to lend more legitimacy to ministers. The Prime Minister chooses the Ministers, and may decide to remove them at any time; the formal appointment or dismissal, however, is made by the Sovereign. The House of Commons scrutinises the Government through " Question Time", during which members have the opportunity to ask questions of the Prime Minister and of other cabinet ministers. Prime Minister's question time occurs once each week, normally for a half-hour each Wednesday. Questions must relate to the responding Minister's official Government activities, not to his or her activities as a party leader or as a private Member of Parliament.

Customarily, members of the Government party and members of the Opposition alternate when asking questions. In addition to questions asked orally during Question Time, Members of Parliament may also make inquiries in writing. In practice, the House of Commons' scrutiny of the Government is fairly weak. Since the first-past-the-post electoral system is employed, the governing party tends to enjoy a large majority in the Commons, and there is often little need to compromise with other parties. Modern British political parties are so tightly organised that they leave relatively little room for free action by their MPs. Thus, during the 20th century, the Government has lost confidence issues only thrice — twice in 1924, and once in 1979. However, the threat of rebellions by their own party's backbench MPs often forces Governments to make concessions (recently over top-up fees and foundation hospitals). Occasionally the Government is defeated by backbench rebellions ( Terrorism Act 2006). However, the scrutiny provided by the Select Committees 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. The power of impeachment, however, has fallen into disuse: the House of Commons exercises its checks on the Government through other means, such as No Confidence Motions; the last impeachment was that of Viscount Melville in 1806. Latest election

Question: Peter de la Mare was first to hold what office in the House of Commons?
Answer: Speaker