document_title: House of Commons of the United Kingdom

question_text: the second largest party in the house of commons is usually known by what name

question_tokens: the second largest party in the house of commons is usually known by what name

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)

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,[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
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.[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).

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.[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 United States Supreme Court Justices by time in office

question_text: who has been on the current supreme court the longest

root

text:
13,358 days
William O. Douglas
from 1939 to 1975

12,614 days
Stephen Johnson Field
from 1863 to 1897

12,611 days
John Paul Stevens
from 1975 to 2010

12,570 days
John Marshall
from 1801 to 1835

12,447 days
Hugo Black
from 1937 to 1971

12,360 days
John Marshall Harlan
from 1877 to 1911

887 days
Howell Edmunds Jackson
from 1893 to 1895

801 days
Robert Trimble
from 1826 to 1828

563 days
John Rutledge
from 1790 to 1791 and in 1795

452 days
James F. Byrnes
from 1941 to 1942

163 days
Thomas Johnson
from 1792 to 1793

7002161000000000000♠161 days
Neil Gorsuch
since 2017

text: A total of 113 Justices have served on the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest judicial body in the United States. Justices have life tenure, and so they serve until they die in office, resign or retire, or are impeached and removed from office (which has never happened; the one impeached Justice was acquitted). The longest-serving member of the current court is Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, with a term to date of 7004108050000000000♠10,805 days (29 years). For the 104 non-incumbent justices, the mean length of service was 6,112 days (16.7 years) with a standard deviation of 3,620 days (9.9 years). The median length of service was 5,740 days (15.7 years). Their period of service ranges from William O. Douglas's 13,358 days (36 years) on the Court to the 163-day tenure of Thomas Johnson.

tag: p

text: A nominee who was confirmed by the United States Senate but declined to serve, such as Robert H. Harrison, or who died before taking his seat, such as Edwin M. Stanton, is not considered to have served as a Justice.[1][2] The Term Start date is the day the Justice took the oath of office,[1] with the Term End date being the date of the Justice's death, resignation, or retirement.[1] A highlighted row indicates that the Justice is currently serving on the Court.[3]

text: Justices[edit]

text:
*Chief Justice
†Term as Associate Justice and Chief Justice combined

text:
Rank by
length
of term
Justice
Term
in
days
Term Start[1]
Term End[1]

1
Douglas, William O.William O. Douglas
7004133580000000000♠13,358
000000001939-04-17-0000April 17, 1939
000000001975-11-12-0000November 12, 1975

2
Field, Stephen JohnsonStephen Johnson Field
7004126140000000000♠12,614
000000001863-05-20-0000May 20, 1863
000000001897-12-01-0000December 1, 1897

3
Stevens, John PaulJohn Paul Stevens
7004126110000000000♠12,611
000000001975-12-19-0000December 19, 1975
000000002010-06-29-0000June 29, 2010

4
Marshall, JohnJohn Marshall*
7004125700000000000♠12,570
000000001801-02-04-0000February 4, 1801
000000001835-07-06-0000July 6, 1835

5
Black, HugoHugo Black
7004124470000000000♠12,447
000000001937-08-19-0000August 19, 1937
000000001971-09-17-0000September 17, 1971

6
Harlan, John MarshallJohn Marshall Harlan
7004123600000000000♠12,360
000000001877-12-10-0000December 10, 1877
000000001911-10-14-0000October 14, 1911

7
Brennan, Jr., William J.William J. Brennan, Jr.
7004123300000000000♠12,330
000000001956-10-16-0000October 16, 1956
000000001990-07-20-0000July 20, 1990

8
Rehnquist, WilliamWilliam Rehnquist*
7004122930000000000♠12,293†
000000001972-01-07-0000January 7, 1972
000000002005-09-03-0000September 3, 2005†

9
Story, JosephJoseph Story
7004122730000000000♠12,273
000000001812-02-03-0000February 3, 1812
000000001845-09-10-0000September 10, 1845

10
Wayne, James MooreJames Moore Wayne
7004118600000000000♠11,860
000000001835-01-14-0000January 14, 1835
000000001867-07-05-0000July 5, 1867

