document_title: House of Commons of the United Kingdom

question_text: what electoral system is used to elect the united kingdom house of commons

question_tokens: what electoral system is used to elect the united kingdom house of commons

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.

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 Alec Douglas-Home, 14th 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 Peter, Lord Carrington, who served as Foreign Secretary from 1979 to 1982, and David, Lord Young, who was appointed Employment Secretary in 1985. Peter 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. It is also considered important for ministers, and especially senior ministers, to be responsible to the elected house. 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 Henry Dundas, 1st 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.[4]

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.[5]

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, such as Gatton.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

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, Charles, 2nd Earl 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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

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 to be an MP. However, due to Sinn Féin's policy of abstention from Westminster, she never took her seat.[6]

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)

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,[7] as well as causing the first forced resignation of the Speaker in 300 years.[8][9]

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
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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.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12] 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;[13] 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.

text: 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. According to Robert Rogers, former Clerk of the House of Commons and Chief Executive, a figure of 427 seats is an average or a finger-in-the-wind estimate.[14] 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.[15] Since 1989, they have also been broadcast on television, which is now handled by BBC Parliament.[16]

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 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)[17] 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".[18]) 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.[19][20]

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.[21]

text: House of Commons recess dates[edit]

text: The House of Commons recess dates for the 2017–8 Parliamentary session were announced by the Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom, in June 2017:[22]

text:
Recess
Rise of the House
Return of the House

Summer 2017
20 July 2017
5 September 2017

Summer 2017
14 September 2017
9 October 2017

Autumn 2017
7 November 2017
13 November 2017

Christmas 2017
21 December 2017
8 January 2018

February 2018
8 February 2018
20 February 2018

Easter 2018
29 March 2018
16 April 2018

State Opening of Parliament 2017[23]
21 June 2017

Prorogation 2017
27 April 2017

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[24]

At 2017 election
Current seats

Conservative
317
316

Labour
262
257

SNP
35
35

Liberal Democrat
12
12

DUP
10
10

Sinn Féin
7
7

Plaid Cymru
4
4

Green
1
1

Independent
1
6

Speaker
1
1

Vacant
0
1

Total
650
650

Seats needed for majority
3
4

Conservative/DUP majority
13
12

text:
For full details of changes during the 57th Parliament, see Defections, suspensions and removal of whip and By-elections.
In addition to the parties listed in the table above, the Co-operative Party is also represented in the House of Commons by 38 Labour MPs sitting with the Labour Co-operative designation.
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), vacant seats, and Sinn Féin (who follow a policy of abstentionism).

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.[25] 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.[26]

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.


document_title: List of songs recorded by Elvis Presley on the Sun label

question_text: what was elvis presleys last recording at sun records

question_tokens: what was elvis presleys last recording at sun records

root

text: List of songs recorded by Elvis Presley on the Sun label

text: History[edit]

text: Recordings[edit]

text: On July 18, 1953, Presley first went to the Memphis Recording Service at the Sun Record Company, now commonly known as Sun Studio.[2] He paid $3.98 to record the first of two double-sided demo acetates, "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin." Presley reportedly gave the acetate to his mother as a much-belated extra birthday present,[3] although many biographers suggest that Presley simply wanted to get noticed by Sun owner Sam Phillips. These suggestions are strengthened by the fact that the Presleys did not own a record player at the time.[4][5] That one-off acetate has since been valued at $500,000 by Record Collector magazine. Returning to Sun Studios on January 4, 1954, he recorded a second acetate, "I'll Never Stand in Your Way"/"It Wouldn't Be the Same Without You."[6]

tag: p

text: Phillips had already cut the first records by blues artists such as Howlin' Wolf and Junior Parker.[7] He thought a combination of black blues and boogie-woogie music would be very popular among white people, if presented in the right way.[8] In the spring, Presley auditioned for an amateur gospel quartet called The Songfellows, as one of the group was leaving and they were seeking a replacement.[9] However, following Presley's audition, the original group member decided to stay.[9] In May, Presley auditioned at the Hi-Hat in Memphis as a vocalist for a band. Eddie Bond, the owner of the Hi-Hat, turned him down.[10]

