Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)
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In the United Kingdom a Member of Parliament (MP) (Aelod Seneddol (AS) in Welsh), is the title given to any one of the 650 individuals elected to serve in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.[1]
Electoral system
All 650 Members of Parliament are elected using the using first past the post in single member constituencies across the whole of the United Kingdom in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland where each constituency has its own single representative.
- 533 are elected from England
- 59 are elected from Scotland
- 40 are elected from Wales
- 18 are elected from Northern Ireland
Elections
All MP positions become simultaneously vacant for elections held on a five-year cycle. The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 sets out that ordinary general elections are held on the first Thursday in May, every five years.[2]
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 Recall of MPs Act 2015 a by-election can be called if more than 10% of registered voters within the constituency concerned sign a petition of recall if an MP is found guilty of wrongdoing.
Title
An MP who is a member of the Privy Council is entitled to be known as The Right Honourable (The Rt Hon. or Rt Hon.) Name MP, or simply as Name MP (Name BA in Welsh) if they are not.
See also
References
- ↑ "What MPs do". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ↑ "Fixed-term Parlliaments Act 2011". UK Legislation. Retrieved 16 August 2018.