Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)
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In the United Kingdom, a member of Parliament (MP) is an individual elected to serve in the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.[1]
Electoral system[edit]
All 650 members of the UK House of Commons are elected using the first-past-the-post voting system in single member constituencies across the whole of the United Kingdom, where each constituency has its own single representative.[2][3]
Elections[edit]
All MP positions become simultaneously vacant for elections held on a five-year cycle, or when a snap election is called. Since the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, Parliament is automatically dissolved once five years have elapsed from its first meeting after an election.[4]
If a vacancy arises at another time, due to death or resignation, then a constituency vacancy may be filled by a by-election. Under the Representation of the People Act 1981 any MP sentenced to over a year in jail automatically vacates their seat. For certain types of lesser acts of wrongdoing, the Recall of MPs Act 2015 mandates that a recall petition be opened; if signed by more than 10% of registered voters within the constituency, the seat is vacated.[5]
Eligibility[edit]
In the past, only male adult property owners could stand for Parliament. In 1918, women acquired the right to stand for Parliament, and to vote.
To be eligible to stand as an MP, a person must be at least 18 years old and be a citizen of the UK, a Commonwealth nation, or Ireland. A person is not required to be registered to vote, nor are there any restrictions regarding where a candidate is a resident.[6][7]
The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 outlaws the holders of various positions from being MPs. These include civil servants, regular police officers (but not special constables), regular members of the armed forces (but not reservists), and some judges. Members of the House of Lords were not permitted to hold Commons seats until the passing of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014, which allows retired or resigned members of the House of Lords to stand or re-stand as MPs. Members of legislatures outside of the Commonwealth are excluded,[6] with the exemption of the Irish legislature.[7] Additionally, members of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) or the Northern Ireland Assembly are also ineligible for the Commons according to the Wales and Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Acts respectively, passed in 2014 (but members of the Scottish Parliament are eligible).
People who are bankrupt cannot stand to be MPs.[6] The Representation of the People Act 1981 excludes persons who are currently serving a prison sentence of a year or more.[8] People in respect of whom a bankruptcy restrictions order has effect are disqualified from (existing) membership of the House of Commons (details differ slightly in different countries).[9]
Members are not permitted to resign their seats. In practice, however, they always can. Should a member wish to resign from the Commons, they may request appointment to one of two ceremonial Crown offices: that of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, or that of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead. These offices are sinecures (that is, they involve no actual duties); they exist solely to permit the "resignation" of members of the House of Commons. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible for making the appointment, and, by convention, never refuses to do so when asked by a member who desires to leave the House of Commons.
Title[edit]
Members of Parliament are entitled to use the post-nominal initials MP. MPs are referred to as "honourable" as a courtesy only during debates in the House of Commons (e.g., "the honourable member for ..."), or if they are the children of peers below the rank of marquess ("the honourable [first name] [surname]"). Those who are members of the Privy Council use the form The Right Honourable (The Rt Hon.) Name MP.[10]
Responsibilities[edit]
The first duty of a member of Parliament is to do what they think in their faithful and disinterested judgement is right and necessary for the honour and safety of Great Britain. The second duty is to their constituents, of whom they are the representative but not the delegate. Burke's famous declaration on this subject is well known. It is only in the third place that their duty to party organisation or programme takes rank. All these three loyalties should be observed, but there is no doubt of the order in which they stand under any healthy manifestation of democracy.
Theoretically, contemporary MPs are considered to have two duties, or three if they belong to a political party. Their primary responsibility is to act in the national interest. They must also act in the interests of their constituents, where this does not override their primary responsibility. Finally, if they belong to a political party, they may act in the interests of that party, subordinate to the other two responsibilities.[12][13][14][15][16]
See also[edit]
- United Kingdom Parliament constituencies
- List of MPs elected in the 2024 United Kingdom general election
- List of MPs elected in the 2019 United Kingdom general election
- Member of the Scottish Parliament
- Member of the Senedd
- Member of the Legislative Assembly (Northern Ireland)
References[edit]
- ^ "What MPs do". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ "Voting Systems in the UK". Retrieved 2 April 2019.
- ^ "Parliamentary Constituencies". Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ "Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill" (PDF). Parliament of the United Kingdom. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ "Recall of MPs Act 2015". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
- ^ a b c "Local elections in England and Wales, Guidance for candidates and agents, Part 1 of 6 – Can you stand for election?" (PDF). Electoral Commission. January 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2021.
- ^ a b "UK Parliamentary general election – Northern Ireland, Guidance for candidates and agents, Part 1 of 6 – Can you stand for election?" (PDF). Electoral Commission. September 2019 [April 2017]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 January 2024.
- ^ Gay, Oonagh (13 October 2004). "Disqualification for membership of the House of Commons" (PDF). UK Parliament. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2006.
- ^ Enterprise Act 2002 (c. 40 Part 10 Section 266). legislation.gov.uk. 2002.
- ^ "How to Address an MP". Debrett's. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021.
- ^ "House of Commons – Modernisation of the House of Commons – First Report - 2 The role of the Member". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 20 June 2007. Archived from the original on 1 September 2023.
- ^ Cooper, Jonathan; Williams, Felicity (1 March 2019). "Fixing Brexit: How parliament's checks and balances can solve our political crisis". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022.
- ^ Gauja, Anika (2016). Political Parties and Elections: Legislating for Representative Democracy. Routledge. ISBN 9781317078722 – via Google Books.
- ^ House of Commons Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons (20 June 2007). Revitalising the Chamber: The Role of the Back Bench Member, First Report of Session 2006–07, Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence (Report). The Stationery Office. ISBN 9780215034670 – via Google Books.
- ^ Dimock, Susan (2016). Classic Readings and Cases in the Philosophy of Law. Routledge. ISBN 9781315509631 – via Google Books.
- ^ Deacon, Michael (3 February 2017). "Why Churchill would have defended our 'enemies of democracy'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
External links[edit]
Media related to British MPs at Wikimedia Commons
