A new constitution entered into effect on 1 May 1974, creating a House of Assembly of 28 members from the previous Legislative Council of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony (1970).
The 8 members of the Ellice Islands created an Ellice committee and, after referendum, left the House of Assembly on 1 January 1976 to become the Fale i Fono on Funafuti, the new capital of Tuvalu.