text: When Phillips acquired a demo recording of "Without You" and was unable to identify the vocalist, his assistant, Marion Keisker, reminded him about the young truck driver. She called him on May 26, 1954. Presley was not able to do justice to the song (the original acetate of the song that Phillips presented to Elvis resides in the Memphis State University collection),[11] but Phillips asked him to perform some of the many other songs he knew. After running through a few songs, Presley expressed an interest in finding a band to play with, and Phillips invited local Western swing musicians Winfield "Scotty" Moore (electric guitar) and Bill Black (slap bass) to audition Presley. They did so on Sunday, July 4, 1954, at Moore's house. Neither musician was overly impressed, but they agreed a studio session would be useful to explore his potential.[12]

text: On July 5, 1954, the trio met at Sun studios to rehearse and record a handful of songs. According to Moore, the first song they recorded was "I Love You Because", but, after a few other country-oriented songs that weren't all that impressive, they decided to take a break.[13] During the break, Presley began "acting the fool" with Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right (Mama)", a blues song.[14] When the other two musicians joined in, Phillips got them to restart and began taping. This was the bright, upbeat sound he had been looking for.[15] Black remarked, "Damn. Get that on the radio and they'll run us out of town."[16] The group recorded four songs during that session, including bluegrass musician Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky", which he had written and recorded as a slow waltz. Sources credit Bill Black with initiating the song, with Presley and Moore joining in. They ended up with a fast version of the song in 4/4 time. After an early take, Phillips can be heard on tape saying: "Fine, man. Hell, that's different—that's a pop song now, just about."[17]

text: To gauge professional and public reaction, Phillips took several acetates of the session to DJ Dewey Phillips (no relation) of Memphis radio station WHBQ's Red, Hot And Blue show. "That's All Right" subsequently received its first play on July 8, 1954.[18] A week later, Sun had received some 6,000 advanced orders for "That's All Right"/"Blue Moon of Kentucky," which was released on July 19, 1954. From August 18 through December 8, "Blue Moon of Kentucky" was consistently higher on the charts, and then both sides began to chart across the South.[19]

text: After several performances with other bands, Presley arranged for Moore and Black to be his regular back-up group, giving them each 25% of the takings.[20] Moore and Black were originally members of their own band, The Starlight Wranglers, but after the success of "That's All Right", jealousy within the group forced them to split.[21]

text: Over the next 15 months, the trio would release five singles, tour extensively across the South, and appear regularly on the Louisiana Hayride; it was the biggest rival to the Grand Ole Opry at the time. They had originally auditioned for the Opry in October 1954, but they failed to impress the people in charge, or the audience, and were not invited back. Several biographers cite Jim Denny, talent agent at the Opry, as the man who told Presley that he should "go back to driving a truck".[22]

text: The trio would record at Sun together until November 1955, when Phillips sold Presley's contract to RCA Victor for $40,000; it was, at the time, the highest sum ever paid for a recording contract. Sun had permission to keep pressing the singles until January 1, 1956, and RCA Victor released Presley's first five Sun singles nationally. In January 1956, Presley recorded "Heartbreak Hotel", his first RCA Victor single. He would return to Sun studios regularly over the next few months, visiting with Phillips and meeting many of the label's new artists.

text: Although Presley never officially recorded for Sun again, he was caught on tape during an impromptu jamming session on December 4, 1956. Presley had arrived during a Carl Perkins recording session, which also featured a young Jerry Lee Lewis on piano, and a new artist named Johnny Cash watching on. During a break in recording, Presley sat at the piano and began to sing along with Perkins, Lewis and Cash. Phillips kept his tape recorder running, and, seeing an opportunity to promote another of his new acts, he arranged for a reporter to cover the event. The recordings would eventually be known as "The Million Dollar Quartet".

text: During Presley's tenure at Sun Records, he recorded two demo recordings in Lubbock, Texas: "Fool, Fool, Fool" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll", which were released for the first time by RCA in the 1990s. These are not considered Sun recordings.

text: The titles[edit]

text: Listed are the 24 titles from 1953–55, in order of their recording date, followed by the 1956 recordings known as "The Million Dollar Quartet". A take means a second (or higher) version; the best take would be used to create a master to be issued.

