The British House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Parliament also includes the Sovereign and the upper house, the House of Lords; the House of Commons is the dominant branch. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members of Parliament" or MPs. Members are elected by the first-past-the-post system of election, holding office until Parliament is dissolved (a maximum of five years). Each member is elected by, and represents, an electoral district known as a constituency. The House of Commons is the source of the vast majority of government ministers and every Prime Minister since 1902, with the very brief exception of Sir Alec Douglas-Home in 1963. The House of Commons evolved at some point during the 14th century and has been in continuous existence since. The House of Commons was once far less powerful than the House of Lords, but is now by far the dominant branch of Parliament. The House of Commons' legislative powers exceed those of the House of Lords; under the Parliament Act 1911, the Lords' power to reject most bills was reduced to a mere delaying power. Moreover, the Government of the United Kingdom is answerable to the House of Commons; the Prime Minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of the lower house.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_House_of_Commons

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1066: Harold II of England defeated Harald III of Norway in the Battle of Stamford Bridge, marking the end of Viking invasions of Great Britain. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stamford_Bridge)

1396: Ottoman forces under Bayezid I defeated a Christian alliance led by Sigismund of Hungary in the Battle of Nicopolis. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Nicopolis)

1513: Conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa, upon a peak in presentday Darién, Panama, became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean, which he named Mar del Sur, or South Sea. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasco_N%C3%BA%C3%B1ez_de_Balboa)

1962: The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria was formally proclaimed. Ferhat Abbas was elected President of the provisional government, with Ahmed Ben Bella as Prime Minister. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Algeria_since_1962)

1996: The last Magdalen Asylum in Ireland was closed. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalen_Asylum)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"No battle is ever won... They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools." -- William Faulkner (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Faulkner)