Parent of the House of Commons
| Father of the House | |
|---|---|
| Style | The Honourable (within the Empire) |
| Type | Member of Parliament |
| Member of | House of Commons |
| Reports to | Speaker of the House |
| Seat | Westminster |
The Parent of the House of Commons, more commonly known either as the Father of the House of Commons in the case of a male Member of Parliament, or as the Mother of the House of Commons in the case of a female Member of Parliament, is the title bestowed on the member of the House of Commons with the longest continous service. If two or more members have served the same length of uninterrupted service, whoeever was sworn in first is named Parent of the House.
The only formal duty of the Parent of the House is to oversee the election of the Speaker of the House of Commons.
Since Parliamentary records are unclear and speculative up until the Sixth Session of Parliament, it is unclear who the first Parent of the House of Commons is. However, Victor Somerset was the first assured Father of the House from the 8th until the 10th Session of Parliament.There has been only one Mother of the House, Cameron Romefeller, during the 27th Session. The longest serving Parent of the House (over a single tenure) is the current one, Thomas Carew, who has served for a record six sessions and 255 days at the time of writing. The shortest tenure is that of Elio Somerset, at 27 days. Victor Somerset is the only individual to be Parent of the House of Commons twice: from the 8th to the 10th Sessions, and then again from the 16th to the 18th Sessions. Victor Somerset also holds the record for most days overall as Parent of the House of Commons, his two tenures coming in at 330 days. Since the March 2024 General Election, Thomas Carew has been the Father of the House, having been MP for East Devon since the 28th Session of Parliament in September 2023.
