WHAT DOES BRITAIN'S HOUSE OF COMMONS DO?
The highest lawmaking assembly in Britain is called Parliament, which has two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Commons is the real governing body of the nation and it has truly come to represent the common people.
The House of Commons has control over all the nation's financial legislation.
The Bill of Rights that was passed in 1689 took away moat of the power of the House of Lords and left the Crown with no legislative authority. Since then Commons has been powerful.
Parliament in England works on the so called "Cabinet System" of government, by which actual control of the government is in the hands of a group of important ministers, who are all members of Parliament. Chief of the Cabinet is the prime minister, who is appointee by the Crown. The other members of the Cabinet are selected by the prime minister with the approval of the Crown.
Since 1702, cabinet ministers have become dependent on the House of Commons. They must resign when they lose the House of Commons' Support on important measures.
The House of Commons is an elected body. Each member represents a constituency or district. The average constituency has about 60,000 voters. A candidate for a seat in the House does not have to live is the constituency he hopes to represent.
Once there were 670 members in the House of Commons: 495 from England and Wales, 72 from Scotland and 103 from Ireland. From 1885 to 1922 there were many changes. In 1974 the number was set at 635 members: 516 from England, 71 from Scotland, 36 from Wales and 12 from Northern Ireland.
The term of a member is five years, unless the Parliament is dissolved before that time. Parliament usually sits from November to September.
Parliament covers eight acres along the River Thames. The side facing the river is 940 feet long. The House of Lords sits at the south end; the House of Commons is on the opposite side.
Big Ben, the world's most famous bell, is in Parliament's Clock Tower. The buildings date from 1840, although Parliaments have met on the same site since 1547.
In May 1941, the 90 year old chamber of the Commons was struck by a bomb and practically demolished. Rebuilding was completed in 1950 at a cost of more than 1.8 million pounds.
The woodwork is the new chamber of the Commons is of English oak, cut from trees 200 and 300 years old. The various nations of the British Commonwealth contributed most of the new chamber's furnishings.
The king or queen is not permitted to enter the House of Commons, but there is a special room for other members of the royal family, from which they may watch and hear the proceedings.