Selecting members
Members are elected at General Elections and by-elections by a first-past-the-post voting system (see more in Electoral Systems). There are currently 650 members of the House of Commons. This system of electing members gives the actions of the house legitimacy. Most members sit with their party unless they are independent MPs, and the decisions they make are often made by their party.
Roles
1: Passing Legislation
Before a law becomes law, it is known as a bill. There are four types of bill:
- Public bill: affects everyone in the country (such as the 2022 Elections Act).
- Private bill: affects particular areas or sections of society (such as the 2018 University of London Act).
- Private members’ bill: put before Parliament by an individual backbencher (such as the 1967 Abortion Act).
- Hybrid bill: blends aspects of a public and private bill. It would generally affect the whole population but specifically would have a more noticeable impact in certain areas (such as the 2008 Crossrail Act).
There are other ways legislation can be introduced to the House of Commons:
- Green paper: consultation document in which ideas about a particular topic or subject will be discussed.
- White paper: a more definite proposal of the green paper.
- General committee/bill committee: a group of people who work on the bill from the first reading to the final vote.
2: Raising and spending public money
The budget is put before Parliament and discussed. This can also be discussed and debated in various committees:
- Public Accounts Committee: scrutinise the government’s spending
- Departmental Select Committees: scrutinise the work of the government departments. These committees last for the lifetime of Parliament.
3: Scrutinising the Government
There are many methods of parliamentary scrutiny of the government. As discussed before, members can debate bills put before Parliament. The Public Accounts Committee questions the government on their spending, and departmental select committees examine each government department. There are also more methods of parliamentary scrutiny of the executive:
- Early Day Motions: the short period at the beginning of a parliamentary session (day) that allows MPs to flag issues. Some critics refer to EDMs as “parliamentary graffiti” as they aren’t an effective method of scrutiny.
- Question Time: time to scrutinise the Prime Minister or Secretaries of State on any issue. The Prime Minister and Secretaries of State have time to answer.
4: Ensuring the voices of citizens are heard
As discussed in Electoral Systems in UK Politics, the House of Commons is an elected chamber, meaning the people elect members to represent them. MPs are supposed to redress their constituents’ grievances and bring any local issues to light in Parliament.
5: Act as a focus for national debate
The House of Commons is the home of national debate, and national issues are brought to light in the House. In October 2019, the House sat on a Saturday for the first time since the Falklands War in 1982, in order to discuss the Brexit Withdrawal deal.
6: Recruiting a government
If a government member acts against the interest of the rest of the government or the people, their career can be ended, and another person’s career can begin in the House of Commons.