text: My Happiness (self-financed demo)[edit]

text:
Borney Bergantine - Betty Peterson Blasco
Recorded: 18 July 1953

text: That's When Your Heartaches Begin (self-financed demo)[edit]

text:
William Raskin - Fred Fisher - George Brown
Recorded: 18 July 1953

text: I'll Never Stand In Your Way (self-financed demo)[edit]

text:
Hy Heath
Recorded: January 4, 1954

text: It Wouldn't Be The Same Without You (self-financed demo)[edit]

text:
Fred Rose
Recorded: January 4, 1954

text: I Love You Because[edit]

text:
Leon Payne. Original probably: Leon Payne (1949, Capitol); Eddie Fisher (1950, RCA Victor)
Recorded: July 5, 1954 (session 1)

text: That's All Right[edit]

text:
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. Original: Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (1947, RCA Victor). Crudup's original title is: "That's All Right (Mama)"; on the Sun label, and many later releases, '(Mama)' is omitted: "That's All Right".
Recorded: July 5, 1954 (session 1)

text: Elvis' recording of "That's All Right (Mama)" can be considered to be near the beginning of rock and roll, though the first rock and roll records predate it.

text: Harbor Lights[edit]

text:
Hugh Williams - Jimmy Kennedy. Original: possibly Harry Owens and His Royal Hawaiians
Recorded: Possibly July 5, 1954 (session 1)

text: The 4-CD boxed set "Today, Tomorrow And Forever" contains an alternate version (take three).

text: Blue Moon of Kentucky[edit]

text:
Bill Monroe
Original: Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys (1947, Columbia)
Recorded: July 7, 1954 (session 1)

text: Elvis - The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50s Masters contains a fragment (1:03) of an alternate take in a slower, more country style. This take was originally released on bootleg in 1974, having been located at Sun Records many years after Presley left for RCA.

text: Blue Moon[edit]

text:
R. Rodgers - L. Hart.
Original: Ted Fio Rito & His Orchestra (Brunswick LA231=C 11/19/1934) [1]
Also: Connie Boswell (Brunswick 16642, 1/15/1935) [2]
Recorded: August 19, 1954 (session 2)

text: Tomorrow Night[edit]

text:
Sam Coslow - Will Grosz. Original: Lonnie Johnson (1948, King)
Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3)

text: I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')[edit]

text:
Jimmy Wakely. Original: Jimmy Wakely (1943, Decca)
Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3)

text: Satisfied[edit]

text: Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3) (tape lost)

text: I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine[edit]

text:
M. David. Original probably Patti Page (1950, Mercury)
Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3) The Dean Martin version was probably Elvis' inspiration.

text: Just Because[edit]

text: Sydney Robin - Bob Shelton - Joe Shelton. Original: The Shelton Brothers (1942, Decca)[23] Recorded 1933[24][25]

text: Also; Lonestar Cowboys, 1933 on RCA (Victor),[26][27] Nelstone's Hawaiians:[28] Victor V40273 (1929).[29] The song was also recorded by Frank Yankovic and was responsible for his band being rated the #13 band "on the Nation's Juke Boxes" in 1948.[30] It was also covered by The Flying Burrito Brothers.[31]

text: Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3)

text: Good Rockin' Tonight[edit]

text:
Roy Brown. Original Roy Brown (1947, DeLuxe); also Wynonie "Mr. Blues" Harris (1948, King)
Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3)

text: Milkcow Blues Boogie[edit]

text:
Kokomo Arnold. Original probably Kokomo Arnold (1935, Decca)
Other releases: Johnny Lee Wills (1941, Decca); Moon Mullican (1946, King); Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys als "Brain Cloudy Blues", (1946, Columbia)
Recorded: December 8, 1954 (session 4)

text: You're a Heartbreaker[edit]

text:
Jack Sallee
Recorded: December 8, 1954 (session 4)

text: Baby Let's Play House[edit]

text:
Arthur Gunter. Original: Arthur Gunter (1954, Excello)
Recorded: February 11, 1955 (session 5)[32][33]

text: In 1951 Eddy Arnold recorded a song titled “I Want to Play House with You” [3][34] [35] by Cy Coben. [4] This song has been misidentified as the same song. It is not.[36]

text: I Got a Woman[edit]

text:
Ray Charles
Recorded: February 5, 1955 (session 5) (tape lost)

text: Trying to Get to You[edit]

text:
Rose Marie McCoy - Charles Singleton. Original: The Eagles (1954, Mercury)
Recorded: February 11, 1955 (session 5, not published) and July 11, 1955 (session 7, published). In 2002, RCA included information in the liner notes of Sunrise as to Presley recording this song while simultaneously playing the piano, and not aided by his rhythm guitar, as previously believed. Because the piano was not directly miked, it can only be heard faintly in the background.

