The House of Commons

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

House of Commons

Abstract
The house of common is the parliamentary committee that was originated in the 17 th century and
has gone through many phases of modification and currently it is responsible to address the
public issues with respect to their interests and developments and also holds the authority to
pass bills that favor their mutual concerns and make the Prime Minister accountable for his
actions. However, the house of common is also questioned for its honesty and is disregarded due
to the members interests.

House of Commons

Contents
The House of Commons..................................................................................................................3
Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
Discussion....................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

House of Commons

The House of Commons

Introduction
House of Commons, substantially represents the lower house in the British and Irish Parliament
and its antecedents are found from the year 1706 which was specifically originated to replace the
traditional parliament system of England by adding 45 members to represent England and 16
members for the presentation of Scotland. However, the representation for the Scotland was
increased with the 100 members under the influence of Acts-of-Union. The initial restructurings
are observed throughout the 18th century in which the adherence to vote for cities was changed
and the approval of Great-Reform Act generated the ground rules for the voting and selection of
members and also the representation for some cities like Manchester and Dunwich was granted
in the house (Tetlock, 1984). The 19th century amendments included the increased autonomy of
the parliament which ultimately became the dominant feature for the conduction of
parliamentary practices and the women were made eligible to cast their vote from the age of 21.
The members were not paid by the government and they had to rely on their private source of
income and thus, the pattern was observed where the wealthy people were part of the house but
the resolution for the members to be paid by the government was dispatched and was accepted
during the year 1912 (Norton & ESRC, 1997).

Discussion
The house-of-commons consists of 650 members that are re-elected in every 5 years and they
plays their vital role in order to make the Prime Minister accountable for his actions and can
oppose or consent these actions with their majority and therefore, it is necessary for the PM to

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stay in compliance with the members and carry out such activities that do not harm the particular
interests of any member. In the current system, the members are usually the common people who
are elected in accordance with their casted votes and are gathered for their interests with respect
to the services that they provide to their particular fields or regions (Stewart, 1979). According to
Pasquet (2014), the house is also responsible for the circulation of bills and the members are
provided with the authority to resolute the bills that represent their mutual interests and the
proposed bill is accepted by the government within two sessions or a year; such proficiency is
only provided to the bills that are in accordance with the public concerns however, the bills that
are related to monetary activities take a month for approval. The members are further divided in
committees and are assigned to critically evaluate the current issues and propose suggestive
measure so that the public concerns can be addressed properly. The members of the house are
also authorized to execute and inflict taxes from the public-departments and they also represent
and enlighten the issues that are faced by their respective fields (Marleau & Montpetit, 2000).

Conclusion
Although, the house-of-commons was responsible to address the societal, economic and political
concerns of the country but apart from its contributions there also existed some downsides and
the major downside of the house is related to the fact that the majority of members can oppose
the activities of Prime-Minister that may address the benefits for small sects and the decisions
made by the close majority of the members are often questioned for the integrity and uprightness
of the members (Cygan, 2003).

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REFERENCES
Cygan, A. (2003). Democracy and accountability in the European UnionThe view from the
House of Commons. The Modern Law Review, 66(3), pp. 384-401.
Marleau, R., & Montpetit, C. (2000). House of Commons procedure and practice. House of
Commons.
Norton, P., & ESRC. (1997). Dissension in the house of commons 1979-92. Economic and Social
Research Council.
Pasquet, D. (2014). An Essay on the Origins of the House of Commons. Cambridge University
Press.
Stewart, J. D. (1979). British Pressure Groups, Their Role in Relation to the House of Commons.
Greenwood Publishing Group.
Tetlock, P. E. (1984). Cognitive style and political belief systems in the British House of
Commons. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(2), pp. 365-375.