What is the House of Commons?

• A. The upper chamber of Parliament
• B. The royal council
• C. The elected house in the UK government and parliament, lower chamber
• D. The Supreme Court

Answer: (C)

The House of Commons is the elected lower chamber of the United Kingdom’s Parliament. Members of Parliament represent individual constituencies and come together to propose, debate, and vote on laws. The party (or coalition) with the most seats forms the government, and its leader usually becomes the Prime Minister, who is typically an MP. The Commons is the main arena for holding the government to account—ministers answer questions, and MPs scrutinize policy through debates and committees. It sits alongside the House of Lords, the appointed upper chamber, and together they make up Parliament. The other options describe different bodies: the upper chamber is the House of Lords; a royal council is not the Parliament; and the Supreme Court is the judiciary.