Editing Palace of Westminster (section)

==== Commons Chamber ====
The [[debating chamber|Chamber]] of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] is at the northern end of the Palace of Westminster; it was opened in 1950 after the Victorian chamber had been destroyed in 1941 and re-built under the architect [[Giles Gilbert Scott]]. The Chamber measures {{Convert|14|by|20.7|m|ft}}<ref name="Factsheet G11" /> and is plainer in style than the Lords Chamber;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/architecture/palace-s-interiors/commons-chamber/|title=The Commons Chamber}}</ref> the benches, as well as other furnishings in the Commons side of the palace, are coloured green. Members of the public are forbidden to sit on the benches. Other parliaments in [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] nations, including those of [[Parliament of India|India]], [[Parliament of Canada|Canada]], [[Parliament of Australia|Australia]] and [[Parliament of New Zealand|New Zealand]], have copied the colour scheme under which the Lower House is associated with green, and the Upper House with red.

[[File:Secretary Kerry in House of Commons Chamber.jpg|alt= Examining the Dispatch Boxes|thumb|Left to right: US Secretary of State [[John Kerry]], House of Commons Speaker [[John Bercow]] and Foreign Secretary [[William Hague]] examine the [[despatch box]]es on 25 February 2013]]
At the north end of the Chamber is the [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|Speaker]]'s Chair, a present to Parliament from Australia. The current British Speaker's Chair is an exact copy of the Speaker's Chair given to Australia (itself a copy of the original chair) by the  United Kingdom Branch of the [[Empire Parliamentary Association]], to celebrate the opening of [[Old Parliament House, Canberra|Provisional Parliament House, Canberra]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Speaker's Chair |url=https://www.moadoph.gov.au/explore/collection/speakers-chair |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House}}</ref> In front of the Speaker's Chair is the Table of the House, at which the clerks sit, and on which is placed the Commons' [[ceremonial mace]]. The Table was a gift from Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://old.parliament.uk/business/news/2011/may/70th-anniversary-of-commons-chamber-bombing/commonwealth-gifts/|title=Commonwealth Gifts made to the House of Commons in 1950 – UK Parliament |publisher=Parliament.uk |date=26 October 1950 |access-date=29 May 2013}}</ref> The [[dispatch box]]es, which front-bench [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Members of Parliament]] (MPs) often lean on or rest notes on during Questions and speeches, are a gift from New Zealand. There are green benches on either side of the House; members of the Government party occupy benches on the Speaker's right, while those of the Opposition occupy benches on the Speaker's left. There are no cross-benches as in the House of Lords. The Chamber is relatively small, and can accommodate only 427 of the 650 Members of Parliament<ref name="Churchill and the Commons Chamber">{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/architecture/palacestructure/churchill/ |title=Architecture of the Palace: Churchill and the Commons Chamber |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=14 May 2010}}</ref>—during [[Prime Minister's Questions]] and in major debates MPs stand at either end of the House.

By tradition, the British Sovereign does not enter the Chamber of the House of Commons. The last monarch to do so was [[Charles I of England|King Charles&nbsp;I]], in 1642. The King sought to arrest five Members of Parliament on charges of [[high treason]], but when he asked the Speaker, [[William Lenthall]], if he had any knowledge of the whereabouts of these individuals, Lenthall famously replied: "May it please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here."<ref>{{Cite news |title=Some predecessors kept their nerve, others lost their heads |last=Sparrow |first=Andrew |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=18 October 2000 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4790900/Some-predecessors-kept-their-nerve-others-lost-their-heads.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4790900/Some-predecessors-kept-their-nerve-others-lost-their-heads.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=3 December 2009}}{{cbignore}}</ref>  Since then, in the [[State Opening of Parliament]], when [[Black Rod]] representing the monarch approaches the doors to the chamber of the House of Commons to make the summons, the doors are pointedly slammed in his or her face. Black Rod has to strike the door three times with a staff, to be admitted and issue the summons from the monarch to the MPs to attend. When repairs after the Second World War bombing were completed, the rebuilt chamber was opened by [[King George VI]] on 26 October 1950 who was invited to an "unofficial" tour of the new structure by Commons leaders.<ref name="Liverpool">{{Cite news| title=On This Day| url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-137947037.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825082321/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-137947037.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=25 August 2011| work=Daily Post (Liverpool)| date=26 October 2005| access-date=24 May 2011}}</ref><ref name="time">{{Cite magazine| title=Foreign News: Renovated Bottle| date=6 November 1950| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,813689,00.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131123752/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,813689,00.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=31 January 2011|magazine=Time | access-date=24 May 2011}}</ref>

The two red lines on the floor of the House of Commons are {{Convert|2.5|m|ftin}}<ref name="Factsheet G11" /> apart, which, by apocryphal tradition, is intended to be just over two sword-lengths. It is said that the original purpose of this was to prevent disputes in the House from degenerating into duels. However, there is no record of a time when Members of Parliament were allowed to bring swords into the Chamber; historically only the [[Serjeant at Arms of the British House of Commons|Serjeant at Arms]] has been allowed to carry a sword as a symbol of their role in Parliament, plus [[Black Rod]] when summoning the Commons to the Lords, and there are loops of pink ribbon in the Members' cloakroom for MPs to hang up their swords before entering the Chamber. In the days when gentlemen carried swords, there were no lines in the Chamber.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rogers |first1=Robert |last2=Walters |first2=Rhodri |title=How Parliament Works |edition=6th |year=2006 |orig-year=1987 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-1-4058-3255-7 |page=14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rogers |first=Robert |title=Order! Order! A Parliamentary Miscellany |year=2009 |publisher=JR Books |location=London |isbn=978-1-906779-28-3 |page=27}}</ref> Protocol dictates that MPs may not cross these lines when speaking; a Member of Parliament who violates this convention will be lambasted by opposition Members.