House of Commons

House of Commons
Incumbent	Vacant
Conservative and Unionist Party	1 seats
Labour Party	3 seats
Vacant	28 seats
Type	Lower house
Seats	32
Presiding officer	Speaker
Members	Members of Parliament
Last change of government	5 May 2022
Website	hoc.ukogb.co.uk

The House of Commons is the elected lower house of the Parliament and the centre of political life in UKOGB. Its members, the Members of Parliament, each represent one of the country's 32 constituencies. The party or coalition that can command the confidence of the Commons forms the government, and its leader becomes Prime Minister.

Elections

Every seat is filled at a general election, when the whole House is chosen at once, or at a by-election when a single seat falls vacant. Both are run by the Electoral Commission. The most recent change of government came at the 2022 general election, when the Labour Party won a majority.

Business

The House is chaired by the Speaker. Its main work is:

• debating and voting on bills, which become law if they also pass the House of Lords and receive Royal Assent;
• questioning ministers, including the Prime Minister every week at Prime Minister's Questions;
• select committees, which hold inquiries into the work of government departments and publish reports;
• motions, including a motion of no confidence in the government.

Parties and whips

Members sit with their parties: the government on the Speaker's right and the Opposition on the left. Each party has whips, who tell members how the party wants them to vote and how strongly. A member who votes against the whip is said to rebel, and the website keeps a record of every rebellion.

Records

Every division, with how each member voted, and every sitting are recorded in Hansard on the website at hoc.ukogb.co.uk, together with the map of the House, the list of members and the bills before Parliament.