document_title: Super Bowl

question_text: who decides where the super bowl is held

question_tokens: who decides where the super bowl is held

text: Super Bowl

text: Origin[edit]

text: For four decades after its 1920 inception, the NFL successfully fended off several rival leagues. However, in 1960, it encountered its most serious competitor when the American Football League (AFL) was formed. The AFL vied heavily with the NFL for both players and fans, but by the middle of the decade, the strain of competition led to serious merger talks between the two leagues. Prior to the 1966 season, the NFL and AFL reached a merger agreement that was to take effect for the 1970 season. As part of the merger, the champions of the two leagues agreed to meet in a world championship game for professional American football until the merger was effected.

text: A bowl game is a post-season college football game. The original "bowl game" was the Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, California, which was first played in 1902 as the "Tournament East-West football game" as part of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses and moved to the new Rose Bowl Stadium in 1923. The stadium got its name from the fact that the game played there was part of the Tournament of Roses and that it was shaped like a bowl, much like the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut; the Tournament of Roses football game itself eventually came to be known as the Rose Bowl Game. Exploiting the Rose Bowl Game's popularity, post-season college football contests were created for Miami (the Orange Bowl), New Orleans (the Sugar Bowl), and El Paso, Texas (the Sun Bowl) in 1935, and for Dallas (the Cotton Bowl) in 1937. By the time the first Super Bowl was played, the term "bowl" for any major American football game was well established.

text: Lamar Hunt, owner of the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs, first used the term "Super Bowl"[10] to refer to the NFL-AFL championship game in the merger meetings. Hunt later said the name was likely in his head because his children had been playing with a Super Ball toy;[11] a vintage example of the ball is on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. In a July 25, 1966, letter to NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, Hunt wrote, "I have kiddingly called it the 'Super Bowl,' which obviously can be improved upon."

text: The leagues' owners chose the name "AFL–NFL Championship Game",[12] but in July 1966 the Kansas City Star quoted Hunt in discussing "the Super Bowl — that's my term for the championship game between the two leagues",[13] and the media immediately began using the term.[14] Although the league stated in 1967 that "not many people like it", asking for suggestions and considering alternatives such as "Merger Bowl" and "The Game", the Associated Press reported that "Super Bowl" "grew and grew and grew-until it reached the point that there was Super Week, Super Sunday, Super Teams, Super Players, ad infinitum".[12] "Super Bowl" became official beginning with the third annual game.[15] Roman numerals were first affixed for the fifth edition, in January 1971.[16]

text: After the NFL's Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowls, some team owners feared for the future of the merger. At the time, many doubted the competitiveness of AFL teams compared with their NFL counterparts, though that perception changed when the AFL's New York Jets defeated the NFL's Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in Miami. One year later, the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs defeated the NFL's Minnesota Vikings 23–7 in Super Bowl IV in New Orleans, which was the final AFL-NFL World Championship Game played before the merger. Beginning with the 1970 season, the NFL realigned into two conferences; the former AFL teams plus three NFL teams (the Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns) would constitute the American Football Conference (AFC), while the remaining NFL clubs would form the National Football Conference (NFC). The champions of the two conferences would play each other in the Super Bowl.

text: The winning team receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the coach of the Green Bay Packers, who won the first two Super Bowl games and three of the five preceding NFL championships in 1961, 1962, and 1965. Following Lombardi's death in September 1970, the trophy was named the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The first trophy awarded under the new name was presented to the Baltimore Colts following their win in Super Bowl V in Miami.

text: Date[edit]

text: The Super Bowl is currently played on the first Sunday in February. This is due to the current NFL schedule which consists of the opening weekend of the season being held immediately after Labor Day (the first Monday in September), the 17-week regular season (where teams each play 16 games and have one bye), the first three rounds of the playoffs, and the Super Bowl two weeks after the two Conference Championship Games. This schedule has been in effect since Super Bowl XXXVIII in February 2004. The date of the Super Bowl can thus be determined from the date of the preceding Labor Day. For example, Labor Day in 2015 occurred on September 7; therefore the next Super Bowl was scheduled exactly five months later on February 7, 2016.

text: Originally, the game took place in early to mid-January. For Super Bowl I there was only one round of playoffs: the pre-merger NFL and AFL Championship Games. The addition of two playoff rounds (first in 1967 and then in 1978), an increase in regular season games from 14 to 16 (1978), and the establishment of one bye-week per team (1990) have caused the Super Bowl to be played later. Partially offsetting these season-lengthening effects, simultaneous with the addition of two regular season games in 1978, the season was started earlier. Prior to 1978, the season started as late as September 21. Now, since Labor Day is always the first Monday of September, September 13 is the latest possible date for the first full Sunday set of games (Since 2002, the regular season has started with the Kickoff Game on the first Thursday after Labor Day). The earliest possible season start date is September 7.

text: Game history[edit]

text:
Super Bowl appearances and records

Team
Appearances
Wins
Losses
Winning %

Pittsburgh Steelers
8
6
2
.750

New England Patriots
10
5
5
.500

Dallas Cowboys
8
5
3
.625

San Francisco 49ers
6
5
1
.833

Green Bay Packers
5
4
1
.800

New York Giants
5
4
1
.800

Denver Broncos
8
3
5
.375

Los Angeles / Oakland Raiders
5
3
2
.600

Washington Redskins
5
3
2
.600

Miami Dolphins
5
2
3
.400

Baltimore / Indianapolis Colts
4
2
2
.500

Baltimore Ravens
2
2
0
1.000

St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams
3
1
2
.333

Seattle Seahawks
3
1
2
.333

Philadelphia Eagles
3
1
2
.333

Kansas City Chiefs
2
1
1
.500

Chicago Bears
2
1
1
.500

New York Jets
1
1
0
1.000

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1
1
0
1.000

New Orleans Saints
1
1
0
1.000

Minnesota Vikings
4
0
4
.000

Buffalo Bills
4
0
4
.000

Cincinnati Bengals
2
0
2
.000

Carolina Panthers
2
0
2
.000

Atlanta Falcons
2
0
2
.000

San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers
1
0
1
.000

Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Tennessee Titans
1
0
1
.000

St. Louis / Arizona Cardinals
1
0
1
.000

Cleveland Browns
0
0
0
–

Detroit Lions
0
0
0
–

Jacksonville Jaguars
0
0
0
–

Houston Texans
0
0
0
–

text: The Pittsburgh Steelers have won six Super Bowls, the most of any team; the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers have five victories each, while the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants have four Super Bowl championships. Fourteen other NFL franchises have won at least one Super Bowl. Eight teams have appeared in Super Bowl games without a win. The Minnesota Vikings were the first team to have appeared a record four times without a win. The Buffalo Bills played in a record four Super Bowls in a row and lost every one. Four teams (the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans) have never appeared in a Super Bowl. The Browns and Lions both won NFL Championships prior to the creation of the Super Bowl, while the Jaguars (1995) and Texans (2002) are both recent NFL expansion teams. (Detroit, Houston, and Jacksonville, however, have hosted a Super Bowl, leaving the Browns the only team to date who has neither played in nor whose city has hosted the game.) The Minnesota Vikings won the last NFL Championship before the merger but lost to the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV.

text: 1960s: Early history[edit]

text: The Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowls (Known as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game for these first two contests), defeating the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders following the 1966 and 1967 seasons, respectively. The Packers were led by quarterback, Bart Starr, who was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for both games. These two championships, coupled with the Packers' NFL championships in 1961, 1962, and 1965, amount to the most successful stretch in NFL History; five championships in seven years, and the only threepeat in NFL history (1965, 1966, and 1967).

text: In Super Bowl III, the AFL's New York Jets defeated the eighteen-point favorite Baltimore Colts of the NFL, 16–7. The Jets were led by quarterback Joe Namath, who had famously guaranteed a Jets win prior to the game, and former Colts head coach Weeb Ewbank, and their victory proved that the AFL was the NFL's competitive equal. This was reinforced the following year when the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs defeated the NFL's Minnesota Vikings 23–7 in Super Bowl IV.

text: 1970s: Dominant franchises[edit]

text: After the AFL–NFL merger was completed in 1970, three franchises – the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and Pittsburgh Steelers – would go on to dominate the 1970s, winning a combined eight Super Bowls in the decade.

text: The Baltimore Colts, now a member of the AFC, would start the decade by defeating the Cowboys in Super Bowl V, a game which is notable as being the only Super Bowl to date in which a player from the losing team won the Super Bowl MVP (Cowboys' linebacker Chuck Howley). Beginning with this Super Bowl, all Super Bowls have served as the NFL's league championship game.

text: The Cowboys, coming back from a loss the previous season, won Super Bowl VI over the Dolphins. However, this would be the Dolphins' final loss in over a year, as the next year, the Dolphins would go 14–0 in the regular season and eventually win all of their playoff games, capped off with a 14–7 victory in Super Bowl VII, becoming the first and only team to finish an entire perfect regular and postseason. The Dolphins would repeat as league champions by winning Super Bowl VIII a year later.

