Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill — No Threshold for Making Result of AV Referendum Binding — 16 Feb 2011 at 23:00
The majority of members of the House of Lords voted to make the referendum on using the "alternative vote" system for electing MPs binding on the Government even if less than 40% of the electorate took part.
In this vote the majority of members of the House of Lords were no-longer insisting on their amendment given elected MPs in the House of Commons had twice disagreed with it.
The House of Lords was considering the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill[1]. The amendment rejected in this vote was:
- Amendment A1
- As an amendment to Motion A, at end insert "but do propose Amendment 1D as an amendment to Commons Amendment 1C in lieu":
- "Line 11, at end insert-
- "(5) The estimate of the turnout in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland published under sub-paragraph (3)(a) shall be made available before any order is made under section 8 implementing the result of the referendum; and if the total turnout in the four parts of the United Kingdom is less than 40% of the total electorate of the United Kingdom, the result of the referendum shall not be binding.".
Amendment 1D is the text quoted above.
Motion A stated:
- That this House do not further insist on its Amendments 1 and 8, in respect of which the Commons have insisted on their disagreement, and do agree with the Commons in their Amendment 8C in lieu:
- Page 20, line 3, at end insert-
- "(3) Following the referendum, the Electoral Commission must-
- (a) publish the most accurate estimate that it is reasonably possible to make of the turnout in each of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland;
- (b) include that information in any report they submit under section 6(1)(b) of the 2000 Act to do with the referendum.
- (4) In sub-paragraph (3) "turnout" means the percentage of those entitled to vote in the referendum who did so.
- A ballot paper recorded under head (b), (c) or (d) of rule 42(4) of the referendum rules is to be treated as a vote for this purpose."
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Party Summary
Votes by party, red entries are votes against the majority for that party.
What is Tell? '+1 tell' means that in addition one member of that party was a teller for that division lobby.
What is Turnout? This is measured against the total membership of the party at the time of the vote.| Party | Majority (Not-Content) | Minority (Content) | Turnout |
| Bishop | 0 | 1 | 4.2% |
| Con | 125 (+1 tell) | 7 | 59.9% |
| Crossbench | 18 | 8 | 13.8% |
| Lab | 0 | 130 (+2 tell) | 53.4% |
| LDem | 74 (+1 tell) | 0 | 76.5% |
| UUP | 1 | 0 | 25.0% |
| Total: | 218 | 146 | 46.9% |
All lords Eligible to Vote - sorted by party
Includes lords who were absent (or abstained) from this vote.