House of Commons

The House of Commons is the elected lower house of the bicameral parliament in the United Kingdom and Canada. There have also been Houses of Commons in Ireland and North Carolina, United States.

In the UK and Canada, the Commons generally holds much more power than the upper house (the House of Lords or the Canadian Senate). The leader of the majority party in the House of Commons usually becomes the prime minister. Since 1997, the British House of Commons has had 659 elected members. The Canadian House of Commons has 308 members. "The Commons" primary functions are to pass and debate (but not suggest) laws, authorize taxes, and provide scrutiny and debate about public policy. It does have the power to give a Prime Minister a vote of no confidence, although this has not happened in the British House of Commons since 1924.

History and naming

Originally, "the commons" were an Estate of the realm in pre-Enlightenment European politics, which typically divided the governance of an area between "estates" of society. The commons represented commoners, for example craft guilds, burghers or (burgesses), knights and tenants, as opposed to landowners and the establishment. Other estates included the prelates, nobles, merchants and knights. The word "commons" has at times been confused with the word "commoner", but they are very different in this context. The British House of Commons was created to serve as the political outlet for this "commons" class, while the elite estates were represented in the House of Lords. The House of Commons was thus elected by the people while members of the upper house were appointed on the basis of various forms of merit, such as family lineage or service to the realm. It is widely thought that "Commons" is a shortening of the word "commoners". However, the term derives from the Anglo-Norman word communes, meaning "localities".

Specific bodies

Although it is common to associate the title of "House of Commons" with the Westminster system in general, in practice, only two states actually use the title. They are:

the British House of Commons (at the Palace of Westminster, London)
the Canadian House of Commons (on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa)

Three historical bodies have used this name in Ireland as well, they are:

House of Commons of Ireland (abolished in 1801)
House of Commons of Southern Ireland (1921-1922)
House of Commons of Northern Ireland (1921-1972)

The lower house of the General Assembly of North Carolina was also known as the House of Commons between 1760 and 1868.

By the late 19th century, the term was already thought to be somewhat dated and classist. As a result, all other subsequent self-governing colonies (and later Commonwealth realms) chose to use the name "House of Representatives" or a similar title.

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History and naming

Specific bodies

See also