The majority of MPs voted not to hold a private session of the House of Commons.
The text of the motion rejected in the vote was:
-
That the House sit in private.
The House of Commons' Standing Order No. 163 says:
-
If at any sitting of the House... any Member moves 'That the House sit in private' the Speaker... shall forthwith put the question 'That the House sit in private', and such question, though opposed, may be decided after the expiration of the time for opposed business, but such a Motion may be made no more than once in any sitting.
Moving the motion to sit in private is almost always a procedural tactic. By ensuring the defeat of a motion to sit in private at the beginning of the sitting, the mover makes it impossible for any member to move the motion during a subsequent debate.
If such a motion is brought during the debate on a Bill, and fewer than 40 MPs vote in it, then the debate ends immediately regardless of the result (in-line with Standing Order 41). Such an ending of debate occurred on the 14th of March 2003. The points of order following that division show MPs questioning the appropriateness of the tactic.
Moving a motion to sit in private is often done first thing on a Friday morning. Moving the motion ensures it can't be moved later in the day, when MPs might have returned to their constituencies for the weekend and too few members may be present to reach the 40 member threshold leading to the discussion of the business before the house (typically private members' Bills) being brought to an end.
See also What is a motion to sit in private? from the PublicWhip FAQ.
Debate in Parliament |
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.
| Name | Constituency | Party | Vote |
| Craig Williams | Montgomeryshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Bim Afolami | Hitchin and Harpenden | Con | no |
| Adam Afriyie | Windsor | Con | no |
| Nickie Aiken | Cities of London and Westminster | Con | no |
| Lee Anderson | Ashfield | whilst Con (front bench) | no |
| Stuart Andrew | Pudsey | Con (front bench) | no |
| Edward Argar | Charnwood | Con (front bench) | no |
| Victoria Atkins | Louth and Horncastle | Con (front bench) | no |
| Gareth Bacon | Orpington | Con (front bench) | no |
| Richard Bacon | South Norfolk | Con (front bench) | no |
| Kemi Badenoch | Saffron Walden | Con (front bench) | no |
| Shaun Bailey | West Bromwich West | Con (front bench) | no |
| Duncan Baker | North Norfolk | Con (front bench) | no |
| Harriett Baldwin | West Worcestershire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Simon Baynes | Clwyd South | Con (front bench) | no |
| Aaron Bell | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Con (front bench) | no |
| Scott Benton | Blackpool South | whilst Con (front bench) | no |
| Saqib Bhatti | Meriden | Con | no |
| Peter Bottomley | Worthing West | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jack Brereton | Stoke-on-Trent South | Con (front bench) | no |
| Steve Brine | Winchester | Con (front bench) | no |
| Sara Britcliffe | Hyndburn | Con | no |
| Anthony Browne | South Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Fiona Bruce | Congleton | Con (front bench) | no |
| Felicity Buchan | Kensington | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robert Buckland | South Swindon | Con | no |
| Alex Burghart | Brentwood and Ongar | Con (front bench) | no |
| Rob Butler | Aylesbury | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andy Carter | Warrington South | Con (front bench) | no |
| James Cartlidge | South Suffolk | Con (front bench) | no |
| Bill Cash | Stone | Con (front bench) | no |
| Miriam Cates | Penistone and Stocksbridge | Con (front bench) | no |
| Alex Chalk | Cheltenham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jo Churchill | Bury St Edmunds | Con (front bench) | no |
| Greg Clark | Tunbridge Wells | Con (front bench) | no |
| Simon Clarke | Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland | Con (front bench) | no |
| Brendan Clarke-Smith | Bassetlaw | Con (front bench) | no |
| Chris Clarkson | Heywood and Middleton | Con (front bench) | no |
| James Cleverly | Braintree | Con (front bench) | no |
| Therese Coffey | Suffolk Coastal | Con (front bench) | no |
| Damian Collins | Folkestone and Hythe | Con (front bench) | no |
| Alberto Costa | South Leicestershire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robert Courts | Witney | Con (front bench) | no |
| Claire Coutinho | East Surrey | Con | no |
| Virginia Crosbie | Ynys Môn | Con (front bench) | no |
