Member of Parliament (UK)

This article is about Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom. For other uses of the term Member of Parliament, please see Member of Parliament (disambiguation).

A Member of Parliament (MP) is an elected representative in the House of Commons, the lower house of the legislative branch of government in the United Kingdom. Their role is to represent the public, debate legislation, and vote on whether a bill should become law. They also serve on committees which report on various issues. 646 MPs sit in the Commons, and each is elected using the first past the post electoral system by a constituency of voters.

Almost all MPs are members of a political party, and the party which forms the majority of seats in the Commons usually forms the Government. Most government ministers are also MPs, though some are drawn from the House of Lords, the upper chamber of Parliament. The monarch, at the request of the Prime Minister or after a maximum of five years, dissolves Parliament and a general election is held to decide the makeup of the House of Commons and, by extension, the Government.

In the House of Commons, more senior MPs usually sit closer to the floor (though a 'frontbencher' is a government minister, and will also sit near the despatch boxes, from where major speeches are made), while lowlier members are positioned further back ('backbenchers'). Members of the governing party ideally face those of other parties, with two swordslengths separating them across the chamber; however, a large party may spill over onto the other side. In any case, there are not enough seats for all 646 MPs, so in well-attended debates many must stand or sit on the stairs. The chamber often has a lively atmosphere, with members cheering on or heckling speakers; debates are brought to order by the Speaker, who is also an MP but has left their party. MPs often congregate in the nearby Members' Lobby to discuss various matters.

Qualification

Members of Parliament must be over 18 and a citizen of the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth. Bankrupts, lunatics, members of the House of Lords, prisoners serving a sentence of more than twelve months, judges in high-level courts, civil servants, some officers of the Crown and serving members of the armed forces are not permitted to become MPs. MPs, once elected, cannot technically resign, but must seek disqualification through being given a Crown appointment in order to leave.

Members of Parliament can introduce legislation to the Commons through a variety of methods, including Early Day Motions and through formal bills. They also able to sit on a variety of committees which draft legislation, conduct investigations, listen to testimony from invited speakers and conduct a variety other business. Most legislation is proposed by the government, and the passage of bills through the House is overseen by the 'Leader of the House of Commons', a government minister. MPs may introduce their own 'private member's bill', but a full debate or vote is unlikely without government support. Sometimes the government will support a private member's bill that it wishes to see become law, but does not want to be directly associated with.

Speaker of the House of Commons

The Speaker is the chair of the Commons, responsible for keeping debates to order and ensuring that proper parliamentary procedure is followed. They also act as ceremonial spokesperson for the House, typically to convey good wishes or other messages to the monarch.

The Speaker sits close to and above the despatch boxes - where senior politicians address the house - and from this position can call on MPs to speak or, cease their address. Members try to 'catch the Speaker's eye' by standing or half-standing, and are then invited to speak. In the event of serious rule-breaking, such as using 'unparliamentary language', the Speaker can 'name' the MP, effectively a serious rebuke because by convention MPs are not referred to by their own names, but by constituency (e.g. "the Honourable Member for Scarborough and Whitby"). The Speaker can then call on a vote for suspension of the wayward MP. The Speaker also has the power to suspend proceedings in the event of serious disorder, or when the chamber is disrupted in some other way (such as members of the public unlawfully gaining access to the floor).

Election of the Speaker

Following a general election, the Speaker is elected through a vote by all members. Candidates make speeches organised by the 'Father of the House', i.e. the MP with the longest record of continuous parliamentary service. Sometimes an arrangement exists where Speakers are drawn alternately from the governing and opposition parties, or from the government side. Traditionally, the elected Speaker makes a show of physically resisting the office, and is light-heartedly dragged to the Speaker's chair by other MPs. This reflects past times when being Speaker might incur the wrath of the monarch or others (between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, several were killed).

Once elected, a new Speaker must sever all ties to their old party, and be impartial at all times. This requirement for the Speaker to divest themselves of party ties dates back to the eighteenth century, before which the Speaker was often an agent of the monarch.

Whips

Voting on party lines is organised by MPs known as 'whips'. They direct members of their parties to vote in certain ways, according to party policy. Party MPs are issued with a 'three-line whip' when the party requires members to vote in a certain way. Defying the whip is regarded as a serious breach of party discipline, and offenders may 'have the whip withdrawn', i.e. are excluded from the parliamentary party. This does not affect an MP's right to sit, speak or vote in the House. A 'two-line whip' allows MPs to be absent by prior arrangement, and for a 'one-line whip' attendance is merely requested.

Usually, whips also act as 'tellers' - MPs who count the votes. Voting is non-anonymous and a matter of public record. Four tellers oversee the voting, usually two from the governing party benches and two from opposition parties. When it is time to declare the results, the four tellers arrange themselves in a line on the floor of the House, in front of the Speaker and the despatch boxes. It is possible to determine whether the Government has won the vote before any announcement is made, as for such a victory it is one of the governing party tellers who makes the declaration. Once the result is announced, the paper is handed to the Speaker for confirmation, often to loud cheers or boos from all sides of the House.

Father of the House

The 'Father of the House' is the MP with the longest record of continuous parliamentary service. Their main duty is to preside over the election of a new Speaker, though they may be favoured in certain debates when it is felt necessary to drawn upon their experience and bring a historical context to the discussion. The role is currently held by Alan Williams, MP for Swansea West.

See also

• Resigning from the House of Commons
• Members' Lobby
• Parliament of the United Kingdom