text: In the late 1970s, the Steelers became the first NFL dynasty of the post-merger era by winning four Super Bowls (IX, X, XIII, and XIV) in six years. They were led by head coach Chuck Noll, the play of offensive stars Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, and Mike Webster, and their dominant "Steel Curtain" defense, led by "Mean" Joe Greene, L. C. Greenwood, Ernie Holmes, Mel Blount, Jack Ham, and Jack Lambert. The coaches and administrators also were part of the dynasty's greatness as evidenced by the team's "final pieces" being part of the famous 1974 draft. The selections in that class have been considered the best by any pro franchise ever, as Pittsburgh selected four future Hall of Famers, the most for any team in any sport in a single draft. The Steelers were the first team to win three and then four Super Bowls and appeared in six AFC Championship Games during the decade, making the playoffs in eight straight seasons. Nine players and three coaches and administrators on the team have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Pittsburgh still remains the only team to win back-to-back Super Bowls twice and four Super Bowls in a six-year period.

text: The Steelers' dynasty was interrupted only by the Oakland Raiders' Super Bowl XI win and the Cowboys winning their second Super Bowl of the decade.

text: 1980s and 1990s: The NFC's winning streak[edit]

text: In the 1980s and 1990s, the tables turned for the AFC, as the NFC dominated the Super Bowls of the new decade and most of those of the 1990s. The NFC won 16 of the 20 Super Bowls during these two decades, including 13 straight from Super Bowl XIX to Super Bowl XXXI.

text: The most successful team of the 1980s was the San Francisco 49ers, which featured the West Coast offense of Hall of Fame head coach Bill Walsh. This offense was led by three-time Super Bowl MVP and Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, Super Bowl MVP and Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, running back Roger Craig, and defensive safety/cornerback Ronnie Lott. Under their leadership, the 49ers won four Super Bowls in the decade (XVI, XIX, XXIII, and XXIV) and made nine playoff appearances between 1981 and 1990, including eight division championships, becoming the second dynasty of the post-merger NFL.

text: The 1980s also produced the 1985 Chicago Bears, who posted an 18–1 record under head coach Mike Ditka; quarterback Jim McMahon; and Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton. Their team won Super Bowl XX in dominant fashion. The Washington Redskins and New York Giants were also top teams of this period; the Redskins won Super Bowls XVII, XXII, and XXVI. The Giants claimed Super Bowls XXI and XXV. As in the 1970s, the Oakland Raiders were the only team to interrupt the Super Bowl dominance of other teams; they won Super Bowls XV and XVIII (the latter as the Los Angeles Raiders).

text: Following several seasons with poor records in the 1980s, the Dallas Cowboys rose back to prominence in the 1990s. During this decade, the Cowboys made post-season appearances every year except for the seasons of 1990 and 1997. From 1992 to 1996, the Cowboys won their division championship each year. In this same period, the Buffalo Bills had made their mark reaching the Super Bowl for a record four consecutive years, only to lose all four. After Super Bowl championships by division rivals New York (1990) and Washington (1991), the Cowboys won three of the next four Super Bowls (XXVII, XXVIII, and XXX) led by quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith, and wide receiver Michael Irvin. All three of these players went to the Hall of Fame. The Cowboys' streak was interrupted by the 49ers, who won their league-leading fifth title overall with Super Bowl XXIX in dominating fashion under Super Bowl MVP and Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, and Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders; however, the Cowboys' victory in Super Bowl XXX the next year also gave them five titles overall and they did so with Sanders after he won the Super Bowl the previous year with the 49ers. The NFC's winning streak was continued by the Green Bay Packers who, under Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, won Super Bowl XXXI, their first championship since Super Bowl II in the late 1960s.

text: 1997–2009: AFC resurgence[edit]

text: Super Bowl XXXII saw quarterback John Elway and running back Terrell Davis lead the Denver Broncos to an upset victory over the defending champion Packers, snapping the NFC's 13-year winning streak. The following year, the Broncos defeated the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII, Elway's fifth Super Bowl appearance, his second NFL championship, and his final NFL game. The back-to-back victories heralded a change in momentum in which AFC teams would win nine out of 12 Super Bowls. In the years between 1995 and 2016, five teams – the Steelers, New England Patriots, Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, and Indianapolis Colts – accounted for 20 of the 22 AFC Super Bowl appearances (including the last 14), with those same teams often meeting each other earlier in the playoffs. In contrast, the NFC saw a different representative in the Super Bowl every season from 2001 through 2010.

text: The year following the Broncos' second victory, however, a surprising St. Louis Rams team led by the undrafted quarterback, Kurt Warner, who would close out the 1990s in a wild battle against the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV. The tense game came down to the final play in which Tennessee had the opportunity to tie the game and send it to overtime. The Titans nearly pulled it off, but the tackle of receiver Kevin Dyson by linebacker Mike Jones kept the ball out of the end zone by a matter of inches. In 2007, ESPN would rank "The Tackle" as the 2nd greatest moment in Super Bowl history.[17]

text: Super Bowl XXXV was played by the AFC's Baltimore Ravens and the NFC's New York Giants. The Ravens defeated the Giants by the score of 34–7. The game was played on January 28, 2001, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

text: The New England Patriots became the dominant team throughout the early 2000s, winning the championship three out of four years early in the decade. They would become only the second team in the history of the NFL to do so (after the 1990s Dallas Cowboys). In Super Bowl XXXVI, first-year starting quarterback Tom Brady led his team to a 20–17 upset victory over the St. Louis Rams. Brady would go on to win the MVP award for this game. The Patriots also won Super Bowls XXXVIII[18] and XXXIX defeating the Carolina Panthers and the Philadelphia Eagles respectively. This four-year stretch of Patriot dominance was interrupted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 48–21 Super Bowl XXXVII victory over the Oakland Raiders.

text: The Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts continued the era of AFC dominance by winning Super Bowls XL and XLI in 2005–06 and 2006–07, respectively defeating the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears.

text: In the 2007 season, the Patriots became the fourth team in NFL history to have a perfect unbeaten and untied regular season record, the second in the Super Bowl era after the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and the first to finish 16–0. They easily marched through the AFC playoffs and were heavy favorites in Super Bowl XLII. However, they lost that game to Eli Manning and the New York Giants 17–14, leaving the Patriots' 2007 record at 18–1.

text: The following season, the Steelers logged their record sixth Super Bowl title (XLIII) in a 27–23, final-minute victory against the Arizona Cardinals.

text: The 2009 season saw the New Orleans Saints defeat the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV by a score of 31–17 to take home their first Championship. With this victory, the Saints joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets as the only teams to have won in their sole Super Bowl appearance.

text: The 2010s have seen parity between the two conferences, but not within them. Since the start of 2010, five of the nine Super Bowl winners hailed from the NFC, the other four from the AFC.

text: Following up the Saints' win in Super Bowl XLIV, the 2010 season brought the Green Bay Packers their fourth Super Bowl (XLV) victory and record thirteenth NFL championship overall with the defeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers in February 2011. The Giants won another title after the 2011 season, again defeating the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.

text: The Baltimore Ravens snapped the NFC's three-game winning streak by winning Super Bowl XLVII in a 34–31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Super Bowl XLVIII, played at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium in February 2014, was the first Super Bowl held outdoors in a cold weather environment. The Seattle Seahawks won their first NFL title with a 43–8 defeat of the Denver Broncos, in a highly touted matchup that pitted Seattle's top-ranked defense against a Peyton Manning-led Denver offense that had broken the NFL's single-season scoring record.

text: In Super Bowl XLIX, the Patriots beat the defending Super Bowl champions, the Seahawks, 28–24 as Malcolm Butler intercepted a Seattle pass in the end zone with the Seahawks poised to take the lead. In Super Bowl 50, the Broncos, led by the league's top-ranked defense, defeated the Carolina Panthers, who had the league's top-ranked offense, in what became the final game of quarterback Peyton Manning's career.

text: In Super Bowl LI, the Atlanta Falcons had a 28–3 lead late in the third quarter, but lost to the Patriots, 34–28, in the first Super Bowl to ever end in overtime.

text: In Super Bowl LII, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots, 41–33. It was the Eagles' third Super Bowl appearance, and their first win in franchise history. It was the Patriots' tenth Super Bowl appearance, and their fourth appearance in ten years; had the Patriots won, they would have tied the Pittsburgh Steelers with the most Super Bowl wins (six).

text: The Super Bowls of the late 2000s and 2010s are notable for the performances (and the pedigrees) of several of the participating quarterbacks, and stagnation (especially on the AFC side) in repeated appearances by the same teams and players. In particular, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, or Peyton Manning appeared as the AFC team's quarterback in all but two of the Super Bowls between 2001 and 2018.

text: Television coverage and ratings[edit]

text: The Super Bowl is one of the most watched annual sporting events in the world, with viewership overwhelmingly domestic.[19] The only other annual event that gathers more viewers is the UEFA Champions League final.[19] For many years, the Super Bowl has possessed a large US and global television viewership, and it is often the most watched United States originating television program of the year.[20] The game tends to have high Nielsen television ratings, which is usually around a 40 rating and 60 shares. This means that on average, more than 100 million people from the United States alone are tuned into the Super Bowl at any given moment.

