Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill — Third Reading — Closure — 18 May 2007 at 13:46
The majority of MPs voted in favour of a motion to end the debate on the Third Reading of the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill.
Unlike a normal vote, where a majority is sufficient, a motion for closure requires at least 100 MPs in favour, according to Standing Order 37. It was for this reason (to break the filibuster) that this debate on this Bill had suddenly been delayed in order to organize enough MPs (many of whom were ministers) in attendance.[2]
During this Third Reading debate, one MP reminded the house that some of the justifications for the Bill were spurious because they would have been addressed by earlier amendments[3] (such as those given in Division 94).
PublicWhip received complaints from some of the MPs who voted for this closure motion, but didn't vote in the final Third Reading vote, in Division 123, because we marked them as being in favour of this Bill when they claimed only to be in favour of coming to a final democratic decision by hastening the vote. To see those who voted for closure (in order to beef up the numbers to over 100) and didn't vote on the final motion, go here.
- [1] Majority for closure, House of Commons Standing Order 37
- [2] MP delays FoI exemption bill, The Guardian, 27 April 2007
- [3] Fiona Mactaggart MP, House of Commons, 18 May 2007
All Votes Cast - sorted by party
MPs for which their vote in this division differed from the majority vote of their party are marked in red. Also shows which MPs were ministers at the time of this vote. You can also see every eligible MP including those who did not vote in this division.
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