Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, a member of Parliament is an individual elected to serve in the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. 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.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.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.
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.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.
The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 outlaws the holders of various positions from being MPs. These include civil servants, regular police officers, regular members of the armed forces, 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, with the exemption of the Irish legislature. Additionally, members of the Senedd or the Northern Ireland Assembly are also ineligible for the Commons according to the Wales and Northern Ireland Acts respectively, passed in 2014.
People who are bankrupt cannot stand to be MPs. The Representation of the People Act 1981, excludes persons who are currently serving a prison sentence of a year or more. People in respect of whom a bankruptcy restrictions order has effect are disqualified from membership of the House of Commons.
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 ; 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.