text: In press releases preceding each year's event, the NFL typically claims that that year's Super Bowl will have a potential worldwide audience of around one billion people in over 200 countries.[21] This figure refers to the number of people able to watch the game, not the number of people actually watching. However, the statements have been frequently misinterpreted in various media as referring to the latter figure, leading to a common misperception about the game's actual global audience.[22][23] The New York-based media research firm Initiative measured the global audience for the 2005 Super Bowl at 93 million people, with 98 percent of that figure being viewers in North America, which meant roughly 2 million people outside North America watched the Super Bowl that year.[22]

text: The 2015 Super Bowl XLIX holds the record for average number of U.S. viewers, with a final number of 114.4 million,[24] making the game the most-viewed television broadcast of any kind in American history. The halftime show was the most watched ever with 118.5 million viewers tuning in, and an all-time high of 168 million viewers in the United States had watched several portions of the Super Bowl 2015 broadcast.[25] The game set a record for total viewers for the fifth time in six years.[6]

text: The highest-rated game according to Nielsen was Super Bowl XVI in 1982, which was watched in 49.1 percent of households (73 shares), or 40,020,000 households at the time. Ratings for that game, a San Francisco victory over Cincinnati, may have been aided by a large blizzard that had affected much of the northeastern United States on game day, leaving residents to stay at home more than usual. Super Bowl XVI still ranks fourth on Nielsen's list of top-rated programs of all time, and three other Super Bowls, XII, XVII, and XX, made the top ten.[26]

text: Famous commercial campaigns include the Budweiser "Bud Bowl" campaign, the 1984 introduction of Apple's Macintosh computer, and the 1999 and 2000 dot-com ads. As the television ratings of the Super Bowl have steadily increased over the years, prices have also increased every year, with advertisers paying as much as $3.5 million for a thirty-second spot during Super Bowl XLVI in 2012.[27] A segment of the audience tunes into the Super Bowl solely to view commercials.[9] In 2010, Nielsen reported that 51 percent of Super Bowl viewers tune in for the commercials.[28] The Super Bowl halftime show has spawned another set of alternative entertainment such as the Lingerie Bowl, the Beer Bottle Bowl, and others.

text: Since 1991, the Super Bowl has begun between 6:19 and 6:40 PM EST so that most of the game is played during the primetime hours on the East Coast.[29]

text: Super Bowl on TV[edit]

text:
Network
Number broadcast
Years broadcast
Future scheduled telecasts*[›]

ABC**[›]
7
1985, 1988, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2006
**[›]

Fox
8 (10ˇ[›])
1997, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017
2020ˇ[›], 2023ˇ[›]

NBC
19 (20ˇ[›])
1967***[›], 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018
2021ˇ[›]

CBS
19 (21ˇ[›])
1967***[›], 1968, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1992, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016
2019ˇ[›], 2022ˇ[›]

text:
Note: Years listed are the year the game was actually played (will be playedˇ[›]) rather than what NFL season it is considered to have been.
^ *: The extended current TV contracts with the networks expire after the 2022 season (or Super Bowl LVII in early 2023) and the Super Bowl is currently rotated annually between CBS, Fox, and NBC in that order.
^ **: ABC is not currently in the rotation for Super Bowl broadcasts.
^ ***: The first Super Bowl was simultaneously broadcast by CBS and NBC, with each network using the same video feed, but providing its own commentary.
Super Bowls I–VI were blacked out in the television markets of the host cities, due to league restrictions then in place.[30]

text: Game analyst John Madden is the only person to broadcast a Super Bowl for each of the four networks that have televised the game (5 with CBS, 3 with Fox, 2 with ABC, and 1 with NBC).

text: Lead-out programming[edit]

text: The Super Bowl provides an extremely strong lead-in to programming following it on the same channel, the effects of which can last for several hours. For instance, in discussing the ratings of a local TV station, Buffalo television critic Alan Pergament noted on the coattails from Super Bowl XLVII, which aired on CBS: "A paid program that ran on Channel 4 (WIVB-TV) at 2:30 in the morning had a 1.3 rating. That's higher than some CW prime time shows get on WNLO-TV, Channel 4's sister station."[31]

text: Because of this strong coattail effect, the network that airs the Super Bowl typically takes advantage of the large audience to air an episode of a hit series, or to premiere the pilot of a promising new one in the lead-out slot, which immediately follows the Super Bowl and post-game coverage.

text: Entertainment[edit]

text: Initially, it was sort of a novelty and so it didn't quite feel right. But it was just like, this is the year. ... Bands of our generation, you can sort of be seen on a stage like this or, like, not seen. There's not a lot of middle places. It is a tremendous venue.

text: Early Super Bowls featured a halftime show consisting of marching bands from local colleges or high schools; but as the popularity of the game increased, a trend where popular singers and musicians performed during its pre-game ceremonies and the halftime show, or simply sang the national anthem of the United States, emerged.[33] Unlike regular season or playoff games, thirty minutes are allocated for the Super Bowl halftime. After a special live episode of the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color caused a drop in viewership for the Super Bowl XXVI halftime show, the NFL sought to increase the Super Bowl's audience by hiring A-list talent to perform. They approached Michael Jackson, whose performance the following year drew higher figures than the game itself.[34][35] Another notable performance came during Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002, when U2 performed; during their third song, "Where the Streets Have No Name", the band played under a large projection screen which scrolled through names of the victims of the September 11 attacks.

text: For many years, Whitney Houston's performance of the national anthem at Super Bowl XXV in 1991, during the Gulf War, had long been regarded as one of the best renditions of the anthem in history.[36][37][38] Then, in an historic, groundbreaking, and emotional performance prior to Super Bowl XLVIII, soprano Renee Fleming became the first opera singer to perform the anthem, propelling FOX to the highest ratings of any program in its history, and remains so today.

text: The halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII attracted controversy, following an incident in which Justin Timberlake removed a piece of Janet Jackson's top, briefly exposing one of her breasts before the broadcast quickly cut away from the shot. The incident led to fines being issued by the FCC (and a larger crackdown over "indecent" content broadcast on television), and MTV (then a sister to the game's broadcaster that year, CBS, under Viacom) being banned by the NFL from producing the Super Bowl halftime show in the future. In an effort to prevent a repeat of the incident, the NFL held a moratorium on Super Bowl halftime shows featuring pop performers, and instead invited a single, headlining veteran act, such as Paul McCartney, The Who, Prince, and Bruce Springsteen. This practice ended at Super Bowl XLV, which returned to using current pop acts such as The Black Eyed Peas and Katy Perry.[39][40]

text: Excluding Super Bowl XXXIX, the famous "I'm going to Disney World!" advertising campaign took place in every Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXI when quarterback Phil Simms from the New York Giants became the first player to say the tagline.

text: Venue[edit]

text: As of Super Bowl LII, 27 of 52 Super Bowls have been played in three cities: New Orleans (ten times), the Greater Miami area (ten times), and the Greater Los Angeles area (seven times). No market or region without an active NFL franchise has ever hosted a Super Bowl, and the presence of an NFL team in a market or region is now a de jure requirement for bidding on the game.[41][42] The winning market is not, however, required to host the Super Bowl in the same stadium that its NFL team uses, and nine Super Bowls have been held in a stadium other than the one the NFL team in that city was using at the time. For example, Los Angeles's last five Super Bowls were all played at the Rose Bowl, which has never been used by any NFL franchise outside of the Super Bowl.[citation needed]

text: No team has ever played the Super Bowl in its home stadium. The closest any team has come was the 2017 Minnesota Vikings, who were within one win of playing Super Bowl LII in U.S. Bank Stadium, but lost the NFC Championship game to the Philadelphia Eagles. Two teams have played the Super Bowl in their home market: the San Francisco 49ers, who played Super Bowl XIX in Stanford Stadium instead of Candlestick Park; and the Los Angeles Rams, who played Super Bowl XIV in the Rose Bowl instead of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In both cases, the stadium in which the Super Bowl was held was perceived to be a better stadium for a large, high-profile event than the stadiums the Rams and 49ers were playing in at the time; this situation has not arisen since 1993, in part because the league has traditionally awarded the Super Bowl in modern times to the newest stadiums. Besides those two, the only other Super Bowl venue that was not the home stadium to an NFL team at the time was Rice Stadium in Houston: the Houston Oilers had played there previously, but moved to the Astrodome several years prior to Super Bowl VIII. The Orange Bowl was the only AFL stadium to host a Super Bowl and the only stadium to host consecutive Super Bowls, hosting Super Bowls II and III.

text: Traditionally, the NFL does not award Super Bowls to stadiums that are located in climates with an expected average daily temperature less than 50 °F (10 °C) on game day unless the field can be completely covered by a fixed or retractable roof.[43] Six Super Bowls have been played in northern cities: two in the Detroit area—Super Bowl XVI at Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan and Super Bowl XL at Ford Field in Detroit, two in Minneapolis—Super Bowl XXVI at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and Super Bowl LII at the U.S. Bank Stadium, one in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium for Super Bowl XLVI, and one in the New York area—Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium. Only MetLife Stadium did not have a roof (be it fixed or retractable) but it was still picked as the host stadium for Super Bowl XLVIII in an apparent waiver of the warm-climate rule.