| James Daly | Bury North | Con (front bench) | no |
| David Davies | Monmouth | Con (front bench) | no |
| Gareth Davies | Grantham and Stamford | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mims Davies | Mid Sussex | Con (front bench) | no |
| David Davis | Haltemprice and Howden | Con | no |
| Dehenna Davison | Bishop Auckland | Con (front bench) | no |
| Sarah Dines | Derbyshire Dales | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jonathan Djanogly | Huntingdon | Con | no |
| Leo Docherty | Aldershot | Con (front bench) | no |
| Nadine Dorries | Mid Bedfordshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Steve Double | St Austell and Newquay | Con (front bench) | no |
| Oliver Dowden | Hertsmere | Con (front bench) | no |
| Flick Drummond | Meon Valley | Con (front bench) | no |
| Philip Dunne | Ludlow | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mark Eastwood | Dewsbury | Con | no |
| Ruth Edwards | Rushcliffe | Con (front bench) | no |
| Michael Ellis | Northampton North | Con (front bench) | no |
| Natalie Elphicke | Dover | whilst Con (front bench) | no |
| Luke Evans | Bosworth | Con (front bench) | no |
| David Evennett | Bexleyheath and Crayford | Con (front bench) | no |
| Ben Everitt | Milton Keynes North | Con (front bench) | no |
| Laura Farris | Newbury | Con (front bench) | no |
| Simon Fell | Barrow and Furness | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mark Fletcher | Bolsover | Con (front bench) | no |
| Nicholas Fletcher | Don Valley | Con (front bench) | no |
| Vicky Ford | Chelmsford | Con (front bench) | no |
| Liam Fox | North Somerset | Con | no |
| Lucy Frazer | South East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| George Freeman | Mid Norfolk | Con (front bench) | no |
| Richard Fuller | North East Bedfordshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Roger Gale | North Thanet | Con (front bench) | no |
| Nusrat Ghani | Wealden | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jo Gideon | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Con (front bench) | no |
| John Glen | Salisbury | Con (front bench) | no |
| Chris Grayling | Epsom and Ewell | Con | no |
| James Grundy | Leigh | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robert Halfon | Harlow | Con (front bench) | no |
| Luke Hall | Thornbury and Yate | Con | no |
| Stephen Hammond | Wimbledon | Con | no |
| Rebecca Harris | Castle Point | Con (front bench) | no |
| Sally-Ann Hart | Hastings and Rye | Con (front bench) | no |
| Oliver Heald | North East Hertfordshire | Con | no |
| Chris Heaton-Harris | Daventry | Con (front bench) | no |
| Gordon Henderson | Sittingbourne and Sheppey | Con | no |
| Antony Higginbotham | Burnley | Con (front bench) | no |
| Damian Hinds | East Hampshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Richard Holden | North West Durham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Kevin Hollinrake | Thirsk and Malton | Con (front bench) | no |
| Philip Hollobone | Kettering | Con (front bench) | no |
| Paul Holmes | Eastleigh | Con (front bench) | no |
| John Howell | Henley | Con | no |
| Paul Howell | Sedgefield | Con (front bench) | no |
| Nigel Huddleston | Mid Worcestershire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Neil Hudson | Penrith and The Border | Con (front bench) | no |
| Eddie Hughes | Walsall North | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jane Hunt | Loughborough | Con | no |
| Jeremy Hunt | South West Surrey | Con (front bench) | no |
| Tom Hunt | Ipswich | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mark Jenkinson | Workington | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrea Jenkyns | Morley and Outwood | Con (front bench) | no |
| Gareth Johnson | Dartford | Con (front bench) | tellno |
| David Johnston | Wantage | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Jones | Harrogate and Knaresborough | Con (front bench) | no |
| David Jones | Clwyd West | Con (front bench) | no |
| Marcus Jones | Nuneaton | Con (front bench) | no |
| Alicia Kearns | Rutland and Melton | Con (front bench) | no |
| Gillian Keegan | Chichester | Con (front bench) | no |
| Greg Knight | East Yorkshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Kate Kniveton | Burton | Con | no |
| Danny Kruger | Devizes | Con (front bench) | no |
| Kwasi Kwarteng | Spelthorne | Con (front bench) | no |
| John Lamont | Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robert Largan | High Peak | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Lewer | Northampton South | Con (front bench) | no |
