– in the House of Lords at 7:08 pm on 24 March 2025.
Votes in this debate
Baroness Pinnock:
Moved by Baroness Pinnock
That a Humble Address be presented to His Majesty praying that the Local Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025, laid before the House on
Relevant document: 18th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (special attention drawn to the instrument)
Baroness Pinnock
Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Housing, Communities and Local Government), Co-Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Peers
My Lords, I thank the Minister for a very detailed response putting the case, which she did very strongly, for the reasons behind the curtailment of elections this May. She has not, unfortunately, explained why those elections could not have been delayed until June. That has happened before. I am a councillor, and I remember voting in June for local elections to coincide with European elections. They could have been delayed to June, and that would have enabled those councils to have an up-to-date mandate to make those changes. That is at the heart of my concerns: 5.6 million people will not be able to vote this May in order to have their say on fundamental changes to local government.
On a happy note, we will need to have more controversial debates about local government. I have never seen so many people in this House wanting to be involved with local government, which I applaud. On that basis, I wish to test the opinion of the House.
Baroness Garden of Frognal
Deputy Chairman of Committees, Deputy Speaker (Lords)
I should inform the House that if this Motion is agreed to, I will be unable to call the Motion in the name of the noble Baroness, Scott of Bybrook, by reason of pre-emption.
Ayes 63, Noes 163.
Division number 4
Local Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025 - Prayer to Annul
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
A person involved in the counting of votes. Derived from the word 'tallier', meaning one who kept a tally.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