text: There have been a few instances where the league has rescinded the Super Bowl from cities. Super Bowl XXVII in 1993 was originally awarded to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, but after Arizona voters elected not to recognize Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a paid state-employee's holiday in 1990, the NFL moved the game to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.[44] When voters in Arizona opted to create such a legal holiday in 1992, Super Bowl XXX in 1996 was awarded to Tempe. Super Bowl XXXIII was awarded first to Candlestick Park in San Francisco, but when plans to renovate the stadium fell through, the game was moved to Pro Player Stadium in greater Miami. Super Bowl XXXVII was awarded to a new stadium not yet built in San Francisco, when that stadium failed to be built, the game was moved to San Diego. Super Bowl XLIV, slated for February 7, 2010, was withdrawn from New York City's proposed West Side Stadium, because the city, state, and proposed tenants New York Jets could not agree on funding. Super Bowl XLIV was then eventually awarded to Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Super Bowl XLIX in 2015 was originally given to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, but after two sales taxes failed to pass at the ballot box, and opposition by local business leaders and politicians increased, Kansas City eventually withdrew its request to host the game.[45] Super Bowl XLIX was then eventually awarded to University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

text: In 2011, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said, "[The Super Bowl is] commonly known as the single largest human trafficking incident in the United States." According to Forbes, 10,000 prostitutes were brought to Miami in 2010 for the Super Bowl.[46] Snopes research in 2015 determined that the actual number of prostitutes involved in a typical Super Bowl weekend is less than 100, not statistically higher than any other time of the year, and that the notion of mass increases in human trafficking around the Super Bowl was a politician's myth.[47]

text: Selection process[edit]

text: The location of the Super Bowl is chosen by the NFL well in advance, usually three to five years before the game. Cities place bids to host a Super Bowl and are evaluated in terms of stadium renovation and their ability to host.[43][48] In 2014, a document listing the specific requirements of Super Bowl hosts was leaked, giving a clear list of what was required for a Super Bowl host.[49] Much of the cost of the Super Bowl is to be assumed by the host community, although some costs are enumerated within the requirements to be assumed by the NFL. Some of the host requirements include:

text:
The host stadium must be in a market that hosts an NFL team and must have a minimum of 70,000 seats, with the media and electrical amenities necessary to produce the Super Bowl. Stadiums may include temporary seating for Super Bowls, but seating must be approved by the league. Stadiums where the average game day temperature is below 50° Fahrenheit must either have a roof or a waiver given by the league. There must be a minimum of 35,000 parking spaces within one mile of the stadium.
The host stadium must have space for the Gameday Experience, a large pregame entertainment area, within walking distance of the stadium.
The host city must have space for the NFL Experience, the interactive football theme park which is operated the week prior to the Super Bowl. An indoor venue for the event must have a minimum of 850,000 square feet, and an outdoor venue must have a minimum of 1,000,000 square feet. Additionally, there must be space nearby for the Media Center, and space for all other events involved in the Super Bowl week, including golf courses and bowling alleys.
The necessary infrastructure must be in place around the stadium and other Super Bowl facilities, including parking, security, electrical needs, media needs, communication needs, and transportation needs.
There must be a minimum number of hotel spaces within one hour's drive of the stadium equaling 35% of the stadium's capacity, along with hotels for the teams, officials, media, and other dignitaries. (For Super Bowl XXXIX, the city of Jacksonville docked several luxury cruise liners at their port to act as temporary hotel space.[50])
There must be practice space of equal and comparable quality for both teams within a 20-minute drive of the team hotels, and rehearsal space for all events within a reasonable distance to the stadium. The practice facilities must have one grass field and at least one field of the same surface as the host stadium.
The stadium must have a minimum of 70,000 fixed seats, including club and fixed suite seating, during regular season operations.

text: The NFL owners meet to make a selection on the site, usually three to five years prior to the event. In 2007, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suggested that a Super Bowl might be played in London, perhaps at Wembley Stadium.[51] The game has never been played in a region that lacks an NFL franchise; seven Super Bowls have been played in Los Angeles, but none were held there in the 21-year period when the league had no team in the area.[citation needed] New Orleans, the site of the 2013 Super Bowl, invested more than $1 billion in infrastructure improvements in the years leading up to the game.[52]

text: Home team designation[edit]

text: The designated "home team" alternates between the NFC team in odd-numbered games and the AFC team in even-numbered games.[53][54] This alternation was initiated with the first Super Bowl, when the Green Bay Packers were the designated home team. Regardless of being the home or away team of record, each team has their team logo and wordmark painted in one of the end zones. Designated away teams have won 30 of 51 Super Bowls to date (approximately 59 percent).

text: Since Super Bowl XIII in January 1979, the home team is given the choice of wearing their colored or white jerseys. Originally, the designated home team had to wear their colored jerseys, which resulted in Dallas donning their less exposed dark blue jerseys for Super Bowl V. While most of the home teams in the Super Bowl have chosen to wear their colored jerseys, there have been six (6) exceptions: the Dallas Cowboys during Super Bowl XIII and XXVII, the Washington Redskins during Super Bowl XVII, the Pittsburgh Steelers during Super Bowl XL, the Denver Broncos during Super Bowl 50, and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII. The Cowboys, since 1964, have worn white jerseys at home. The Redskins wore white at home under coach Joe Gibbs starting in 1981 through 1992, continued by Richie Petitbon and Norv Turner through 2000, then again when Gibbs returned from 2004 through 2007. Meanwhile, the Steelers, who have always worn their black jerseys at home since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, opted for the white jerseys after winning three consecutive playoff games on the road, wearing white. The Steelers' decision was compared with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX; the Patriots had worn white jerseys at home during the 1985 season, but after winning road playoff games against the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins wearing red jerseys, New England opted to switch to crimson for the Super Bowl as the designated home team. For the Broncos in Super Bowl 50, Denver general manager John Elway simply stated, "We've had Super Bowl success in our white uniforms"; they previously had been 0–4 in Super Bowls when wearing their orange jerseys.[55][56] The Broncos' decision is also perceived to be made out of superstition, losing all Super Bowl games with the orange jerseys in terrible fashion. It is unclear why the Patriots chose to wear their white jerseys for Super Bowl LII. During the pairing of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, New England has mostly worn their blue jerseys for home games, but have worn white for a home game in the 2008, 2010, and 2011 seasons.[57] The New England Patriots were 3-0 in their white uniforms in Super Bowls prior to Super Bowl LII with Belichick and Brady,[58][59] and they may have been going on recent trends of teams who wear white for the Super Bowl game.[60][61][62] White-shirted teams have won 33 of 52 Super Bowls to date (63 percent). The only teams to win in their dark-colored uniform in more recent years are the Green Bay Packers against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV and the Philadelphia Eagles against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, with teams in white winning 12 of the last 14 Super Bowls.[63]

text: The 49ers, as part of the league's 75th Anniversary celebration, used their 1957 throwback uniform in Super Bowl XXIX, which for that year was their regular home jersey. No team has yet worn a third jersey or Color Rush uniform for the Super Bowl.

text: Host cities/regions[edit]

text: Fifteen different regions have hosted Super Bowls.

text:
City/Region
No. hosted
Years hosted

Miami metropolitan area
10 (11)ˇ[›]
1968, 1969, 1971, 1976, 1979, 1989, 1995, 1999, 2007, 2010, 2020ˇ[›]

New Orleans
10
1970, 1972, 1975, 1978, 1981, 1986, 1990, 1997, 2002, 2013

Los Angeles metropolitan area
7 (8)ˇ[›]
1967, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1993, 2022ˇ[›]

Tampa
4 (5)ˇ[›]
1984, 1991, 2001, 2009, 2021ˇ[›]

San Diego
3
1988, 1998, 2003

Phoenix metropolitan area
3
1996, 2008, 2015

Houston
3
1974, 2004, 2017

Atlanta
2 (3)ˇ[›]
1994, 2000, 2019ˇ[›]

Metro Detroit
2
1982, 2006

San Francisco Bay Area
2
1985, 2016

Minneapolis
2
1992, 2018

Jacksonville
1
2005

Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
1
2011

Indianapolis
1
2012

New York metropolitan area
1
2014

text: Note: Years listed are the year the game was actually played (or will be playedˇ[›]; future games are denoted through italics) rather than what NFL season it is considered to have been.

text: Host stadiums[edit]

text: A total of twenty-six different stadiums, five of which no longer exist and one of which does not yet exist, have hosted or are scheduled to host Super Bowls. Years listed in the table below are the years the game was actually played (will be playedˇ[›]) rather than what NFL season it is considered to have been.

text:
Stadium
Location
No. hosted
Years hosted

Mercedes-Benz Superdome, formerly Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana
7
1978, 1981, 1986, 1990, 1997, 2002, 2013

Hard Rock Stadium, formerly Joe Robbie Stadium, Pro Player Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, and Sun Life Stadium
Miami Gardens, Florida‡[›]
5 (6ˇ[›])
1989, 1995, 1999, 2007, 2010, 2020ˇ[›]

Miami Orange Bowl^[›]
Miami, Florida
5
1968, 1969, 1971, 1976, 1979

Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California
5
1977, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1993

Tulane Stadium^[›]
New Orleans, Louisiana
3
1970, 1972, 1975

SDCCU Stadium, formerly Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego, California
3
1988, 1998, 2003

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles, California
2
1967, 1973

Tampa Stadium^[›]
Tampa, Florida
2
1984, 1991

Georgia Dome^[›]
Atlanta, Georgia
2
1994, 2000

Raymond James Stadium
Tampa, Florida
2 (3ˇ[›])
2001, 2009, 2021ˇ[›]

University of Phoenix Stadium
Glendale, Arizona
2
2008, 2015

NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium
Houston, Texas
2
2004, 2017

Rice Stadium
Houston, Texas
1
1974

Pontiac Silverdome^[›]
Pontiac, Michigan
1
1982

Stanford Stadium††[›]
Stanford, California
1
1985

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome^[›]
Minneapolis, Minnesota
1
1992

