House of Commons

In a bicameral Westminster System parliament, the House of Commons is the elected lower house. The Commons generally holds much more power than the upper house (the Senate or House of Lords). The leader of the majority party in a House of Commons usually becomes the prime minister.

At one time, all Commonwealth Realms used the term "House of Commons" to describe their lower house. Today, all but two have since changed the name to "House of Representatives" or a similar title. The existing Houses of Commons are:

• the British House of Commons (at the Palace of Westminster, London)
• the Canadian House of Commons (on Parliament Hill, Ottawa)

Defunct Houses of Commons include:

• the House of Commons of Southern Ireland
• the Irish House of Commons

Lower houses of Westminster-style bicameral parliaments that are no longer called the "House of Commons" include:

• the Irish Dáil Éireann
• the Australian House of Representatives
• the Jamaican House of Representatives[?]
• the Indian Lok Sabha[?] (House of the People)