MPs and Parliament: your questions answered
How your MP voted, Hansard, written questions, MPs' pay, expenses and second jobs, bills and the Lords: where Parliament's official records are.
How can I check whether a bill has passed or become law?
Every bill before Parliament has a page on Parliament's Bills site showing each stage it has reached in the Commons and the Lords, with the latest text, amendments and related votes. A bill becomes law only when both Houses have agreed the same text and it receives Royal Assent. It is then an Act and is published on legislation.gov.uk.
"Passed" is often used loosely. A bill that clears the Commons still has to go through the Lords, and an Act may come into force later, in stages, through commencement regulations. To check a claim that something "is now law", find the Royal Assent date on the Bills site and then the commencement section of the Act. Bills not completed by the end of a parliamentary session normally fall unless the House agrees to carry them over.
Related: How can I find out how my MP voted? · What is Hansard and how do I search it?
How many members are there in the House of Lords?
The House of Lords has no fixed size: it changes as new peers are appointed and members retire or die. On 13 October 2026 Parliament's state of the parties data listed 795 members: 772 life peers and 23 bishops. By party, 247 were Conservative, 233 Labour, 154 Crossbench and 80 Liberal Democrat. The current count is on the Lords state of the parties page.
Related: How many MPs are there in Parliament? · How can I check whether a bill has passed or become law?
How much are MPs paid?
From 1 April 2026 the basic annual salary of an MP is £98,599, up from £93,904 in April 2025, according to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). IPSA's pay and pensions page lists the salary for every year since 2010 and the determination setting out how it decides any change.
Related: How can I check my MP's expenses? · What is the average salary in the UK?
How can I find out how my MP voted?
Every recorded vote in the House of Commons, called a division, is published with the name of each MP who voted Aye or No. The quickest route is Parliament's Votes in Parliament service: search by the title of the bill or motion, or open your MP's profile to see their voting record. Division lists are also printed in Hansard, usually within a few hours.
There is no formal way to abstain in the Commons, so a missing name does not say why an MP did not vote: they may have been absent, paired, ill, on government business or choosing not to vote. Many decisions are made by voice without a division, so no list of names exists. Before quoting a vote, check whether it was on the bill itself, on an amendment or on a procedural motion.
Related: Who is my MP? · What is Hansard and how do I search it? · How can I check whether a bill has passed or become law?
What is Hansard and how do I search it?
Hansard is the official report of what is said in the House of Commons and the House of Lords: debates, ministerial statements, oral questions and the results of votes. It is a substantially verbatim record, which means repetitions and obvious slips are edited out without changing the meaning. Current and recent reports are on hansard.parliament.uk, searchable by words, date, member and debate.
Commons debates normally appear online within a few hours of being spoken. For older speeches, Historic Hansard covers 1803 to 2005. When checking a quotation, read the whole exchange, because a sentence can read differently once you see the question it answered. Select committee hearings are not in Hansard; they are published as oral evidence transcripts.
Related: How can I find out how my MP voted? · What is a written parliamentary question and where can I search them? · What is a select committee and where is its evidence published?
What is a select committee and where is its evidence published?
A select committee is a cross-party group of MPs or members of the Lords that investigates a subject and reports to Parliament. Most Commons committees each shadow a government department and examine its spending, policy and administration, while Lords committees take on wider themes. Inquiries, reports, evidence and government responses are all on the committees website.
Committees publish the written evidence they accept and transcripts of oral evidence sessions, and most hearings are held in public and broadcast. The government is expected to reply to a report within two months. A witness's evidence is that witness's account; the committee's own findings are in its report, so check which one a quotation comes from before attributing it to "a committee of MPs".
Related: What is Hansard and how do I search it? · What is a written parliamentary question and where can I search them?
How many MPs are there in Parliament?
There are 650 MPs in the House of Commons, one for each constituency. The number was fixed at 650 by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020, and the current boundaries were first used at the July 2024 general election.
Related: Who is my MP? · How many members are there in the House of Lords? · Where can I find official UK election results?
Which MPs have second jobs, and where is the register of interests?
MPs must declare paid outside work in the Register of Members' Financial Interests, under "Employment and earnings", giving the payer, the amount and the hours worked. The same register lists donations, gifts and hospitality, overseas visits, property, shareholdings and family members employed. Each MP's entries are on their Parliament profile, and full editions can be downloaded from the register publications page.
Related: How can I check my MP's expenses? · How much are MPs paid? · How do I find political party donations?
How can I check my MP's expenses?
MPs' expenses, now called staffing and business costs, are paid and published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), not by Parliament. On IPSA's website you can search by MP or postcode to see individual claims, annual spending against each budget and staff payroll costs, with records from 2010-11 onwards.
Related: How much are MPs paid? · Which MPs have second jobs, and where is the register of interests?
Who is my MP?
You can find your MP by entering your postcode in Parliament's Find your MP service. It shows your constituency, the MP's party and contact details, and links to their voting record, speeches, written questions and registered interests.
The UK has 650 constituencies, each electing one MP. Boundaries changed at the July 2024 general election, so a postcode may now be in a different constituency from the one shown in older sources. If a postcode is new or not recognised, Parliament's help page explains other ways to confirm it, including asking your local electoral registration office. Letters to any MP can be sent to the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA; include your address so they can confirm you are a constituent.
Related: How can I find out how my MP voted? · How many MPs are there in Parliament? · Where can I find official UK election results?
What is a written parliamentary question and where can I search them?
A written parliamentary question is a question that an MP or member of the Lords puts to a government department, which replies in writing in a minister's name. They are a common source of the figures politicians quote. Every question and answer is published on Parliament's Written questions, answers and statements site, searchable by keyword, member, department and date.
In the Commons, ordinary questions have no fixed deadline and departments usually reply within five to ten working days. An MP can also table up to five "named day" questions a day, which must be answered on a set date with at least two sitting days' notice. The same site holds written ministerial statements. When you use a figure from an answer, cite its question number (UIN) and date, and look for any correction published later.
Related: What is Hansard and how do I search it? · How do I make a Freedom of Information request?
Source guides for this topic
These answers say where official figures are published and how they are defined. They give no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request.