Sun Devil Stadium
Tempe, Arizona
1
1996

EverBank Field, formerly Alltel Stadium
Jacksonville, Florida
1
2005

Ford Field
Detroit, Michigan
1
2006

AT&T Stadium
Arlington, Texas
1
2011

Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, Indiana
1
2012

MetLife Stadium
East Rutherford, New Jersey
1
2014

Levi's Stadium
Santa Clara, California
1
2016

U.S. Bank Stadium
Minneapolis, Minnesota
1
2018

Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Atlanta, Georgia
1ˇ[›]
2019ˇ[›]

Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park
Inglewood, California
1ˇ[›]
2022ˇ[›]

text:
^ ^: Stadium is now demolished.
^ ‡: Miami Gardens became a city in 2003. Before that, the stadium had a Miami address while in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.
^ ††: The original Stanford Stadium, which hosted Super Bowl XIX, was demolished and replaced with a new stadium in 2006.
^ ˇ: Future Super Bowls, also denoted by italics.

text: Future venues:

text:
2019: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (1), Atlanta (3)
2020: Hard Rock Stadium (6), Miami Gardens, Florida (6; 11 for the Miami metropolitan area)
2021: Raymond James Stadium (3), Tampa, Florida (5)
2022: Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park (1), Inglewood, California (1; 8 for the Los Angeles metropolitan area)[64][65][66]

text: The game has never been played in a region that lacked an NFL or AFL franchise.[citation needed] London, England has occasionally been mentioned as a host city for a Super Bowl in the near future.[67] Wembley Stadium has hosted several NFL games as part of the NFL International Series and is specifically designed for large, individual events. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has openly discussed the possibility on different occasions.[68][69][70][71] Time zone complications are a significant obstacle to a Super Bowl in London; a typical 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time start would result in the game beginning at 11:30 p.m. local time in London, an unusually late hour to be holding spectator sports (the NFL has never in its history started a game later than 9:15 p.m. local time).[71] As bids have been submitted for all Super Bowls through Super Bowl LVI, the soonest that any stadium outside the NFL's footprint could serve as host would be Super Bowl LVII in 2023.

text: Super Bowl trademark[edit]

text: The NFL is very active on stopping what it says is unauthorized commercial use of its trademarked terms "NFL", "Super Bowl", and "Super Sunday".[72] As a result, many events and promotions tied to the game, but not sanctioned by the NFL, are asked to refer to it with euphemisms such as "The Big Game", or other generic descriptions.[73][74] A radio spot for Planters nuts parodied this, by saying "it would be super...to have a bowl...of Planters nuts while watching the big game!" and comedian Stephen Colbert began referring to the game in 2014 as the "Superb Owl". In 2015, the NFL filed opposition with the USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to a trademark application submitted by an Arizona-based nonprofit for "Superb Owl".[75] The NFL claims that the use of the phrase "Super Bowl" implies an NFL affiliation, and on this basis the league asserts broad rights to restrict how the game may be shown publicly; for example, the league says Super Bowl showings are prohibited in churches or at other events that "promote a message", while venues that do not regularly show sporting events cannot show the Super Bowl on any television screen larger than 55 inches.[76] Some critics say the NFL is exaggerating its ownership rights by stating that "any use is prohibited", as this contradicts the broad doctrine of fair use in the United States.[76] Legislation was proposed by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch in 2008 "to provide an exemption from exclusive rights in copyright for certain nonprofit organizations to display live football games", and "for other purposes".[77]

text: In 2004, The NFL started issuing Cease and Desist letters to casinos in Las Vegas that were hosting Super Bowl parties. "Super Bowl" is a registered trademark, owned by the NFL, and any other business using that name for profit-making ventures is in violation of federal law, according to the letters. In reaction to the letters, many Vegas resorts, rather than discontinue the popular and lucrative parties, started referring to them as "Big Game Parties."[78][79][80]

text: In 2006, the NFL made an attempt to trademark "The Big Game" as well; however, it withdrew the application in 2007 due to growing commercial and public-relations opposition to the move, mostly from Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley and their fans, as the Stanford Cardinal football and California Golden Bears football teams compete in the Big Game, which has been played since 1892 (28 years before the formation of the NFL and 75 years before Super Bowl I).[81] Additionally, the Mega Millions lottery game was known as The Big Game from 1996 to 2002.[82]

text: Use of the phrase "world champions"[edit]

text: Like the other major professional leagues in the United States, the winner of the Super Bowl is usually declared "world champions", a title that has been mocked by non-American journalists.[83][84] Others feel the title is fitting, since it is the only professional league of its kind.[85]

text: The practice by the U.S. major leagues of using the "World Champion" moniker originates from the World Series of professional baseball,[citation needed] and it was later used during the first three Super Bowls when they were referred to as AFL-NFL World Championship Games. The phrase is still engraved on the Super Bowl rings.


document_title: House of Commons of the United Kingdom

question_text: who oversees proceedings in the house of commons

question_tokens: who oversees proceedings in the house of commons

root

text: House of Commons of the United Kingdom

text: Role[edit]

text: Relationship with Her Majesty's Government[edit]

text: Although it does not formally elect the prime minister, the position of the parties in the House of Commons is of overriding importance. By convention, the prime minister is answerable to, and must maintain the support of, the House of Commons. Thus, whenever the office of prime minister falls vacant, the Sovereign appoints the person who has the support of the House, or who is most likely to command the support of the House—normally the leader of the largest party in the Commons, while the leader of the second-largest party becomes the Leader of the Opposition. Since 1963, by convention, the prime minister is always a member of the House of Commons, rather than the House of Lords.

tag: p

text: The Commons may indicate its lack of support for the Government by rejecting a motion of confidence or by passing a motion of no confidence. Confidence and no confidence motions are phrased explicitly, for instance: "That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government." Many other motions were considered confidence issues, even though not explicitly phrased as such. In particular, important bills that form a part of the Government's agenda were formerly considered matters of confidence, as is the annual Budget. When a Government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, the prime minister is obliged either to resign, making way for another MP who can command confidence, or to request the monarch to dissolve Parliament, thereby precipitating a general election.

text: Parliament normally sits for a maximum term of five years. Subject to that limit, the prime minister could formerly choose the timing of the dissolution of parliament, with the permission of the Monarch. However, since the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011, terms are now a fixed five years, and an early general election can only be brought about either by a two-thirds majority in favour of a motion for a dissolution, or by a vote of no confidence that is not followed within fourteen days by a vote of confidence (which may be for confidence in the same government or a different one). By this second mechanism, the government of the United Kingdom can change without an intervening general election. Only four of the eight last Prime Ministers have attained office as the immediate result of a general election; the others have gained office upon the resignation of a Prime Minister of their own party. The latter four were Jim Callaghan, John Major, Gordon Brown and the current Prime Minister Theresa May; these four inherited the office from Harold Wilson, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and David Cameron respectively. In such circumstances there may not even have been an internal party leadership election, as the new leader may be chosen by acclaim, having no electoral rival (as in the case of both Brown and May).

text: A prime minister may resign even if he or she is not defeated at the polls (for example, for personal health reasons). In such a case, the premiership goes to whoever can command a majority in the House of Commons; in practice this is usually the new leader of the outgoing prime minister's party. Until 1965, the Conservative Party had no mechanism for electing a new leader; when Anthony Eden resigned as PM in 1957 without recommending a successor, the party was unable to nominate one. It fell to the Queen to appoint Harold Macmillan as the new prime minister, after taking the advice of ministers.

text: By convention, all ministers must be members of the House of Commons or of the House of Lords. A handful have been appointed who were outside Parliament, but in most cases they then entered Parliament either in a by-election or by receiving a peerage. Since 1902, all prime ministers have been members of the Commons (the sole exception, the Earl of Home, disclaimed his peerage three days after becoming prime minister, and was immediately elected to the House of Commons as Sir Alec Douglas-Home after twenty days in neither House).

text: In modern times, the vast majority of ministers belong to the Commons rather than the Lords. Few major cabinet positions (except Lord Privy Seal, Lord Chancellor and Leader of the House of Lords) have been filled by a peer in recent times. Notable exceptions are Lord Carrington, who served as Foreign Secretary from 1979 to 1982, and Lord Young, who was appointed Employment Secretary in 1985. Lord Mandelson was appointed Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in October 2008; he was also briefly a member of neither the Lords nor the Commons while serving in this capacity. The elected status of members of the Commons, as opposed to the unelected nature of members of the Lords, is seen to lend more legitimacy to ministers. The prime minister chooses the ministers, and may decide to remove them at any time; the formal appointment or dismissal, however, is made by the Sovereign.

text: The House of Commons scrutinises HM Government through "Prime Minister's Questions", when members have the opportunity to ask questions of the prime minister; there are other opportunities to question other cabinet ministers. Prime Minister's Questions occurs once each week, normally for half an hour each Wednesday. Questions must relate to the responding minister's official government activities, not to his or her activities as a party leader or as a private Member of Parliament. Customarily, members of the Government party and members of the Opposition alternate when asking questions. In addition to questions asked orally during Question Time, Members of Parliament may also make inquiries in writing.

text: In practice, the House of Commons' scrutiny of the Government is fairly weak. Since the first-past-the-post electoral system is employed, the governing party often enjoys a large majority in the Commons, and there is often little need to compromise with other parties. Modern British political parties are so tightly organised that they leave relatively little room for free action by their MPs. Also, many ruling party MPs are paid members of the Government. Thus, during the 20th century, the Government has lost confidence issues only three times—twice in 1924, and once in 1979. However, the threat of rebellions by their own party's backbench MPs often forces Governments to make concessions (under the Coalition, over foundation hospitals and under Labour over top-up fees and compensation for failed company pension schemes). Occasionally the Government is defeated by backbench rebellions (Terrorism Act 2006). However, the scrutiny provided by the Select Committees is more serious.