11
McLean, JohnJohn McLean
7004114060000000000♠11,406
000000001830-01-11-0000January 11, 1830
000000001861-04-04-0000April 4, 1861

12
White, ByronByron White
7004113960000000000♠11,396
000000001962-04-16-0000April 16, 1962
000000001993-06-28-0000June 28, 1993

13
Washington, BushrodBushrod Washington
7004112520000000000♠11,252
000000001799-02-04-0000February 4, 1799
000000001829-11-26-0000November 26, 1829

14
Johnson, WilliamWilliam Johnson
7004110460000000000♠11,046
000000001804-05-07-0000May 7, 1804
000000001834-08-04-0000August 4, 1834

15
Kennedy, AnthonyAnthony Kennedy
7004108050000000000♠10,805
000000001988-02-18-0000February 18, 1988
000000002017-09-18-0000Incumbent

16
Scalia, AntoninAntonin Scalia
7004107320000000000♠10,732
000000001986-09-26-0000September 26, 1986
000000002016-02-13-0000February 13, 2016

17
Holmes, Oliver WendellOliver Wendell Holmes
7004106270000000000♠10,627
000000001902-12-08-0000December 8, 1902
000000001932-01-12-0000January 12, 1932

18
Taney, Roger B.Roger B. Taney*
7004104250000000000♠10,425
000000001836-03-28-0000March 28, 1836
000000001864-10-12-0000October 12, 1864

19
Miller, Samuel FreemanSamuel Freeman Miller
7004103110000000000♠10,311
000000001862-07-21-0000July 21, 1862
000000001890-10-13-0000October 13, 1890

20
Catron, JohnJohn Catron
7004102560000000000♠10,256
000000001837-05-01-0000May 1, 1837
000000001865-05-30-0000May 30, 1865

21
Nelson, SamuelSamuel Nelson
7004101360000000000♠10,136
000000001845-02-27-0000February 27, 1845
000000001872-11-28-0000November 28, 1872

22
White, Edward DouglassEdward Douglass White*
7003992900000000000♠9,929†
000000001894-03-12-0000March 12, 1894
000000001921-05-19-0000May 19, 1921†

23
McKenna, JosephJoseph McKenna
7003984000000000000♠9,840
000000001898-01-26-0000January 26, 1898
000000001925-01-05-0000January 5, 1925

24
Van Devanter, WillisWillis Van Devanter
7003964700000000000♠9,647
000000001911-01-03-0000January 3, 1911
000000001937-06-02-0000June 2, 1937

25
McReynolds, James ClarkJames Clark McReynolds
7003960800000000000♠9,608
000000001914-10-12-0000October 12, 1914
000000001941-01-31-0000January 31, 1941

26
Thomas, ClarenceClarence Thomas
7003946200000000000♠9,462
000000001991-10-23-0000October 23, 1991
000000002017-09-18-0000Incumbent

27
O'Connor, Sandra DaySandra Day O'Connor
7003889400000000000♠8,894
000000001981-09-25-0000September 25, 1981
000000002006-01-31-0000January 31, 2006

28
Blackmun, HarryHarry Blackmun
7003882100000000000♠8,821
000000001970-06-09-0000June 9, 1970
000000001994-08-03-0000August 3, 1994

29
Ginsburg, Ruth BaderRuth Bader Ginsburg
7003880500000000000♠8,805
000000001993-08-10-0000August 10, 1993
000000002017-09-18-0000Incumbent

30
Marshall, ThurgoodThurgood Marshall
7003876500000000000♠8,765
000000001967-10-02-0000October 2, 1967
000000001991-10-01-0000October 1, 1991

31
Frankfurter, FelixFelix Frankfurter
7003861100000000000♠8,611
000000001939-01-30-0000January 30, 1939
000000001962-08-28-0000August 28, 1962

32
Clifford, NathanNathan Clifford
7003858600000000000♠8,586
000000001858-01-21-0000January 21, 1858
000000001881-07-25-0000July 25, 1881

33
Grier, Robert CooperRobert Cooper Grier
7003857500000000000♠8,575
000000001846-08-10-0000August 10, 1846
000000001870-01-31-0000January 31, 1870

