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 2005, the
British House of Commons has had 646 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.
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".
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.
*
House of Lords*
Lower House*
House of Representatives*
Chamber of Deputies*
House of Assembly*
House of Keys*
Legislative Assembly *
National Assembly*
Lok Sabha*
House of Commons Library