text: The House of Commons technically retains the power to impeach Ministers of the Crown (or any other subject, even if not a public officer) for their crimes. Impeachments are tried by the House of Lords, where a simple majority is necessary to convict. The power of impeachment, however, has fallen into disuse: the House of Commons exercises its checks on the Government through other means, such as No Confidence Motions; the last impeachment was that of Viscount Melville in 1806.

text: Legislative functions[edit]

text: Bills may be introduced in either house, though bills of importance generally originate in the House of Commons. The supremacy of the Commons in legislative matters is assured by the Parliament Acts, under which certain types of bills may be presented to the Queen for Royal Assent without the consent of the House of Lords. The Lords may not delay a money bill (a bill that, in the view of the Speaker of the House of Commons, solely concerns national taxation or public funds) for more than one month. Moreover, the Lords may not delay most other public bills for more than two parliamentary sessions, or one calendar year. These provisions, however, only apply to public bills that originate in the House of Commons. Moreover, a bill that seeks to extend a parliamentary term beyond five years requires the consent of the House of Lords.

text: By a custom that prevailed even before the Parliament Acts, only the House of Commons may originate bills concerning taxation or Supply. Furthermore, supply bills passed by the House of Commons are immune to amendments in the House of Lords. In addition, the House of Lords is barred from amending a bill so as to insert a taxation or supply-related provision, but the House of Commons often waives its privileges and allows the Lords to make amendments with financial implications. Under a separate convention, known as the Salisbury Convention, the House of Lords does not seek to oppose legislation promised in the Government's election manifesto. Hence, as the power of the House of Lords has been severely curtailed by statute and by practice, the House of Commons is clearly the most powerful branch of Parliament.

text: History[edit]

text: The British Parliament of today largely descends, in practice, from the Parliament of England, although the 1706 Treaty of Union, and the Acts of Union that ratified the Treaty, created a new Parliament of Great Britain to replace the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland, with the addition of 45 MPs and sixteen Peers to represent Scotland. Later still the Acts of Union 1800 brought about the abolition of the Parliament of Ireland and enlarged the Commons at Westminster with 100 Irish members, creating the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

text: Although popularly considered to refer to the fact its members are commoners, the actual name of the House of Commons comes from the Norman French word for communities – communes.[1][2]

text: Layout and design[edit]

text: The current Commons' layout is influenced by the use of the original St. Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster.[3]

text: The rectangular shape is derived from the shape of the chapel. Benches were arranged using the configuration of the chapel's choir stalls whereby they were facing across from one another. This arrangement facilitated an adversarial atmosphere that is representative of the British parliamentary approach.[citation needed]

text: The distance across the floor of the House between the government and opposition benches is 3.96 metres (13.0 ft), said to be equivalent to two swords’ length.[4]

text: 19th century[edit]

text: The House of Commons underwent an important period of reform during the 19th century. Over the years, several anomalies had developed in borough representation. The constituency boundaries had not been changed since 1660, so many towns that were once important but had declined by the 19th century still retained their ancient right of electing two members, in addition to other boroughs that had never been important, e.g. Gatton.

text: Among the most notorious of these "rotten boroughs" were Old Sarum, which had only six voters for two MPs, and Dunwich which had largely collapsed into the sea due to coastal erosion. At the same time, large cities such as Manchester received no separate representation (although their eligible residents were entitled to vote in the corresponding county seat). Also notable were the pocket boroughs, small constituencies controlled by wealthy landowners and aristocrats, whose "nominees" were invariably elected.

text: The Commons attempted to address these anomalies by passing a Reform Bill in 1831. At first, the House of Lords proved unwilling to pass the bill, but were forced to relent when the prime minister, Lord Grey, advised King William IV to flood the House of Lords by creating pro-Reform peers. To avoid this the Lords relented and passed the bill in 1832. The Reform Act 1832, also known as the "Great Reform Act", abolished the rotten boroughs, established uniform voting requirements for the boroughs, and granted representation to populous cities, but still retained many pocket boroughs.

text: In the ensuing years, the Commons grew more assertive, the influence of the House of Lords having been reduced by the Reform Bill crisis, and the power of the patrons reduced. The Lords became more reluctant to reject bills that the Commons had passed with large majorities, and it became an accepted political principle that the confidence of the House of Commons alone was necessary for a government to remain in office.

text: Many more reforms were introduced in the latter half of the 19th century. The Reform Act 1867 lowered property requirements for voting in the boroughs, reduced the representation of the less populous boroughs, and granted parliamentary seats to several growing industrial towns. The electorate was further expanded by the Representation of the People Act 1884, under which property qualifications in the counties were lowered. The Redistribution of Seats Act of the following year replaced almost all multi-member constituencies with single-member constituencies.

text: 20th century[edit]

text: In 1908, the Liberal Government under Asquith introduced a number of social welfare programmes, which, together with an expensive arms race, forced the Government to seek higher taxes. In 1909, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George, introduced the "People's Budget", which proposed a new tax targeting wealthy landowners. But this measure failed in the heavily Conservative House of Lords, and the government resigned.

text: The resulting general election returned a hung parliament, but Asquith remained prime minister with the support of the smaller parties. Asquith then proposed that the powers of the Lords be severely curtailed. After a further election in December 1910, the Asquith Government secured the passage of a bill to curtail the powers of the House of Lords after threatening to flood the House with 500 new Liberal peers to ensure the passage of the bill.

text: Thus the Parliament Act 1911 came into effect, destroying the legislative equality of the two Houses of Parliament. The House of Lords was permitted only to delay most legislation, for a maximum of three parliamentary sessions or two calendar years (reduced to two sessions or one year by the Parliament Act 1949). Since the passage of these Acts, the House of Commons has become the dominant branch of Parliament, both in theory and in practice.

text: In 1918, women over 30 were given the right to vote, quickly followed by the passage of a law enabling women to be eligible for election as members of parliament at the younger age of 21. The only woman to be elected that year was an Irish Sinn Féin candidate, Constance Markievicz, who therefore became the first woman MP. However, due to Sinn Féin's policy of abstention from Westminster, she never took her seat.[5]

text: With effect from the General Election in 1950, various forms of plural voting (i.e. some individuals had the right to vote in more than one constituency in the same election), including University constituencies, were abolished.

text: Since the 17th century, MPs had been unpaid. Most of the men elected to the Commons had private incomes, while a few relied on financial support from a wealthy patron. Early Labour MPs were often provided with a salary by a trade union, but this was declared illegal by a House of Lords judgment of 1909. Consequently, a resolution was passed in the House of Commons in 1911 introducing salaries for MPs. Government ministers had always been paid.

text: 21st century[edit]

text: Expenses scandal[edit]

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2016)

tag: table

text: In May and June 2009 revelations of MPs' expenses claims caused a major scandal and loss of confidence by the public in the integrity of MPs,[6] as well as causing the first forced resignation of the Speaker in 300 years.[7][8]

text: Members and elections[edit]

text:
This article is part of a series on the

United Kingdom
House of Commons

House of Commons

Members

Current members of the 57th Parliament

(2017 general election) MPs for constituencies in Northern Ireland MPs for constituencies in Scotland MPs for constituencies in England
MPs for constituencies in Wales

Leadership

Speaker of the House

Leader of the House
Shadow Leader of the House

Father of the House

Committees

Committees of the House of Commons

Places

Palace of Westminster

House of Commons Chamber
Portcullis House

v
t
e

text: Since 1950, each Member of Parliament has represented a single constituency. There remains a technical distinction between county constituencies and borough constituencies, but the only effect of this difference is in the amount of money candidates are allowed to spend during campaigns. The boundaries of the constituencies are determined by four permanent and independent Boundary Commissions, one each for England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The commissions conduct general reviews of electoral boundaries once every 8 to 12 years, and a number of interim reviews. In drawing boundaries, they are required to take into account local government boundaries, but may deviate from this requirement to prevent great disparities in the populations of the various constituencies. The proposals of the Boundary Commissions are subject to parliamentary approval, but may not be amended. After the next general review of constituencies, the Boundary Commissions will be absorbed into the Electoral Commission, which was established in 2000. As of 2017, the United Kingdom is divided into 650 constituencies, with 533 in England, 40 in Wales, 59 in Scotland, and 18 in Northern Ireland.

text: General elections occur whenever Parliament is dissolved. The timing of the dissolution was normally chosen by the Prime Minister (see relationship with the Government above); however, as a result of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, Parliamentary terms are now fixed at five years, except in the event of the House of Commons passing a vote of no confidence or an "early election" motion, the latter having to be passed by a two-thirds majority.[9] The first use of this procedure was in April 2017, when MPs voted in favour of Theresa May's call for a snap election to be held that June.