34
Duvall, GabrielGabriel Duvall
7003845300000000000♠8,453
000000001811-11-23-0000November 23, 1811
000000001835-01-14-0000January 14, 1835

35
Breyer, StephenStephen Breyer
7003844700000000000♠8,447
000000001994-08-03-0000August 3, 1994
000000002017-09-18-0000Incumbent

36
Stewart, PotterPotter Stewart
7003829800000000000♠8,298
000000001958-10-14-0000October 14, 1958
000000001981-07-03-0000July 3, 1981

37
Brandeis, LouisLouis Brandeis
7003828800000000000♠8,288
000000001916-06-05-0000June 5, 1916
000000001939-02-13-0000February 13, 1939

38
Bradley, Joseph P.Joseph P. Bradley
7003797500000000000♠7,975
000000001870-03-23-0000March 23, 1870
000000001892-01-22-0000January 22, 1892

39
Fuller, MelvilleMelville Fuller*
7003793800000000000♠7,938
000000001888-10-08-0000October 8, 1888
000000001910-07-04-0000July 4, 1910

40
Stone, Harlan F.Harlan F. Stone*
7003772100000000000♠7,721†
000000001925-03-02-0000March 2, 1925
000000001946-04-22-0000April 22, 1946†

41
Gray, HoraceHorace Gray
7003755300000000000♠7,553
000000001882-01-09-0000January 9, 1882
000000001902-09-15-0000September 15, 1902

42
Cushing, WilliamWilliam Cushing
7003752700000000000♠7,527
000000001790-02-02-0000February 2, 1790
000000001810-09-13-0000September 13, 1810

43
Thompson, SmithSmith Thompson
7003741300000000000♠7,413
000000001823-09-01-0000September 1, 1823
000000001843-12-18-0000December 18, 1843

44
Brewer, David JosiahDavid Josiah Brewer
7003738500000000000♠7,385
000000001890-01-06-0000January 6, 1890
000000001910-03-28-0000March 28, 1910

45
Day, William R.William R. Day
7003719600000000000♠7,196
000000001903-03-02-0000March 2, 1903
000000001922-11-13-0000November 13, 1922

46
Reed, Stanley FormanStanley Forman Reed
7003696500000000000♠6,965
000000001938-01-31-0000January 31, 1938
000000001957-02-25-0000February 25, 1957

47
Swayne, Noah HaynesNoah Haynes Swayne
7003693700000000000♠6,937
000000001862-01-27-0000January 27, 1862
000000001881-01-24-0000January 24, 1881

48
Todd, ThomasThomas Todd
7003685400000000000♠6,854
000000001807-05-04-0000May 4, 1807
000000001826-02-07-0000February 7, 1826

49
Souter, DavidDavid Souter
7003683800000000000♠6,838
000000001990-10-09-0000October 9, 1990
000000002009-06-29-0000June 29, 2009

50
Daniel, Peter VivianPeter Vivian Daniel
7003671600000000000♠6,716
000000001842-01-10-0000January 10, 1842
000000001860-05-31-0000May 31, 1860

51
Clark, Tom C.Tom C. Clark
7003650100000000000♠6,501
000000001949-08-24-0000August 24, 1949
000000001967-06-12-0000June 12, 1967

52
Burger, Warren E.Warren E. Burger*
7003630400000000000♠6,304
000000001969-06-23-0000June 23, 1969
000000001986-09-26-0000September 26, 1986

53
Hughes, Charles EvansCharles Evans Hughes*
7003621400000000000♠6,214†
000000001910-10-10-0000October 10, 1910
February 24, 1930*
000000001916-06-10-0000June 10, 1916
June 30, 1941*

54
Butler, PiercePierce Butler
7003616200000000000♠6,162
000000001923-01-02-0000January 2, 1923
000000001939-11-16-0000November 16, 1939

55
Harlan II, John MarshallJohn Marshall Harlan II
7003602300000000000♠6,023
000000001955-03-28-0000March 28, 1955
000000001971-09-23-0000September 23, 1971

