Portcullis House All rooms in the building are fitted with "annunciators" (monitors which announce in real-time the current business in the Chambers of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, or both). "Division bells" are also installed throughout the building, which alert MPs to the calling of a division (vote) in the Chamber of the House of Commons. Along with this, visual aids (a flashing image of a bell) are displayed on television sets and computer desktops in MPs' offices when the Division bell sounds. On the ground floor are a range of services including a waiter-service restaurant ("The Adjournment"), informal
House of Commons of the United Kingdom therefore became the first woman to be an MP. However, owing to Sinn Féin's policy of abstention from Westminster, she never took her seat. With effect from the General Election in 1950, various forms of plural voting (i.e. some individuals had the right to vote in more than one constituency in the same election), including University constituencies, were abolished. Since the 17th century, MPs had been unpaid. Most of the men elected to the Commons had private incomes, while a few relied on financial support from a wealthy patron. Early Labour MPs were often provided with a salary by a