text: I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone[edit]

text:
Stan Kesler - William Taylor.
Recorded: March 5, 1955 (session 6)

text: I Forgot To Remember To Forget[edit]

text:
Stan Kesler - Charlie Feathers.
Recorded: July 11, 1955 (session 7)

text: Mystery Train[edit]

text:
Junior Parker - Sam Phillips. Original: Little Junior's Blue Flames (1953, Sun)
Recorded: July 11, 1955 (session 7)

text: When It Rains, It Really Pours[edit]

text:
William R. Emerson. Original: Billy Emerson (1955, Sun)
Recorded: November 20, 1955 (session 8)

text: The Million Dollar Quartet (session recordings)[edit]

text:
On December 4, 1956, a year after Elvis had left Sun for RCA, he revisited Sun Studio. The afternoon became a jam session with Carl Perkins (then already famous for his "Blue Suede Shoes"), Jerry Lee Lewis (relatively unknown at the time), and Johnny Cash (not heard on the tapes, although he does appear on the cover photo). The taping was largely unintended by the quartet; they were just singing the songs they had in mind. About 40 titles are recorded, most of them incomplete. Elvis is caught telling about a singer he saw in Las Vegas, doing his version of "Don't Be Cruel", and they're enjoying "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" from Chuck Berry.
Recorded: December 4, 1956.

text: Rumored/legendary recordings[edit]

text: Over the decades, several additional recordings have been claimed as having been recorded by Elvis at Sun Records. The reference work Elvis: The Illustrated Record by Roy Carr and Mick Farren lists the following songs that were, as of 1982, believed to have been recorded by Elvis at Sun Records but as of 2009 remain unreleased and unaccounted for in the official record:[37]

text:
"Tennessee Saturday Night" (2 takes recorded July 5–7, 1954). According to Carr and Farren, RCA planned to include this recording on the 1965 compilation album Elvis for Everyone, but substituted the Sun side "Tomorrow Night" instead.[38]
"Uncle Penn" (1 take recorded Sept. 9, 1954). Carr and Farren claim the existence of "Uncle Penn" is proven by it being listed on the session sheet for the recording session of December 8, 1954 that produced "Tomorrow Night"[39] however this contradicts the authors' chart that gives the Sept. 9 recording date.[40]
"Oakie Boogie" (1 take recorded Dec. 8, 1954)

tag: ul

text: Releases[edit]

text: Most of the tapes, including the private single, the Million Dollar Quartet and alternate takes have been released.

text: Sun Singles[edit]

text: Ten songs, making five singles, were originally released on the Sun label. These records (in both 45 RPM and 78 RPM formats) are among the most valuable of Elvis' output, fetching four figures in excellent condition:

text:
Sun 209—July 19, 1954: That's All Right / Blue Moon of Kentucky
Sun 210—September 25, 1954: Good Rockin' Tonight / I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
Sun 215—December 28, 1954: Milkcow Blues Boogie / You're A Heartbreaker
Sun 217—April 10, 1955: Baby Let's Play House / I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone
Sun 223—August 6, 1955: I Forgot To Remember To Forget / Mystery Train

text: RCA Releases[edit]

text: After signing with RCA, the same songs, in the same b/w combination, were re-released by RCA. (December 1955). The songs were available on 78 RPM and 45 RPM, which explains the two ordering-numbers 20/47, respectively:

text:
RCA 20/47-6357: Sun 223
RCA 20/47-6380: Sun 209
RCA 20/47-6381: Sun 210
RCA 20/47-6382: Sun 215
RCA 20/47-6383: Sun 217

text: The same pairings were later reissued as part of RCA's Gold Standard series in five different label formats: Black label with dog at top (September 1958), black label with dog on left side (September 1965), orange label (November 1968), red label (September 1970), and black label with dog in upper right hand corner (September 1976)

text:
447-0600: Sun 223
447-0601: Sun 209

B-side of red label version misspells Elvis' last name as "PRESELY"

447-0602: Sun 210

The original "dog on top" copies of the above two were released with special picture sleeves

447-0603: Sun 215
447-0604: Sun 217

text: Albums featuring the Sun recordings[edit]

text: Elvis Presley (1956)[edit]

text: On January 27, 1956, the first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel" b/w "I Was the One" was released, giving Elvis a nationwide breakthrough. His reputation as a performer on stage was already growing in the same dimensions.

