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Voting

Overview

You can vote for or against a question by shouting “Aye” or “No” when the Speaker puts the question to the House and then walking through the Aye or the No lobby on either side of the Chamber. A vote that’s conducted in this way is called a division.

During a division, the bells ring and the annunciators (the monitors around the parliamentary estate) display a green bell. You have eight minutes to get to the lobbies to vote before the doors are locked.

When looking from the Speaker’s Chair, the Aye lobby is to the right, and the No lobby is to the left. To vote, go into the lobby you want: use the entrance behind the Speaker’s Chair for the Aye lobby, the entrance at the opposite end of the Chamber to the Speaker’s Chair for the No lobby, or the doors from each side of the Chamber.

There are pass reader terminals in the division lobbies to record the names of those voting. To record your name, place your pass flat against the middle or lower half of the pass reader for 1-2 seconds. The left-hand side of the screen will say "Name recorded" and the right-hand side will display your name and photograph.

There are also two tellers (often whips) in each lobby to record the number of those voting. You must walk past the tellers, pausing in the doorway to let them record your vote.

The Speaker announces the result of the division as soon as it’s over. The CommonsVotes app provides a full list of who voted about 15 minutes later. Division lists are also available in Hansard online within 2 to 3 hours, and to collect from the Vote Office the following day.

Keep in touch with whips for expected division times, which are not always predictable.

A minimum of 40 MPs, including the Chair and the tellers, (and not including MPs voting by proxy) are required for a division to be valid.

There’s no way to record an abstention.

In certain circumstances, divisions can be deferred until the following Wednesday.

Contact an expert

Contact an expert

Contact: Clerk of Divisions, Public Bill Office