56
Livingston, Henry BrockholstHenry Brockholst Livingston
7003590100000000000♠5,901
000000001807-01-20-0000January 20, 1807
000000001823-03-18-0000March 18, 1823

57
Warren, EarlEarl Warren*
7003574000000000000♠5,740
000000001953-10-05-0000October 5, 1953
000000001969-06-23-0000June 23, 1969

58
Powell, Lewis FranklinLewis Franklin Powell
7003564900000000000♠5,649
000000001972-01-07-0000January 7, 1972
000000001987-06-26-0000June 26, 1987

59
Brown, Henry BillingsHenry Billings Brown
7003562100000000000♠5,621
000000001891-01-05-0000January 5, 1891
000000001906-05-28-0000May 28, 1906

60
Chase, SamuelSamuel Chase
7003561300000000000♠5,613
000000001796-02-04-0000February 4, 1796
000000001811-06-19-0000June 19, 1811

61
Sutherland, GeorgeGeorge Sutherland
7003558600000000000♠5,586
000000001922-10-02-0000October 2, 1922
000000001938-01-17-0000January 17, 1938

62
Roberts, OwenOwen Roberts
7003553800000000000♠5,538
000000001930-06-02-0000June 2, 1930
000000001945-07-31-0000July 31, 1945

63
McKinley, JohnJohn McKinley
7003530500000000000♠5,305
000000001838-01-09-0000January 9, 1838
000000001852-07-19-0000July 19, 1852

64
Baldwin, HenryHenry Baldwin
7003520700000000000♠5,207
000000001830-01-18-0000January 18, 1830
000000001844-04-21-0000April 21, 1844

65
Davis, DavidDavid Davis
7003519800000000000♠5,198
000000001862-12-10-0000December 10, 1862
000000001877-03-04-0000March 4, 1877

66
Waite, MorrisonMorrison Waite*
7003513300000000000♠5,133
000000001874-03-04-0000March 4, 1874
000000001888-03-23-0000March 23, 1888

67
Peckham, Rufus WheelerRufus Wheeler Peckham
7003503900000000000♠5,039
000000001896-01-06-0000January 6, 1896
000000001909-10-24-0000October 24, 1909

68
Paterson, WilliamWilliam Paterson
7003492900000000000♠4,929
000000001793-03-11-0000March 11, 1793
000000001806-09-09-0000September 9, 1806

69
Jackson, Robert H.Robert H. Jackson
7003483800000000000♠4,838
000000001941-07-11-0000July 11, 1941
000000001954-10-09-0000October 9, 1954

70
Burton, Harold HitzHarold Hitz Burton
7003476000000000000♠4,760
000000001945-10-01-0000October 1, 1945
000000001958-10-13-0000October 13, 1958

71
Roberts, JohnJohn Roberts*
7003437200000000000♠4,372
000000002005-09-29-0000September 29, 2005
000000002017-09-18-0000Incumbent

72
Alito, SamuelSamuel Alito
7003424800000000000♠4,248
000000002006-01-31-0000January 31, 2006
000000002017-09-18-0000Incumbent

73
Blatchford, SamuelSamuel Blatchford
7003411300000000000♠4,113
000000001882-04-03-0000April 3, 1882
000000001893-07-07-0000July 7, 1893

74
Pitney, MahlonMahlon Pitney
7003394000000000000♠3,940
000000001912-03-18-0000March 18, 1912
000000001922-12-31-0000December 31, 1922

75
Strong, WilliamWilliam Strong
7003392800000000000♠3,928
000000001870-03-14-0000March 14, 1870
000000001880-12-14-0000December 14, 1880

76
Shiras, Jr., GeorgeGeorge Shiras, Jr.
7003378700000000000♠3,787
000000001892-10-10-0000October 10, 1892
000000001903-02-23-0000February 23, 1903

77
Murphy, FrankFrank Murphy
7003345200000000000♠3,452
000000001940-02-05-0000February 5, 1940
000000001949-07-19-0000July 19, 1949

78
Iredell, JamesJames Iredell
7003344800000000000♠3,448
000000001790-05-12-0000May 12, 1790
000000001799-10-20-0000October 20, 1799