| Marco Longhi | Dudley North | Con (front bench) | no |
| Julia Lopez | Hornchurch and Upminster | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jack Lopresti | Filton and Bradley Stoke | Con | no |
| Tim Loughton | East Worthing and Shoreham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Cherilyn Mackrory | Truro and Falmouth | Con (front bench) | no |
| Rachel Maclean | Redditch | Con (front bench) | no |
| Alan Mak | Havant | Con (front bench) | no |
| Kit Malthouse | North West Hampshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Anthony Mangnall | Totnes | Con (front bench) | no |
| Scott Mann | North Cornwall | Con (front bench) | tellno |
| Julie Marson | Hertford and Stortford | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jerome Mayhew | Broadland | Con (front bench) | no |
| Paul Maynard | Blackpool North and Cleveleys | Con | no |
| Jason McCartney | Colne Valley | Con | no |
| Stephen Metcalfe | South Basildon and East Thurrock | Con | no |
| Robin Millar | Aberconwy | Con (front bench) | no |
| Maria Miller | Basingstoke | Con (front bench) | no |
| Amanda Milling | Cannock Chase | Con (front bench) | no |
| Nigel Mills | Amber Valley | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Mitchell | Sutton Coldfield | Con | no |
| Gagan Mohindra | South West Hertfordshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robbie Moore | Keighley | Con (front bench) | no |
| Penny Mordaunt | Portsmouth North | Con (front bench) | no |
| James Morris | Halesowen and Rowley Regis | Con (front bench) | no |
| Joy Morrissey | Beaconsfield | Con | no |
| Jill Mortimer | Hartlepool | Con | no |
| Wendy Morton | Aldridge-Brownhills | Con (front bench) | no |
| Kieran Mullan | Crewe and Nantwich | Con (front bench) | no |
| Holly Mumby-Croft | Scunthorpe | Con | no |
| David Mundell | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | Con (front bench) | no |
| Sheryll Murray | South East Cornwall | Con (front bench) | no |
| Lia Nici | Great Grimsby | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jesse Norman | Hereford and South Herefordshire | Con | no |
| Neil O'Brien | Harborough | Con (front bench) | no |
| Matthew Offord | Hendon | Con (front bench) | no |
| Neil Parish | Tiverton and Honiton | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mark Pawsey | Rugby | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mike Penning | Hemel Hempstead | Con | no |
| John Penrose | Weston-Super-Mare | Con | no |
| Christopher Pincher | Tamworth | whilst Con (front bench) | no |
| Rebecca Pow | Taunton Deane | Con (front bench) | no |
| Victoria Prentis | Banbury | Con (front bench) | no |
| Tom Pursglove | Corby | Con (front bench) | no |
| Will Quince | Colchester | Con (front bench) | no |
| Tom Randall | Gedling | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jacob Rees-Mogg | North East Somerset | Con (front bench) | no |
| Nicola Richards | West Bromwich East | Con (front bench) | no |
| Angela Richardson | Guildford | Con (front bench) | no |
| Dean Russell | Watford | Con (front bench) | no |
| David Rutley | Macclesfield | Con (front bench) | no |
| Gary Sambrook | Birmingham, Northfield | Con (front bench) | no |
| Selaine Saxby | North Devon | Con (front bench) | no |
| Paul Scully | Sutton and Cheam | Con (front bench) | no |
| Bob Seely | Isle of Wight | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Selous | South West Bedfordshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Alok Sharma | Reading West | Con (front bench) | no |
| Alec Shelbrooke | Elmet and Rothwell | Con (front bench) | no |
| David Simmonds | Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner | Con (front bench) | no |
| Chris Skidmore | Kingswood | Con (front bench) | no |
| Chloe Smith | Norwich North | Con (front bench) | no |
| Greg Smith | Buckingham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Julian Smith | Skipton and Ripon | Con | no |
| Amanda Solloway | Derby North | Con (front bench) | no |
| Ben Spencer | Runnymede and Weybridge | Con (front bench) | no |
| Alexander Stafford | Rother Valley | Con (front bench) | no |
| Bob Stewart | Beckenham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Iain Stewart | Milton Keynes South | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mel Stride | Central Devon | Con (front bench) | no |
| Graham Stuart | Beverley and Holderness | Con | no |
| James Sunderland | Bracknell | Con (front bench) | no |