text: On March 23, 1956, the first album, Elvis Presley, was released (RCA 1254). At that moment, "Heartbreak Hotel" was climbing the lists, but as Rock'n'Roll was largely bought by teenagers at the time, and teenagers usually bought singles,[41] albums were seen as less important for the genre; as such, "Heartbreak Hotel" is not on this album. RCA, however, put five unreleased Sun recordings on this album:

text:
"I Love You Because"
"Just Because"
"Trying to Get to You"
"I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')"
"Blue Moon"

text: For LP Fans Only (1958) and A Date with Elvis (1959)[edit]

text: These two albums were released during Elvis' hitch in the Army, consisting of tracks previously released only as singles or on EPs, including all but one of the ten commercially released Sun tracks. Four were included on For LP Fans Only...

text:
"That's All Right"
"Mystery Train"
"I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone"
"You're a Heartbreaker"

text: ...with five featured on A Date with Elvis:

text:
"Blue Moon of Kentucky"
"Milkcow Blues Boogie"
"Baby, Let's Play House"
"Good Rockin' Tonight"
"I Forgot to Remember to Forget"

text: The remaining commercial release, "I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine", would not appear on LP until the 1976 compilation "The Sun Sessions".

text: Elvis for Everyone! (1965)[edit]

text:
"Tomorrow Night" (Previously unreleased; original Sun master overdubbed with new instrumental and vocal backing by producer Chet Atkins for this release only)
"When It Rains, It Really Pours" (1957 re-recording of an unreleased Sun track from 1955)

text: The Sun Sessions (1976)[edit]

text: On March 22, 1976, the album The Sun Sessions was released, with 16 out of the 24 known Sun titles:

text:
"That's All Right"
"Blue Moon of Kentucky"
"I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine"
"Good Rockin Tonight"
"Milkcow Blues Boogie"
"You're a Heartbreaker"
"I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone"
"Baby Let's Play House"
"Mystery Train"
"I Forgot to Remember to Forget"
"I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')"
"I Love You Because"
"Trying to Get to You"
"Blue Moon"
"Just Because"
"I Love You Because" (second version)

text: Missing:

text:
The private recordings
"Harbor Lights"
"Tomorrow Night"
"When It Rains, It Really Pours"
"Satisfied"
"I Got a Woman"

text: The Complete Sun Sessions [33-track 2LP-set] / The Sun Sessions [28-track CD] (1987)[edit]

text:
Although the title suggests more, only 18 out of the 24 known Sun songs are here. The album does contain several takes from "I Love You Because", and "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone".
Missing:

text:
The private recordings
"Satisfied"
"I Got a Woman"

text: The Million Dollar Quartet (1989)[edit]

text: The recordings have been released in 1989 as a CD, titled, Elvis Presley - The Million Dollar Quartet (RCA CD # 2023-2-R),

text: The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50s Masters (1992)[edit]

text:
Nearly every song Elvis recorded at Sun is present here (although "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" is hidden on CD number 5; the rest is on CD 1).
Missing: "Satisfied" (apparently lost forever), all but one track from the Million Dollar Quartet session, as well as "It Wouldn't be the Same Without You" and "I'll Never Stand in Your Way." The latter two songs appear on yet another (and as complete as possible) Sun sessions CD titled "Sunrise."

text: Sunrise (1999)[edit]

text: Another delving in the Sun Records vaults is the most complete collection of Elvis' recordings from that time. All the masters, some demos and alternate recordings, and a few early live-recorded tracks.

text: Elvis at Sun (2004)[edit]

text:
The current (as of mid-2006) version of the Sun recordings. Contains the five singles ("That's All Right"/"Blue Moon of Kentucky";"Good Rockin' Tonight"/"I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine";"Milkcow Blues Boogie"/"You're a Heartbreaker;"Baby Let's Play House"/"I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone";"I Forgot to Remember to Forget"/"Mystery Train") plus "Harbor Lights," "I Love You Because" (alternate take 2), "Tomorrow Night," "I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')," "Just Because," "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" (slow version), "Trying to Get to You" and "When It Rains It Really Pours."
Missing:

text:
Private recordings and demos:

"My Happiness"
"That's When Your Heartaches Begin"
"I'll Never Stand in Your Way"
"It Wouldn't Be the Same Without You"