79
Hunt, WardWard Hunt
7003330500000000000♠3,305
000000001873-01-09-0000January 9, 1873
000000001882-01-27-0000January 27, 1882

80
Wilson, JamesJames Wilson
7003324200000000000♠3,242
000000001789-10-05-0000October 5, 1789
000000001798-08-21-0000August 21, 1798

81
Taft, William HowardWilliam Howard Taft*
7003312900000000000♠3,129
000000001921-07-11-0000July 11, 1921
000000001930-02-03-0000February 3, 1930

82
Chase, Salmon P.Salmon P. Chase*
7003306500000000000♠3,065
000000001864-12-15-0000December 15, 1864
000000001873-05-07-0000May 7, 1873

83
Sotomayor, SoniaSonia Sotomayor
7003296300000000000♠2,963
000000002009-08-08-0000August 8, 2009
000000002017-09-18-0000Incumbent

84
Campbell, John ArchibaldJohn Archibald Campbell
7003294100000000000♠2,941
000000001853-04-11-0000April 11, 1853
000000001861-04-30-0000April 30, 1861

85
Matthews, StanleyStanley Matthews
7003286600000000000♠2,866
000000001881-05-17-0000May 17, 1881
000000001889-03-22-0000March 22, 1889

86
Vinson, Fred M.Fred M. Vinson*
7003263300000000000♠2,633
000000001946-06-24-0000June 24, 1946
000000001953-09-08-0000September 8, 1953

87
Kagan, ElenaElena Kagan
7003259900000000000♠2,599
000000002010-08-07-0000August 7, 2010
000000002017-09-18-0000Incumbent

88
Sanford, Edward TerryEdward Terry Sanford
7003257400000000000♠2,574
000000001923-02-19-0000February 19, 1923
000000001930-03-08-0000March 8, 1930

89
Minton, ShermanSherman Minton
7003256000000000000♠2,560
000000001949-10-12-0000October 12, 1949
000000001956-10-15-0000October 15, 1956

90
Rutledge, Wiley BlountWiley Blount Rutledge
7003239900000000000♠2,399
000000001943-02-15-0000February 15, 1943
000000001949-09-10-0000September 10, 1949

91
Woods, William BurnhamWilliam Burnham Woods
7003232000000000000♠2,320
000000001881-01-05-0000January 5, 1881
000000001887-05-14-0000May 14, 1887

92
Cardozo, Benjamin N.Benjamin N. Cardozo
7003230800000000000♠2,308
000000001932-03-14-0000March 14, 1932
000000001938-07-09-0000July 9, 1938

93
Curtis, Benjamin RobbinsBenjamin Robbins Curtis
7003218200000000000♠2,182
000000001851-10-10-0000October 10, 1851
000000001857-09-30-0000September 30, 1857

94
Woodbury, LeviLevi Woodbury
7003217200000000000♠2,172
000000001845-09-23-0000September 23, 1845
000000001851-09-04-0000September 4, 1851

95
Clarke, John HessinJohn Hessin Clarke
7003217000000000000♠2,170
000000001916-10-09-0000October 9, 1916
000000001922-09-18-0000September 18, 1922

96
Blair, JohnJohn Blair
7003209100000000000♠2,091
000000001790-02-02-0000February 2, 1790
000000001795-10-25-0000October 25, 1795

97
Jay, JohnJohn Jay*
7003207900000000000♠2,079
000000001789-10-19-0000October 19, 1789
000000001795-06-29-0000June 29, 1795

98 (tie)
Lamar, Lucius Quintus CincinnatusLucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar
7003183200000000000♠1,832
000000001888-01-18-0000January 18, 1888
000000001893-01-23-0000January 23, 1893

98 (tie)
Whittaker, Charles EvansCharles Evans Whittaker
7003183200000000000♠1,832
000000001957-03-25-0000March 25, 1957
000000001962-03-31-0000March 31, 1962

100
Lamar, Joseph RuckerJoseph Rucker Lamar
7003182500000000000♠1,825
000000001911-01-03-0000January 3, 1911
000000001916-01-02-0000January 2, 1916

