The House of Commons

The House of Commons consists of 659 elected Members of Parliament (MPs). In July 2001 there were 118 women MPs and 12 MPs who had declared that they were of ethnic minority origin. Of the 659 seats, 529 represent constituencies in England, 40 in Wales, 72 in Scotland, and 18 in Northern Ireland. The Scotland Act 1998, which set up the Scottish Parliament, abolishes the statutory minimum of 71 Scottish seats, and provides that, at the next review of boundaries in Scotland, the electoral quota for England will be applied. This is expected to reduce the number of Scottish seats to around 57 to 60. The Boundary Commission for Scotland is next due to report between 2002 and 2006. It began its work on this review in June 2001.

General Elections are held after a Parliament has been dissolved and a new one summoned by the Sovereign. When an MP dies, resigns or is a peerage, a by-election takes place. Members are paid an annual salary of £51,822 (from July 2001) and, under a new system that took effect from July 2001, provision for up to £70,000 for staff salaries and £18,000 for incidental expenses. All MPs are entitled to travel allowances and London members may claim a supplement for the higher cost of living in the capital. MPs from other parts of the UK may receive allowances for subsistence and for second homes nearer to the Palace of Westminster.

Officers of the House of Commons

The chief officer of the House of Commons is the Speaker, elected by MPs to preside over the House. Other officers include the Chairman of Ways and Means and two deputy chairmen, who may all act as Deputy Speakers. They are elected by the House as nominees of the Government, but may come from the Opposition as well as the government party. They, like the Speaker, neither speak nor vote except in their official capacity (that is, when deputizing for the Speaker). The House of Commons Commission, a statutory body chaired by the Speaker, is responsible for the administration of the House.

1. Answer the following questions.

1. Why did the Government pass a law to reduce hereditary peer membership?

2. What is the aim of establishing Appointment Commission?

3. What lords comprise the House of Lords?

4. Do members of the House of Lords get salary?

5. Who is the head of the House of Lords?

6. When are General Elections held?

7. What things are members of the House of Commons entitled to?

8. Who presides over the Commons?

2. Complete the following text with the words and expressions from the box

the upper house bishops limited

replacement measure

life peers hereditary peers unelected

The House of Lords remains __________ of Parliament. Its membership is wholly __________.

It consists of __________, who have inherited their right to sit there, __________, who are appointed by the government from the ranks of whose titles are not passed on to their children, a small number of __________ and senior judges, who sit in the Lords by virtue of their position. The Labour Party is committed to the abolition of the Lords and its __________ by an elected chamber. The formal powers of the House of Lords are now rather __________. If the Commons chooses to pass the __________, the Lords have no power to stop it.

3. Continue the following sentences.

1. The Lord Temporal consist of _________.

2. The House of Lords Appointments Commission makes recommendations on __________.

3. The reform of the House of Lords is aimed at __________.

4. The head of the House of Commons is __________.

5. By-election is held when __________.

6. Deputy Speakers are elected by…and they come from __________.

4. Topics for discussion.

1. Speak on the composition of the House of Lords.

2. Explain the difference between hereditary peers and life peers, Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual.

3. Describe the House of Commons.

4. Speak on reforms of the House of Lords.