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Commons, House of, popularly elected legislative body of the bicameral British Parliament (for the other house, see Lords, House of); for all practical purposes, it is synonymous with Parliament. The House of Commons alone has the right to impose taxes and to vote money to, or withhold it from, the various public departments and services and to pass legislation of any sort. Most legislation proceeds from the Cabinet (senior ministers, chosen by the prime minister from the majority party in the House of Commons), and its passage is the House of Commons’ primary function, Another important activity is the question period, during which members may require the minister concerned to answer queries about his department.
At the beginning of each new Parliament the house elects from its members the speaker, who presides over and regulates debates and rules on points of order and members’ conduct. By a convention of the constitution not established until the 20th century, the prime minister is always a member of the House of Commons, instead of, as formerly, a member of either house. By thus directly submitting himself (and most of his senior ministers) to the daily criticism of that house, he further enhances its authority as compared with that of the House of Lords. The government side appoints the leader of the House of Commons, not necessarily the prime minister, to manage its program of business through the house. Except for occasional independents, members of both the government and opposition parties are under the control of party management within the Commons, whose discipline, particularly over voting, is exercised by the “whips.
Steps that gradually led to the financial ascendancy of the House of Commons began in the second half of the 13th century, when counties and towns were first authorized to send to ,Parliament representatives empowered to commit their constituents to the payment of taxes and to present grievances and petitions. The House of Commons was officially separated from the House of Lords in the 16th century. By the late 17th century, the House of Commons—by refusing to proceed with a number of the House of Lords’ bills that sought to impose taxes—established the right to be the sole body to initiate taxation measures. In 1911 the House of Lords lost its powers to delay financial legislation passed by the Commons for the raising of revenue (“money bills”) or to delay other legislation beyond two years, this period being cut in 1949 to one year, Bills are read three times in the Commons, and the house appoints various committees from among its members to consider them in detail. These are committees of the whole house, such as the committees of Supply and of Ways and Means, which consider money bills; standing committees, which consider other bills; and select committees, for special matters. In additiop, a limited number of private members’ bills (i.e., not sponsored by the government) are considered by the house each session.
In 1972 there were 630 Members of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons—295 representing county divisions and the remainder from urban constituencies. Peers of England, Scotland, or the United Kingdom may not be elected to the House of Commons, but Irish peers may.