101
Barbour, Philip PendletonPhilip Pendleton Barbour
7003175000000000000♠1,750
000000001836-05-12-0000May 12, 1836
000000001841-02-25-0000February 25, 1841

102
Ellsworth, OliverOliver Ellsworth*
7003174200000000000♠1,742
000000001796-03-08-0000March 8, 1796
000000001800-12-15-0000December 15, 1800

103
Lurton, Horace HarmonHorace Harmon Lurton
7003165100000000000♠1,651
000000001910-01-03-0000January 3, 1910
000000001914-07-12-0000July 12, 1914

104
Moody, William HenryWilliam Henry Moody
7003143400000000000♠1,434
000000001906-12-17-0000December 17, 1906
000000001910-11-20-0000November 20, 1910

105
Moore, AlfredAlfred Moore
7003137500000000000♠1,375
000000001800-04-21-0000April 21, 1800
000000001804-01-26-0000January 26, 1804

106
Fortas, AbeAbe Fortas
7003131800000000000♠1,318
000000001965-10-04-0000October 4, 1965
000000001969-05-14-0000May 14, 1969

107
Goldberg, ArthurArthur Goldberg
7003102800000000000♠1,028
000000001962-10-01-0000October 1, 1962
000000001965-07-25-0000July 25, 1965

108
Jackson, Howell EdmundsHowell Edmunds Jackson
7002887000000000000♠887
000000001893-03-04-0000March 4, 1893
000000001895-08-08-0000August 8, 1895

109
Trimble, RobertRobert Trimble
7002801000000000000♠801
000000001826-06-16-0000June 16, 1826
000000001828-08-25-0000August 25, 1828

110
Rutledge, JohnJohn Rutledge*
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July 1, 1795*
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December 28, 1795*

111
Byrnes, James F.James F. Byrnes
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000000001942-10-03-0000October 3, 1942

112
Johnson, ThomasThomas Johnson
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000000001793-01-16-0000January 16, 1793

113
Gorsuch, NeilNeil Gorsuch
7002161000000000000♠161
000000002017-04-10-0000April 10, 2017
000000002017-09-18-0000Incumbent


document_title: We Made You

question_text: who sings the girl part in we made you by eminem

text: We Made You

text: Background[edit]

text: It features chorus vocals by Charmagne Tripp.[1][2][3] Produced by Dr. Dre and co-produced by Doc Ish and Eminem himself, the song samples "Hot Summer Nights" by Walter Egan.[4] The official cover for the single is a picture of the music video, with Eminem, Oxen, Lisa Ann and Bobby Lee.

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: "We Made You" has generally mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone magazine gave it a positive review stating, "It's nice to see Eminem goofing around again after a few years out of the spotlight during which he grappled with serious issues like the death of his friend Proof, and 'We Made You' with its damnation of current celebrities will likely prove to be a solid pop cultural time capsule of this weird 2009 moment we're experiencing now."[5] Billboard said, "Atop Dr. Dre's marching beat is primarily piano instrumentation, which amid drums and tubas give the track a carnival feel... And in case his word play was too fast and strange accent too difficult to decipher, Charmagne Tripp sings the chorus."[6] Tim Jonze of The Guardian however, reported, "'We Made You' is not Eminem doing what he does best." [7] As of April 7, 2017, the video had over 168,404,881 views on YouTube.[8]

text: Chart performance[edit]

text: "We Made You" sold 167,000 downloads in its first week to enter the Hot Digital Songs chart in Billboard Magazine at number three. The song also debuted at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, to become Eminem's second top ten in a row on the chart, ranked "Crack a Bottle", a collaboration with Dr. Dre and 50 Cent. This marks the first time that Eminem has had back-to-back top-ten hits on the Hot 100 as a lead artist since 2002, when he scored with "Without Me", "Cleanin' Out My Closet" and "Lose Yourself".[9] "We Made You" has reached the top ten in twelve countries, including number one in Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and Germany.