"I Love You Because" (first version) (available on Elvis Presley)
The lost "Satisfied"
"I Got a Woman" (Re-recording available on Elvis Presley)

text: A Boy from Tupelo: The Complete 1953–55 Recordings (2012)[edit]

text: A limited-edition 3-CD box set released in June 2012 by RCA/Sony collectors' label Follow That Dream (FTD) Records, as a companion piece to a book by Ernst Mikael Jørgensen, also entitled A Boy from Tupelo. The book chronicles Presley's day-to-day life from July 4, 1954 (the day when he first rehearsed with guitarist Scotty Moore) to December 31, 1955, including many previously unpublished testimonies, accounts and details on every single show performed by Presley during the period (the book is, indeed, mainly intended as a complete concertography and tourography of Elvis Presley's early career). The first two of the three discs released in conjunction with the book feature, as the title specifies, all the material recorded by Presley from 1953 to 1955, including all of the alternate takes and all of the recordings which were missing from previous releases, with the exception of "Satisfied" and "I Got a Woman"; the latter two recordings are stated by Jørgensen himself, in the book, to be actually lost. However, a live rendition from March 19, 1955 of "I Got a Woman" is featured on the third disc of the package, along with 31 more live recordings from the era, 27 of which are previously unreleased. The A Boy from Tupelo book + CDs package, which was printed as a strictly limited run of 3,000 copies (each including a gift pack consisting in five 45-RPM reproductions of Presley's original Sun singles) is, as of September 2012, sold out and not scheduled to be reprinted.[42]


document_title: List of the verified oldest men

question_text: who was the oldest man who ever lived

question_tokens: who was the oldest man who ever lived

text: List of the verified oldest men

text: This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: This is a list of the 100 verified oldest men, arranged in descending order of each individual's age in years and days. A year typically refers to a calendar year, the time between two dates of the same name. However, years can be of different lengths due to the presence or absence of a leap day within the year, or to the conversion of dates from one calendar to another. The oldest man ever whose age has been verified is Jiroemon Kimura (1897–2013) of Japan who died at age 116 years, 54 days. There are five living people on this list, the oldest of whom is Francisco Núñez Olivera, aged 7004411870000000000♠112 years, 279 days.

text: Since all the men on this list have lived to at least the age of 110, all of them are supercentenarians.

text: 100 verified oldest men

text:
Deceased   Living
†^ denotes age at death, or, if living, age as of 18 September 2017