text: All elections in the UK are held on a Thursday. The Electoral Commission is unsure when this practice arose, but dates it to 1931, with the suggestion that it was made to coincide with market day; this would ease voting for those who had to travel into the towns to cast their ballot.[10]

text: A candidate for a constituency must submit nomination papers signed by ten registered voters from that constituency, and pay a deposit of £500, which is refunded only if the candidate wins at least five per cent of the vote. The deposit seeks to discourage frivolous candidates. Each constituency returns one member, using the first-past-the-post electoral system, under which the candidate with a plurality of votes wins. Minors (that is, anyone under the age of 18), members of the House of Lords, prisoners, and insane persons are not qualified to become members of the House of Commons. To vote, one must be a resident of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and a British citizen, or a citizen of a British overseas territory, of the Republic of Ireland, or of a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. British citizens living abroad are allowed to vote for 15 years after moving from the United Kingdom. No person may vote in more than one constituency.

text: Once elected, Members of Parliament normally continue to serve until the next dissolution of Parliament. But if a member dies or ceases to be qualified (see qualifications below), his or her seat falls vacant. It is also possible for the House of Commons to expel a member, but this power is exercised only in cases of serious misconduct or criminal activity. In each case, the vacancy is filled by a by-election in the constituency, with the same electoral system as in general elections.

text: The term "Member of Parliament" is normally used only to refer to members of the House of Commons, even though the House of Lords is also a part of Parliament. Members of the House of Commons may use the post-nominal letters "MP". The annual salary of each member is £74,962, effective from 1 April 2016.[11] Members may also receive additional salaries for other offices they hold (for instance, the Speakership). Most members also claim for various office expenses (staff costs, postage, travelling, etc.) and, in the case of non-London members, for the costs of maintaining a home in the capital.

text: Qualifications[edit]

text: There are numerous qualifications that apply to Members of Parliament. Most importantly, one must be aged at least 18 (the minimum age was 21 until s.17 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 came into force), and must be a citizen of the United Kingdom, of a British overseas territory, of the Republic of Ireland, or of a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations. These restrictions were introduced by the British Nationality Act 1981, but were previously far more stringent: under the Act of Settlement 1701, only natural-born subjects were qualified. Members of the House of Lords may not serve in the House of Commons, or even vote in parliamentary elections (just as the Queen does not vote); however, they are permitted to sit in the chamber during debates (unlike the Queen, who cannot enter the chamber).

text: A person may not sit in the Commons if he or she is the subject of a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order (applicable in England and Wales only), or if he or she is adjudged bankrupt (in Northern Ireland), or if his or her estate is sequestered (in Scotland). Previously, MPs detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 for six months or more would have their seat vacated if two specialists reported to the Speaker that the member was suffering from a mental disorder. However, this disqualification was removed by the Mental Health (Discrimination) Act 2013. There also exists a common law precedent from the 18th century that the "deaf and dumb" are ineligible to sit in the Lower House;[12] this precedent, however, has not been tested in recent years. Jack Ashley continued to serve as an MP for 25 years after becoming profoundly deaf.

text: Anyone found guilty of high treason may not sit in Parliament until he or she has either completed the term of imprisonment or received a full pardon from the Crown. Moreover, anyone serving a prison sentence of one year or more is ineligible. Finally, the Representation of the People Act 1983 disqualifies for ten years those found guilty of certain election-related offences. Several other disqualifications are codified in the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975: holders of high judicial offices, civil servants, members of the regular armed forces, members of foreign legislatures (excluding the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth countries), and holders of several Crown offices. Ministers, even though they are paid officers of the Crown, are not disqualified.

text: The rule that precludes certain Crown officers from serving in the House of Commons is used to circumvent a resolution adopted by the House of Commons in 1623, under which members are not permitted to resign their seats. In practice, however, they always can. Should a member wish to resign from the Commons, he or she 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.

text: Officers[edit]

text: At the beginning of each new parliamentary term, the House of Commons elects one of its members as a presiding officer, known as the Speaker. If the incumbent Speaker seeks a new term, then the House may re-elect him or her merely by passing a motion; otherwise, a secret ballot is held. A Speaker-elect cannot take office until he or she has been approved by the Sovereign; the granting of the royal approbation, however, is a formality. The Speaker is assisted by three Deputy Speakers, the most senior of whom holds the title of Chairman of Ways and Means. The two other Deputy Speakers are known as the First and Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means. These titles derive from the Committee of Ways and Means, a body over which the chairman once used to preside; even though the Committee was abolished in 1967, the traditional titles of the Deputy Speakers are still retained. The Speaker and the Deputy Speakers are always members of the House of Commons.

text: Whilst presiding, the Speaker or Deputy Speaker wears ceremonial dress. The presiding officer may also wear a wig, but this tradition was abandoned by a former Speaker, Betty Boothroyd. Michael Martin, who succeeded to the office, also did not wear a wig whilst in the chamber. The current speaker, John Bercow, has chosen to wear a gown over a lounge suit, a decision which has sparked much debate and opposition. The Speaker or deputy presides from a chair at the front of the House. This chair was designed by Augustus Pugin, who initially built a prototype of the chair at King Edward's School, Birmingham: that chair is called Sapientia, and is where the Chief master sits. The Speaker is also chairman of the House of Commons Commission, which oversees the running of the House, and he or she controls debates by calling on members to speak. If a member believes that a rule (or Standing Order) has been breached, he or she may raise a "point of order", on which the Speaker makes a ruling that is not subject to any appeal. The Speaker may discipline members who fail to observe the rules of the House. Thus, the Speaker is far more powerful than his Lords counterpart, the Lord Speaker, who has no disciplinary powers. Customarily, the Speaker and the deputies are non-partisan; they do not vote (with the notable exception of tied votes, where the Speaker votes in accordance with Denison's rule), or participate in the affairs of any political party. By convention, a Speaker seeking re-election to parliament is not opposed in his or her constituency by any of the major parties. The lack of partisanship continues even after the Speaker leaves the House of Commons.

text: The Clerk of the House is both the House's chief adviser on matters of procedure and chief executive of the House of Commons. He or she is a permanent official, not a member of the House itself. The Clerk advises the Speaker on the rules and procedure of the House, signs orders and official communications, and signs and endorses bills. He or she chairs the Board of Management, which consists of the heads of the six departments of the House. The Clerk's deputy is known as the Clerk Assistant. Another officer of the House is the Serjeant-at-Arms, whose duties include the maintenance of law, order, and security on the House's premises. The Serjeant-at-Arms carries the ceremonial mace, a symbol of the authority of the Crown and of the House of Commons, into the House each day in front of the Speaker, and the Mace is laid upon the Table of the House during sittings. The Librarian is head of the House of Commons Library, the House's research and information arm.

text: Procedure[edit]

text: Like the Lords, the Commons meets in the Palace of Westminster in London. The Commons chamber is small and modestly decorated in green, in contrast to the large, lavishly furnished red Lords chamber. There are benches on two sides of the chamber, divided by a centre aisle. This arrangement reflects the design of St Stephen's Chapel, which served as the home of the House of Commons until destroyed by fire in 1834. The Speaker's chair is at one end of the Chamber; in front of it, is the Table of the House, on which the Mace rests. The Clerks sit at one end of the Table, close to the Speaker so that they may advise him or her on procedure when necessary. Members of the Government sit on the benches on the Speaker's right, whilst members of the Opposition occupy the benches on the Speaker's left. In front of each set of benches a red line is drawn, which members are traditionally not allowed to cross during debates. Government ministers and the leader of the Opposition and the Shadow Cabinet sit on the front rows, and are known as frontbenchers. Other members of parliament, in contrast, are known as backbenchers. Not all Members of Parliament can fit into the Chamber at the same time, as it only has space to seat approximately two thirds of the Members. It’s always said that there are 427 seats in the Chamber, but according to Sir Robert Rogers, former Clerk of the House of Commons and Chief Executive, that figure is an average or a finger in the wind estimate.[13] Members who arrive late must stand near the entrance of the House if they wish to listen to debates. Sittings in the Chamber are held each day from Monday to Thursday, and also on some Fridays. During times of national emergency, the House may also sit at weekends.

text: Sittings of the House are open to the public, but the House may at any time vote to sit in private, which has occurred only twice since 1950. Traditionally, a Member who desired that the House sit privately could shout "I spy strangers" and a vote would automatically follow. In the past, when relations between the Commons and the Crown were less than cordial, this procedure was used whenever the House wanted to keep its debate private. More often, however, this device was used to delay and disrupt proceedings; as a result, it was abolished in 1998. Now, Members seeking that the House sit in private must make a formal motion to that effect.

text: Public debates are recorded and archived in Hansard. The post war redesign of the House in 1950 included microphones, and debates were allowed to be broadcast by radio in 1975.[14] Since 1989, they have also been broadcast on television, which is now handled by BBC Parliament.[15]

text: Sessions of the House of Commons have sometimes been disrupted by angry protesters throwing objects into the Chamber from the galleries—items thrown include leaflets, manure, flour by the group Fathers 4 Justice, and a canister of chlorobenzylidene malonitrile (tear gas). Even members have been known to disturb proceedings of the House. For instance, in 1976, Conservative MP Michael Heseltine seized and brandished the Mace of the House during a heated debate. However, perhaps the most famous disruption of the House of Commons was caused by King Charles I, who entered the Commons Chamber in 1642 with an armed force to arrest five members for high treason. This action was deemed a breach of the privilege of the House, and has given rise to the tradition that the monarch does not set foot in the House of Commons.

