Too busy bickering on TV to run the country?
There's got to be more to the House of Commons than that. Right?
Before the House of Commons, or House of Lords, there was just the King and his barons.
The King could call on them whenever he wanted but he didn't count on them becoming powerful.
In 1215, they made King John seal Magna Carta which forced him to obey the law
and set up an Advisory Council of 25 men.
50 years later, Simon De Montfort rebelled against Henry III
and for the first time invited representatives of the towns
together with the Knights of the Shires to his 1265 Parliament.
These citizens met separately from the nobility
and evolved to form the House of Commons in 1332.
So, now there are two houses.
The House of Commons and the House of Lords.
As the rights of the people increased, the king and nobility became less powerful
and the balance of power eventually swung to the Commons.
In 1512, a huge fire consumed Westminster Palace.
Henry VIII moved out and, once rebuilt, it became Parliament's home.
Parliament still works from Westminster today and has three parts:
The House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Monarchy.
Members of the House of Commons are elected by you and me.
Every five years we elect representatives to run the country on our behalf,
which means we run the country, kind of.
It's easy to run as a candidate.
You just have to be 18, not in prison and not a Lord.
Oh, and also, you can't be the monarch.
Ever since Charles I burst in on the chamber uninvited,
no King or Queen has been allowed in.
So, what does the House do all day?
It debates important issues,
makes and reviews our laws,
represents the public
and holds the Government to account.
Inside the House of Commons there are two sides.
On one side the Government who run the country,
on the other side, the Opposition, who keep an eye on what the Government are doing.
The chamber only has 437 seats for over 600 members,
so MPs have to pack in for big debates.
The Commons Speaker sits at the head of the room to maintain order.
The Prime Minister leads the Government and appoints ministers to form a Cabinet.
You'll see them on the front bench.
It's the Government that introduces most of the ideas for new laws and changes to old ones.
The Opposition questions and challenges the Government.
All MPs split their time between the House of Commons and their constituency
Often MPs have to figure out what is best for their party
or what's best for the local people they represent,
even the ones who didn’t vote for them.
There are lots of ways the Government is held to account.
Every week for half an hour, the Prime Minister comes to the House of Commons
to answer questions from MPs.
It's dramatic, it's heated and it's this that gets the most viewers tuning in.
But it's not just the PM in the hot seat,
MPs get to question ministers from all Government departments.
And then there are Select Committees,
where MPs spend a lot of time reviewing the policies and spending of government.
This is called scrutiny.
They speak to experts and the public to understand how laws affect our everyday lives.
This work helps the Government shape their policies.
Also, whenever the Government wants to raise taxes, the House of Commons has to agree.
They review any proposed bill before they vote.
So it's not just a lot of rowdy bickering.
They do more than what's shown on TV,
debating important issues, making laws,
holding the Government to account and allowing MPs to represent the public.
That's you.
So what do you think of the House of Commons now?