A Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe, First Edition
The House of Commons is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the United Kingdom. It is made up of 659 members who are elected by a first-past-the-post electoral system for a maximum five-year term. The most recent elections took place on 7 June 2001. In those elections the Labour Party won 412 seats. Other parties represented in the House of Commons (number of seats in brackets) are the Conservative Party (166), the Liberal Democrats (52), Plaid Cymru (4), the Scottish National Party (5), the Ulster Unionist Party (6), the Democratic Unionist Party (5), the Social Democratic and Labour Party (3) and Sinn Féin (4). At present 119 (18%) of the 659 members are women. The House of Commons is the main legislative body in the British parliament and it also scrutinizes the work of government. It shares these roles with the House of Lords, though it takes primacy over the non-elected upper house.
Address: Westminster, London SW1A 0AA, United Kingdom
Tel: (0)20 7219 4272
Fax: (0)20 7219 5839
E-mail: hcinfo@parliament.uk
Internet: www.parliament.uk
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