House of Commons of the United Kingdom

House of Commons
House of Commons
59th Parliament of the United Kingdom
	Logo of the House of Commons
	Flag of the House of Commons
Type
Type	Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Leadership
Speaker	Sir Lindsay Hoyle ; since 4 November 2019
Chairman of Ways and Means	Nus Ghani, Conservative ; since 23 July 2024
Prime Minister	Andy Burnham, Labour ; since 20 July 2026
Leader of the House	Sir Alan Campbell, Labour ; since 5 September 2025
Government Chief Whip	Anneliese Midgley, Labour ; since 20 July 2026
Leader of the Opposition	Kemi Badenoch, Conservative ; since 2 November 2024
Shadow Leader of the House	Jesse Norman, Conservative ; since 5 November 2024
Opposition Chief Whip	Dame Rebecca Harris, Conservative ; since 3 November 2024
Structure
Seats	650
Political groups	HM Government Labour Party (403); HM Official Opposition Conservative Party (118); Other opposition Liberal Democrats (71); Reform UK (8); Scottish National Party (8); Democratic Unionist Party (5); Green Party of England and Wales (5); Independent Alliance (4); Plaid Cymru (4); Social Democratic and Labour Party (2); Your Party (2); Alliance Party (1); Restore Britain (1); Traditional Unionist Voice (1); Ulster Unionist Party (1); Independents (7); Presiding officer Speaker (1); Abstentionists Sinn Féin (7); Casual vacancies Vacant (1);
Length of term	Up to five years
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post with single member constituencies
Last election	4 July 2024
Next election	On or before 15 August 2029
Redistricting	Every eight years, proposed by the boundary commissions
Meeting place
	House of Commons chamber; Palace of Westminster; City of Westminster; London, England; United Kingdom
Website
	www.parliament.uk/business/commons/

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as members of Parliament (MPs), who are elected to represent constituencies by the first-past-the-post system and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved.

The House of Commons of England began to evolve in the 13th and 14th centuries. In 1707 it became the House of Commons of Great Britain after the political union with Scotland, and from 1801 it also became the House of Commons for Ireland after the political union of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, the body became the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland after the independence of the Irish Free State. Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, the Lords' power to reject legislation was reduced to a delaying power. The government is solely responsible to the House of Commons and the prime minister stays in office only as long as they retain the confidence of a majority of the Commons.