| Desmond Swayne | New Forest West | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robert Syms | Poole | Con (front bench) | no |
| Maggie Throup | Erewash | Con (front bench) | no |
| Edward Timpson | Eddisbury | Con (front bench) | no |
| Kelly Tolhurst | Rochester and Strood | Con | no |
| Michael Tomlinson | Mid Dorset and North Poole | Con (front bench) | no |
| Craig Tracey | North Warwickshire | Con | no |
| Shailesh Vara | North West Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Martin Vickers | Cleethorpes | Con (front bench) | no |
| Matt Vickers | Stockton South | Con (front bench) | no |
| Theresa Villiers | Chipping Barnet | Con (front bench) | no |
| Christian Wakeford | Bury South | whilst Con (front bench) | no |
| Charles Walker | Broxbourne | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jamie Wallis | Bridgend | Con (front bench) | no |
| Matt Warman | Boston and Skegness | Con | no |
| Suzanne Webb | Stourbridge | Con (front bench) | no |
| Heather Wheeler | South Derbyshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Craig Whittaker | Calder Valley | Con (front bench) | no |
| James Wild | North West Norfolk | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mike Wood | Dudley South | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jeremy Wright | Kenilworth and Southam | Con | no |
| Jacob Young | Redcar | Con (front bench) | no |
| Nadhim Zahawi | Stratford-on-Avon | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robert Goodwill | Scarborough and Whitby | Con (front bench) | both |
| Jeremy Corbyn | Islington North | whilst Independent | no |
| Barry Gardiner | Brent North | Lab (minister) | tellaye |
| Jessica Morden | Newport East | Lab (minister) | tellaye |
| Mike Amesbury | Weaver Vale | Lab (minister) | no |
| Fleur Anderson | Putney | Lab (minister) | no |
| Tonia Antoniazzi | Gower | Lab (minister) | no |
| Paula Barker | Liverpool, Wavertree | Lab | no |
| Apsana Begum | Poplar and Limehouse | Lab (minister) | no |
| Hilary Benn | Leeds Central | Lab | no |
| Clive Betts | Sheffield South East | Lab (minister) | no |
| Paul Blomfield | Sheffield Central | Lab (minister) | no |
| Kevin Brennan | Cardiff West | Lab (minister) | no |
| Nick Brown | Newcastle upon Tyne East | whilst Lab (front bench) | no |
| Richard Burgon | Leeds East | Lab (minister) | no |
| Ian Byrne | Liverpool, West Derby | Lab (minister) | no |
| Ruth Cadbury | Brentford and Isleworth | Lab (minister) | no |
| Alan Campbell | Tynemouth | Lab (minister) | no |
| Dan Carden | Liverpool, Walton | Lab (minister) | no |
| Bambos Charalambous | Enfield, Southgate | whilst Lab (front bench) | no |
| Feryal Clark | Enfield North | Lab (minister) | no |
| Yvette Cooper | Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford | Lab (minister) | no |
| Stella Creasy | Walthamstow | Lab | no |
| Judith Cummins | Bradford South | Lab (minister) | no |
| Wayne David | Caerphilly | Lab (minister) | no |
| Geraint Davies | Swansea West | whilst Lab (front bench) | no |
| Alex Davies-Jones | Pontypridd | Lab (minister) | no |
| Anneliese Dodds | Oxford East | Lab (minister) | no |
| Peter Dowd | Bootle | Lab (minister) | no |
| Jack Dromey | Birmingham, Erdington | Lab (minister) | no |
| Maria Eagle | Garston and Halewood | Lab (minister) | no |
| Clive Efford | Eltham | Lab (minister) | no |
| Chris Elmore | Ogmore | Lab (minister) | no |
| Florence Eshalomi | Vauxhall | Lab (minister) | no |
| Bill Esterson | Sefton Central | Lab (minister) | no |
| Chris Evans | Islwyn | Lab (minister) | no |
| Yvonne Fovargue | Makerfield | Lab (minister) | no |
| Vicky Foxcroft | Lewisham, Deptford | Lab (minister) | no |
| Mary Foy | City of Durham | Lab (minister) | no |
| Preet Kaur Gill | Birmingham, Edgbaston | Lab (minister) | no |
| Mary Glindon | North Tyneside | Lab (minister) | no |
| Kate Green | Stretford and Urmston | Lab (minister) | no |
| Lilian Greenwood | Nottingham South | Lab (minister) | no |
| Nia Griffith | Llanelli | Lab (minister) | no |
| Fabian Hamilton | Leeds North East | Lab (minister) | no |
| Emma Hardy | Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle | Lab (minister) | no |
| Harriet Harman | Camberwell and Peckham | Lab (minister) | no |
| John Healey | Wentworth and Dearne | Lab (minister) | no |
| Mark Hendrick | Preston | Lab (minister) | no |
| Kate Hollern | Blackburn | Lab (minister) | no |
| Rachel Hopkins | Luton South | Lab (minister) | no |
| George Howarth | Knowsley | Lab (minister) | no |
| Imran Hussain | Bradford East | Lab (minister) | no |