text: Music video[edit]

text: Development and release[edit]

text: The single's music video was directed by Joseph Kahn, who also shot "Without Me" from The Eminem Show is in the same vein as past videos under the Slim Shady persona, and the first of its kind since Encore's "Ass Like That". The video was filmed in Las Vegas and features star appearances by Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Denaun Porter, Bobby Lee, The Palms hotel owner George Maloof, Francesca Le, Melissa Peterman, Vanilla Ice, Trisha Paytas (playing Jessica Simpson's role in The Dukes of Hazzard), Derrick Barry (of America's Got Talent fame) (playing Britney Spears), actress Gabrielle Salinger (playing Amy Winehouse) and pornographic actress Lisa Ann as Sarah Palin. The music video for "We Made You" premiered on April 7, 2009 at 6:00 AM on several MTV networks, as well as MTV.com. The video also premiered on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on the next day.[10]

text: Concept[edit]

text: The music video parodies TV shows Rock of Love and Star Trek (with the Starfleet insignia replaced with an inverted 2nd Infantry Division), as well as video game Guitar Hero with Eminem against an imitation version background of the notes while the homage to film Rain Man was shot at The Palms, a film Eminem has previously referenced in his lyrics.[11] The video was also a dual promotion of Larry Flynt's porn parody of Who's Nailin' Paylin? satirizing Sarah Palin's governorship of Alaska, released recently. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is also homaged. On April 3, 2009, Eminem talked about the music video in an MTV News interview, stating that there is some "Celebrity bashing in it", which is often a feature of his album's lead singles.[12] Celebrities mocked include Bret Michaels, Kevin Federline, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Samantha Ronson, Amy Winehouse and her then-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Jessica Alba, Elvis Presley, Tony Romo, John Mayer, Jennifer Aniston, and Kim Kardashian.[13] Eminem even spoofed himself, wearing an ALF T-shirt and holding a cake, referencing a commonly circulated pre-fame photo of him of when he was an adolescent. The video features appearances from Lisa Ann as Sarah Palin, Trisha Paytas as Jessica Simpson, and Derrick Barry, a famous Britney Spears female impersonator, as Spears. The video also features appearances from Dr. Dre and 50 Cent as themselves.

text: Reception[edit]

text: The music video won the award at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Hip-Hop Video and was nominated for Best Male Video, as well as Video of the Year. The video also ranked at#81 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2009 countdown.[14] The music video also features Beats by Dr. Dre Monster headphones.

text: Track listing[edit]

text: Digital EP[15]

tag: ol

text: UK CD single[16]

text:
"We Made You" – 4:47
"We Made You" (Instrumental) – 4:47

text: German CD single[17]

text:
"We Made You" – 4:47
"We Made You" (Super Clean) – 4:47
"We Made You" (Instrumental) – 4:47
"We Made You" (Video) – 4:47

text: No title

text:
We Made You
Shake That
Bug A Boo
Beautiful
Entourage
We Made You – Karaoke Version

text: Personnel[edit]

text:
Mark Batson – keyboards
Charmagne Tripp – chorus vocals[18]

text: Charts[edit]

text: Weekly charts[edit]

text:
Chart (2009)[19][20]
Peak
position

Australia (ARIA)[21]
1

Austrian Singles Chart[22]
6

Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)
13

Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)
12

Brazilian Singles Chart (ABPD)[23]
32

Canadian Hot 100[24]
6

Danish Singles Chart
8

Dutch Singles Chart
14

European Hot 100 Singles
4

French Singles Chart[25]
11

German Singles Chart[26]
8

Irish Singles Chart
1

Italian Singles Chart[27]
33

Israeli Singles Chart[28]
2

Japan Hot 100 Singles[29]
13

New Zealand Singles Chart
1

Norwegian Singles Chart[30]
5

Romanian Singles Chart
5

Swedish Singles Chart
11

Swiss Singles Chart[31]
4

UK Singles Chart
4

US Billboard Hot 100
9

US Hot Rap Tracks
19

US Pop Songs
23

text: Year-end charts[edit]

text:
Chart (2009)
Position

Australia (ARIA)[32]
26

Hungarian Singles Chart[33]
127

New Zealand Singles Chart[34]
27

Swiss Singles Chart[35]
44

UK Singles Chart[36]
50

text: Certifications[edit]

text:
Region
Certification

Australia (ARIA)[37]
Platinum

United States (RIAA)[38]
3x Platinum