Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)

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Member of Parliament
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Logo of the House of Commons
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since 9 July 2024
Parliament of the United Kingdom
StyleTemplate:Indented plainlist
AbbreviationMP
Member ofHouse of Commons
AppointerElectorate of the United Kingdom
Term lengthOne parliament; renewable
Constituting instrumentVarious treaties and Acts of Parliament
Salary£91,346 per year, excluding personal expenses claimed for accommodation, utilities, food and drink, and transport costs and private office budget.[1]
WebsiteOfficial website

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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.[2] Although the House of Lords is also a house of Parliament, its members are not termed "Members of Parliament".

Electoral system

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.[3][4]

Elections

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.[5]

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 and a by-election is held.[6]

Eligibility

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.[7]

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.[8][9]

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,[8] with the exemption of the Irish legislature.[9] 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.[8] The Representation of the People Act 1981, excludes persons who are currently serving a prison sentence of a year or more.[10] 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).[11]

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.[12]

Title

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.[13]

Responsibilities

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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.[14][15][16][17][18] In practice, however, the third responsibility takes precedence during voting due to a strong whipping system.[19][20][21][22]

See also

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Scheme of MPs' Staffing and Business Costs | IPSA". Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. IPSA. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."What MPs do". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Voting Systems in the UK". Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Parliamentary Constituencies". Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill" (PDF). Parliament of the United Kingdom. 12 May 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 September 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Recall of MPs Act 2015". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Holborn, Margaret (5 February 2018). "Women's suffrage - February 1918, first women gain right to vote in parliamentary elections". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  8. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."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.
  9. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."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.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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.
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  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."How is a by-election triggered - and why is resigning so complicated for MPs?". Sky News. Archived from the original on 12 November 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."How to Address an MP". Debrett's. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gauja, Anika (2016). Political Parties and Elections: Legislating for Representative Democracy. Routledge. ISBN 9781317078722 – via Google Books.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Dimock, Susan (2016). Classic Readings and Cases in the Philosophy of Law. Routledge. ISBN 9781315509631 – via Google Books.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Deacon, Michael (3 February 2017). "Why Churchill would have defended our 'enemies of democracy'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wintour, Patrick (21 January 2022). "The discreet art of whipping: what are the limits for parliament's enforcers?". The Guardian.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."What does it mean for MPs to 'lose the whip' in Parliament?". Sky News. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."What is removing the whip, filibustering and other Brexit jargon?". BBC News. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Whips". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2023.

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