| Kim Johnson | Liverpool, Riverside | Lab (minister) | no |
| Darren Jones | Bristol North West | Lab (minister) | no |
| Gerald Jones | Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney | Lab (minister) | no |
| Ruth Jones | Newport West | Lab (minister) | no |
| Sarah Jones | Croydon Central | Lab (minister) | no |
| Mike Kane | Wythenshawe and Sale East | Lab (minister) | no |
| Afzal Khan | Manchester, Gorton | Lab (minister) | no |
| Stephen Kinnock | Aberavon | Lab (minister) | no |
| Peter Kyle | Hove | Lab (minister) | no |
| Ian Lavery | Wansbeck | Lab | no |
| Kim Leadbeater | Batley and Spen | Lab | no |
| Clive Lewis | Norwich South | Lab | no |
| Tony Lloyd | Rochdale | Lab (minister) | no |
| Rebecca Long-Bailey | Salford and Eccles | Lab (minister) | no |
| Holly Lynch | Halifax | Lab (minister) | no |
| Justin Madders | Ellesmere Port and Neston | Lab (minister) | no |
| Khalid Mahmood | Birmingham, Perry Barr | Lab | no |
| Seema Malhotra | Feltham and Heston | Lab (minister) | no |
| Rachael Maskell | York Central | Lab (minister) | no |
| Kerry McCarthy | Bristol East | Lab (minister) | no |
| Andy McDonald | Middlesbrough | Lab | no |
| John Martin McDonnell | Hayes and Harlington | Lab (minister) | no |
| Pat McFadden | Wolverhampton South East | Lab (minister) | no |
| Alison McGovern | Wirral South | Lab (minister) | no |
| Jim McMahon | Oldham West and Royton | Lab (minister) | no |
| Anna McMorrin | Cardiff North | Lab (minister) | no |
| Ian Mearns | Gateshead | Lab (minister) | no |
| Stephen Morgan | Portsmouth South | Lab (minister) | no |
| Grahame Morris | Easington | Lab (minister) | no |
| Ian Murray | Edinburgh South | Lab (minister) | no |
| James Murray | Ealing North | Lab (minister) | no |
| Charlotte Nichols | Warrington North | Lab (minister) | no |
| Alex Norris | Nottingham North | Lab (minister) | no |
| Chi Onwurah | Newcastle upon Tyne Central | Lab (minister) | no |
| Abena Oppong-Asare | Erith and Thamesmead | Lab (minister) | no |
| Kate Osborne | Jarrow | Lab (minister) | no |
| Taiwo Owatemi | Coventry North West | Lab (minister) | no |
| Sarah Owen | Luton North | Lab (minister) | no |
| Matthew Pennycook | Greenwich and Woolwich | Lab (minister) | no |
| Luke Pollard | Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport | Lab (minister) | no |
| Yasmin Qureshi | Bolton South East | Lab (minister) | no |
| Christina Rees | Neath | whilst Lab (front bench) | no |
| Rachel Reeves | Leeds West | Lab (minister) | no |
| Jonathan Reynolds | Stalybridge and Hyde | Lab (minister) | no |
| Bell Ribeiro-Addy | Streatham | Lab (minister) | no |
| Marie Rimmer | St Helens South and Whiston | Lab (minister) | no |
| Matt Rodda | Reading East | Lab (minister) | no |
| Lloyd Russell-Moyle | Brighton, Kemptown | Lab (minister) | no |
| Naseem Shah | Bradford West | Lab (minister) | no |
| Barry Sheerman | Huddersfield | Lab | no |
| Cat Smith | Lancaster and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | no |
| Jeff Smith | Manchester, Withington | Lab (minister) | no |
| Karin Smyth | Bristol South | Lab (minister) | no |
| Alex Sobel | Leeds North West | Lab (minister) | no |
| Graham Stringer | Blackley and Broughton | Lab (minister) | no |
| Mark Tami | Alyn and Deeside | Lab (minister) | no |
| Sam Tarry | Ilford South | Lab (minister) | no |
| Nick Thomas-Symonds | Torfaen | Lab (minister) | no |
| Stephen Timms | East Ham | Lab (minister) | no |
| Valerie Vaz | Walsall South | Lab | no |
| Matt Western | Warwick and Leamington | Lab (minister) | no |
| Mick Whitley | Birkenhead | Lab (minister) | no |
| Beth Winter | Cynon Valley | Lab (minister) | no |
| Mohammad Yasin | Bedford | Lab (minister) | no |
| Daniel Zeichner | Cambridge | Lab (minister) | no |
| Christine Jardine | Edinburgh West | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Ben Lake | Ceredigion | PC (front bench) | no |
| Patrick Grady | Glasgow North | SNP (front bench) | aye |
| Hannah Bardell | Livingston | SNP (front bench) | no |
| Joanna Cherry | Edinburgh South West | SNP (front bench) | no |
| Martin Docherty | West Dunbartonshire | SNP (front bench) | no |
| Stewart Hosie | Dundee East | SNP (front bench) | no |
| Stuart McDonald | Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East | SNP (front bench) | no |
| Gavin Newlands | Paisley and Renfrewshire North | SNP (front bench) | no |
| Chris Stephens | Glasgow South West | SNP (front bench) | no |
| Owen Thompson | Midlothian | SNP (front bench) | no |