text:
Rank
Name
Birth date
Death date
Age [†]
Place of death or residence

1
Jiroemon Kimura
19 April 1897
12 June 2013
116 years, 54 days
Japan

2
Christian Mortensen
16 August 1882
25 April 1998
115 years, 252 days
United States[a]

3
Emiliano Mercado del Toro
21 August 1891
24 January 2007
115 years, 156 days
Puerto Rico

4
Mathew Beard
9 July 1870
16 February 1985
114 years, 222 days
United States

5
Walter Breuning
21 September 1896
14 April 2011
114 years, 205 days
United States

6
Yukichi Chuganji
23 March 1889
28 September 2003
114 years, 189 days
Japan

7
Joan Riudavets
15 December 1889
5 March 2004
114 years, 81 days
Spain

8
Fred Hale
1 December 1890
19 November 2004
113 years, 354 days
United States

9
Yisrael Kristal[1]
15 September 1903
11 August 2017
113 years, 330 days
Israel[b]

10
Johnson Parks
15 October 1884
17 July 1998
113 years, 275 days
United States

11
Tomoji Tanabe
18 September 1895
19 June 2009
113 years, 274 days
Japan

12
John Ingram McMorran
19 June 1889
24 February 2003
113 years, 250 days
United States

13
Frederick Frazier
27 January 1880
14 June 1993
113 years, 138 days
United States

14
James Sisnett
22 February 1900
23 May 2013
113 years, 90 days
Barbados[c]

15
Walter Richardson
7 November 1885
25 December 1998
113 years, 48 days
United States

16
Henry Allingham
6 June 1896
18 July 2009
113 years, 42 days
United Kingdom

17
Antonio Todde
22 January 1889
3 January 2002
112 years, 346 days
Italy

18
Moses Hardy
6 January 1894
7 December 2006
112 years, 335 days
United States

19
Yasutaro Koide
13 March 1903
19 January 2016 [2]
7004412200000000000♠112 years, 312 days
Japan

20
John Evans
19 August 1877
10 June 1990
112 years, 295 days
United Kingdom

21
Francisco Núñez Olivera[3][4]
13 December 1904
Living
7004411870000000000♠112 years, 279 days
Spain

22
George Francis
6 June 1896
27 December 2008
112 years, 204 days
United States

23
Denzo Ishizaki
20 October 1886
29 April 1999
112 years, 191 days
Japan

24
Josep Armengol
23 July 1881
20 January 1994
112 years, 181 days
Spain

25
Giovanni Frau
29 December 1890
19 June 2003
112 years, 172 days
Italy

26
John Painter
20 September 1888
1 March 2001
112 years, 162 days
United States

27
Masamitsu Yoshida[1]
30 May 1904
29 October 2016
112 years, 152 days
Japan

28
Sakari Momoi
5 February 1903
5 July 2015
112 years, 150 days
Japan

29
Alphaeus Philemon Cole
12 July 1876
25 November 1988
112 years, 136 days
United States

30
Augusto Moreira
6 October 1896
13 February 2009
112 years, 130 days
Portugal

31
George Johnson
1 May 1894
30 August 2006
112 years, 121 days
United States

32
Salustiano Sanchez
8 June 1901
13 September 2013
112 years, 97 days
United States[d]

33
Gengan Tonaki
30 October 1884
24 January 1997
112 years, 86 days
Japan

34
Masazou Nonaka[1]
25 July 1905
Living
7004409630000000000♠112 years, 55 days
Japan

35
Tadanosuke Hashimoto
27 April 1891
31 May 2003
112 years, 34 days
Japan

36
Kumekichi Tani
20 April 1891
12 May 2003
112 years, 22 days
Japan

37
James Wiggins
15 October 1879
16 October 1991
112 years, 1 day
United States

38
Arturo Licata
2 May 1902
24 April 2014
111 years, 357 days
Italy

39
Gustav Gerneth (de)[5]
15 October 1905
Living
7004408810000000000♠111 years, 338 days
Germany

40
Walter H. Seward
13 October 1896
14 September 2008
111 years, 337 days
United States

41
Maurice Floquet
25 December 1894
10 November 2006
111 years, 320 days
France

42
Valerio Piroddi[6]
13 November 1905
Living
7004408520000000000♠111 years, 309 days
Italy

43
James McCoubrey
13 September 1901
5 July 2013
111 years, 295 days
United States[e]

44
John Mosely Turner
15 June 1856
21 March 1968
111 years, 280 days
United Kingdom

45
Hermann Dörnemann
27 May 1893
2 March 2005
111 years, 279 days
Germany

46
Antonio Urrea
16 February 1888
15 November 1999
111 years, 272 days
Spain

47
Choki Miyagi[1]
15 November 1904
7 August 2016
111 years, 266 days
Japan

48
Arthur Carter
5 October 1889
11 June 2001
111 years, 249 days
United States

49
Jan Machiel Reyskens
11 May 1878
7 January 1990
111 years, 241 days
Netherlands[f]

50
Joe Thomas
1 May 1875
14 December 1986
111 years, 227 days
United States

51
James Zackry
15 August 1881
14 March 1993
111 years, 211 days
United States

52
Tanekichi Onishi
15 February 1900
11 September 2011
111 years, 208 days
Japan

53
Kiyoshi Igarashi
2 August 1897
23 February 2009
111 years, 205 days
Japan

54
Herman Smith-Johannsen
15 June 1875
5 January 1987
111 years, 204 days
Norway

55
Ernest Pusey
5 May 1895
19 November 2006
111 years, 198 days
United States

56
Thomas Nelson, Sr.