text: Each year, the parliamentary session begins with the State Opening of Parliament, a ceremony in the Lords Chamber during which the Sovereign, in the presence of Members of both Houses, delivers an address outlining the Government's legislative agenda. The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod (a Lords official) is responsible for summoning the Commons to the Lords Chamber. When he arrives to deliver his summons, the doors of the Commons Chamber are traditionally slammed shut in his face, symbolising the right of the Lower House to debate without interference. He then knocks on the door three times with his Black Rod, and only then is granted admittance, where he informs the MPs that the Monarch awaits them, after which they proceed to the House of Lords for the Queen's Speech.

text: During debates, Members may speak only if called upon by the Speaker (or a Deputy Speaker, if the Speaker is not presiding). Traditionally, the presiding officer alternates between calling Members from the Government and Opposition. The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and other leaders from both sides are normally given priority. All Privy Counsellors used to be granted priority; however, the modernisation of Commons procedure in 1998 led to the abolition of this tradition.

text: Speeches are addressed to the presiding officer, using the words "Mr Speaker", "Madam Speaker", "Mr Deputy Speaker", or "Madam Deputy Speaker". Only the presiding officer may be directly addressed in debate; other members must be referred to in the third person. Traditionally, members do not refer to each other by name, but by constituency, using forms such as "the Honourable Member for [constituency]", or, in the case of Privy Counsellors, "the Right Honourable Member for [constituency]". Members of the same party (or allied parties or groups[16]) refer to each other as "my (Right) Honourable friend". (A member of the Armed Forces used to be called "the Honourable and Gallant Member", a barrister "the Honourable and Learned Member", and a woman "the Honourable Lady the Member".[17]) This may not always be the case during the actual oral delivery, when it might be difficult for a member to remember another member's exact constituency, but it is invariably followed in the transcript entered in the Hansard. The Speaker enforces the rules of the House and may warn and punish members who deviate from them. Disregarding the Speaker's instructions is considered a breach of the rules of the House and may result in the suspension of the offender from the House. In the case of grave disorder, the Speaker may adjourn the House without taking a vote.

text: The Standing Orders of the House of Commons do not establish any formal time limits for debates. The Speaker may, however, order a member who persists in making a tediously repetitive or irrelevant speech to stop speaking. The time set aside for debate on a particular motion is, however, often limited by informal agreements between the parties. Debate may also be restricted by the passage of "Allocation of Time Motions", which are more commonly known as "Guillotine Motions". Alternatively, the House may put an immediate end to debate by passing a motion to invoke Closure. The Speaker is allowed to deny the motion if he or she believes that it infringes upon the rights of the minority. Today, bills are scheduled according to a Timetable Motion, which the whole House agrees in advance, negating the use of a guillotine.

text: When the debate concludes, or when the Closure is invoked, the motion in question is put to a vote. The House first votes by voice vote; the Speaker or Deputy Speaker puts the question, and Members respond either "Aye!" (in favour of the motion) or "No!" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote, but if his or her assessment is challenged by any member or the voice vote is unclear, a recorded vote known as a division follows. The presiding officer, if he or she believes that the result of the voice vote is clear, may reject the challenge. When a division occurs, members enter one of two lobbies (the "Aye" lobby or the "No" lobby) on either side of the Chamber, where their names are recorded by clerks. A member who wishes to pointedly abstain from a vote may do so by entering both lobbies, casting one vote for and one against. At each lobby are two tellers (themselves members of the House) who count the votes of the members.

text: Once the division concludes, the tellers provide the results to the presiding officer, who then announces them to the House. If there is an equality of votes, the Speaker or Deputy Speaker has a casting vote. Traditionally, this casting vote is exercised to allow further debate, if this is possible, or otherwise to avoid a decision being taken without a majority (e.g. voting 'No' to a motion or the third reading of a bill). Ties rarely occur—the last one was in July 1993. The quorum of the House of Commons is 40 members for any vote, including the Speaker and four tellers. If fewer than 40 members have participated, the division is invalid.

text: Formerly, if a member sought to raise a point of order during a division, suggesting that some of the rules governing parliamentary procedure are violated, he was required to wear a hat, thereby signalling that he was not engaging in debate. Collapsible top hats were kept in the Chamber just for this purpose. This custom was discontinued in 1998.

text: The outcome of most votes is largely known beforehand, since political parties normally instruct members on how to vote. A party normally entrusts some members of parliament, known as whips, with the task of ensuring that all party members vote as desired. Members of Parliament do not tend to vote against such instructions, since those who do so jeopardise promotion, or may be deselected as party candidates for future elections. Ministers, junior ministers and parliamentary private secretaries who vote against the whips' instructions usually resign. Thus, the independence of Members of Parliament tends to be low, although "backbench rebellions" by members discontent with their party's policies do occur. A member is also traditionally allowed some leeway if the particular interests of his constituency are adversely affected. In some circumstances, however, parties announce "free votes", allowing members to vote as they please. Votes relating to issues of conscience such as abortion and capital punishment are typically free votes.

text: Pairing is an arrangement where a member from one party agrees with a member of another party not to vote in a particular division, allowing both MPs the opportunity not to attend.[18][19]

text: A bisque is permission from the Whips given to a member to miss a vote or debate in the House to attend to constituency business or other matters.[20]

text: Committees[edit]

text: The British Parliament uses committees for a variety of purposes, e.g., for the review of bills. Committees consider bills in detail, and may make amendments. Bills of great constitutional importance, as well as some important financial measures, are usually sent to the "Committee of the Whole House", a body that includes all members of the Commons. Instead of the Speaker, the chairman or a Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means presides. The Committee meets in the House of Commons Chamber.

text: Most bills were until 2006 considered by Standing Committees, which consisted of between 16 and 50 members. The membership of each Standing Committee roughly reflected the strength of the parties in the House. The membership of Standing Committees changed constantly; new Members were assigned each time the committee considered a new bill. There was no formal limit on the number of Standing Committees, but usually only ten existed. Rarely, a bill was committed to a Special Standing Committee, which investigated and held hearings on the issues raised. In November 2006, Standing Committees were replaced by Public Bill Committees.

text: The House of Commons also has several Departmental Select Committees. The membership of these bodies, like that of the Standing Committees, reflects the strength of the parties. Each committee elects its own chairman. The primary function of a Departmental Select Committee is to scrutinise and investigate the activities of a particular government department. To fulfil these aims, it is permitted to hold hearings and collect evidence. Bills may be referred to Departmental Select Committees, but such a procedure is seldom used.

text: A separate type of Select Committee is the Domestic Committee. Domestic Committees oversee the administration of the House and the services provided to Members. Other committees of the House of Commons include Joint Committees (which also include members of the House of Lords), the Committee on Standards and Privileges (which considers questions of parliamentary privilege, as well as matters relating to the conduct of the members), and the Committee of Selection (which determines the membership of other committees).

text: Current composition[edit]

text:
Affiliation
Members[21]

At 2017 election
Current seats

Conservative
317
315

Labour
262
260

SNP
35
35

Liberal Democrat
12
12

DUP
10
10

Sinn Féin
7
7

Plaid Cymru
4
4

Green
1
1

Independent
1
4

Speaker
1
1

Total
650
650

Seats needed for majority
4
5

Conservative/DUP majority
13
9

text:
See here for a full list of changes during the fifty-sixth Parliament.
In addition to the parties listed in the table above, the Co-operative Party is also represented in the House of Commons by Labour MPs sitting with the Labour Co-operative designation. The number of these MPs is 38.
The "seats needed for a majority" is calculated as the number of seats needed by the Conservative Party to have a majority of one (320). The "Conservative/DUP majority" is calculated as the sum of Conservative and DUP seats, less the sum of all other seats. This calculation excludes the Speaker, Deputy Speakers (two Labour and one Conservative) and Sinn Féin (who follow a policy of abstentionism).

tag: ul

text: Commons symbol[edit]

text: The symbol used by the Commons consists of a portcullis topped by St Edward's Crown. The portcullis has been one of the Royal Badges of England since the accession of the Tudors in the 15th century, and was a favourite symbol of King Henry VII. It was originally a pun on the name Tudor, as in tu-door.[22] The original badge was of gold, but nowadays is shown in various colours, predominantly green or black.

text: In film and television[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: In 1986, the British television production company Granada Television created a near-full size replica of the post-1950 House of Commons debating chamber at its studios in Manchester for use in its adaptation of the Jeffrey Archer novel First Among Equals. The set was highly convincing, and was retained after the production—since then, it has been used in nearly every British film and television production that has featured scenes set in the chamber. From 1988 until 1999 it was also one of the prominent attractions on the Granada Studios Tour, where visitors could watch actors performing mock political debates on the set. The major difference between the studio set and the real House of Commons Chamber is that the studio set has just four rows of seats on either side whereas the real Chamber has five.

text: In 2002, the set was purchased by the scriptwriter Paul Abbott so that it could be used in his BBC drama serial State of Play. Abbott, a former Granada Television staff writer, bought it personally as the set would otherwise have been destroyed and he feared it would take too long to get the necessary money from the BBC. Abbott kept the set in storage in Oxford.[23]

text: The post-1941 Commons Chamber was used in the film Ali G Indahouse, the political satire Restart by Komedy Kollective, about a British prime minister seeking re-election, and was mentioned in the Robin Williams stand-up special Robin Williams Live on Broadway in which he describes it as "like Congress, but with a two drink minimum".[citation needed] The pre-1941 Chamber was recreated in Shepperton Studios for the Ridley Scott/Richard Loncraine 2002 biographical film on Churchill, The Gathering Storm.