The House Of Commons Flashcards, test questions and answers
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What is The House Of Commons?
The House of Commons is the lower house of the United Kingdom’s bicameral Parliament. It is responsible for making laws and representing the interests of citizens. The House of Commons consists of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) elected by a system known as first-past-the-post from constituencies across the country. It is headed by the Speaker, who is elected from among its members to preside over debates and proceedings.The legislative process begins with a bill, which must be approved both by a majority in the House of Commons and then by its upper chamber, the House of Lords, before becoming law. In addition to passing laws, MPs debate current issues and question ministers on their policies in order to hold them to account for their actions on behalf of constituents. They also oversee public spending through departmental select committees and investigate matters directly affecting their constituencies through ad hoc select committees. In recent years there has been an increasing focus on how best to make use of parliamentary time and resources, with various reforms being proposed including changes to party funding rules and more effective use of e-petitions from members’ constituents. Reforms have also been made to make it easier for voters to understand what their MPs are doing in Westminster through increased online transparency about MPs’ activities in parliament as well as opening up opportunities for backbench proposals such as Private Members’ Bills (PMB).