8 July 1895
9 January 2007
111 years, 185 days
United States

57
Jokichi Ikarashi
26 January 1902
23 July 2013
111 years, 178 days
Japan

58
Earl Brush
17 July 1893
10 January 2005
111 years, 177 days
United States

59
Antonio de Castro
6 January 1898
22 June 2009
111 years, 167 days
Portugal

60
Sukesaburo Nakanishi
15 March 1896
22 August 2007
111 years, 160 days
Japan

61
Luther Goding
1 July 1884
5 December 1995
111 years, 157 days
United States

62
Jan Pieter Bos
12 July 1891
15 December 2002
111 years, 156 days
Netherlands

63
Emile Fourcade
29 July 1884
29 December 1995
111 years, 153 days
France[g]

64
Benjamin Harrison Holcomb
3 July 1889
2 December 2000
111 years, 152 days
United States

65
Aarne Arvonen
4 August 1897
1 January 2009
111 years, 150 days
Finland[h]

66
George Frederick Ives
17 November 1881
12 April 1993
111 years, 146 days
Canada[i]

67
Jan Goossenaerts
30 October 1900
21 March 2012
111 years, 143 days
Belgium

68
Garland Adair
30 July 1898
11 December 2009
111 years, 134 days
United States

69
Richard Arvin Overton[7]
11 May 1906
Living
7004406730000000000♠111 years, 130 days
United States

70
Anders Engberg
1 July 1892
6 November 2003
111 years, 128 days
Sweden

71
Alexander Imich
4 February 1903
8 June 2014
111 years, 124 days
United States[j]

72
Jack Lockett
22 January 1891
25 May 2002
111 years, 123 days
Australia[k]

73
Henry Hartmann
14 July 1894
10 November 2005
111 years, 119 days
United States

74
Shelby Harris
31 March 1901
25 July 2012
111 years, 116 days
United States

75
Daniel Guzmán-García
6 February 1897
21 May 2008
111 years, 105 days
Colombia

76
Sadayoshi Tanabe
20 October 1888
18 January 2000
111 years, 90 days
Japan

77
Clarence Matthews[8][9]
1 May 1906
22 July 2017[10]
111 years, 82 days
United States

78
Makaru Nakanishi
15 December 1901
28 February 2013
111 years, 75 days
Japan

79
Henry Pfeiffer
22 March 1881
23 May 1992
111 years, 62 days
United States

80
Zachariah Blackistone
16 February 1871
18 April 1982
111 years, 61 days
United States

81
Antonio Baldo
6 July 1887
28 August 1998
111 years, 53 days
Italy

82
Edward Bernard
22 June 1889
11 August 2000
111 years, 50 days
United States

83
Francisco Fernández
24 July 1901
7 September 2012
111 years, 45 days
Spain

84
Norio Kawada
25 April 1892
6 June 2003
111 years, 42 days
Japan

85
Kama Nakasone
23 November 1891
1 January 2003
111 years, 39 days
Japan

86
Harry Patch
17 June 1898
25 July 2009
111 years, 38 days
United Kingdom

87
Peter Solum
3 May 1882
5 June 1993
111 years, 33 days
United States

88
Masao Kaga
1 June 1902
26 June 2013
111 years, 25 days
Japan

89
Giovanni Ligato
18 February 1901
2 March 2012
111 years, 13 days
Italy

90
Domenico Minervino
10 May 1880
22 May 1991
111 years, 12 days
Italy

91
Nijiro Tokuda
10 June 1895
12 June 2006
111 years, 2 days
Japan

92
Zhou Youguang
13 January 1906
14 January 2017
111 years, 1 day
China

93
Valentino Stella
2 January 1886
1 January 1997
110 years, 365 days
Italy

94
Giichi Okumura
18 October 1896
13 October 2007
110 years, 360 days
Japan

95
Charles Shebanek
9 September 1883
27 August 1994
110 years, 352 days
United States

96
Antonio Pierro
22 February 1896
8 February 2007
110 years, 351 days
United States[l]

97
Carl Berner
27 January 1902
7 January 2013
110 years, 346 days
United States[m]

98
Gregory Pandazes
15 January 1873
22 December 1983
110 years, 341 days
United States[n]

Eiju Tsuru
4 February 1879
11 January 1990
110 years, 341 days
Japan

100
Charlie Nelson
21 September 1867
20 August 1978
110 years, 333 days
United States

Yoshio Nakagawa
19 December 1901
16 November 2012
110 years, 333 days
Japan

text:
a^ Mortensen was born in Denmark.
b^ Kristal was born in Maleniec, which was then a part of the Russian Empire. It is now in Poland
c^ Sisnett was born in Barbados, which was at the time of his birth a British colony; now it is an independent country.
d^ Sanchez was born in Spain.
e^ McCoubrey was born in Newfoundland, which was then a separate British colony in 1901. It is now a part of Canada.
f^ Reyskens was born in Belgium and never obtained Dutch citizenship
g^ Fourcade was born in French Algeria; it is now Algeria.
h^ Arvonen was born in Finland, then an autonomous state of the Russian Empire.
i^ Ives was born in the United Kingdom.
j^ Imich was born in Częstochowa, which was then a part of the Russian Empire. It is now in Poland.
k^ Lockett was born in the former British colony Victoria, which is now part of Australia.
l^ Pierro was born in Italy.
m^ Berner was born in Germany.
n^ Pandazes was born in Greece.