– in the House of Lords at 3:55 pm on 2 July 2025.
Lord Kennedy of Southwark
Deputy Chairman of Committees, Deputy Speaker (Lords), Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
3:55,
2 July 2025
My Lords, we have another busy day ahead of us, with several Divisions planned. We have also seen increased moving around the Chamber when Divisions are called, with Members jumping up straightaway. I remind colleagues that once the question has been put, the voting system needs to be activated before the vote can take place. So would noble Lords please wait until they have been advised by the noble Lord on the Woolsack that voting is open, and he or she has sat down, before proceeding to the Lobbies?
After three minutes, the question will be put. Both sides need to say loudly, “Content” or “Not-Content” for the vote to continue. I ask noble Lords to remember that the microphones are on during Divisions—they pick up noble Lords’ conversations.
When noble Lords arrive in the voting Lobby, they should please place their pass firmly on the card reader and make sure that their vote is recorded. There is a “ping” and a visual confirmation on the screen that they have voted. The act of just walking through the Lobby is no longer casting a vote—it must be recorded by the reader. Votes can be close, so they should try not to be the noble Lord who lost the vote for their side because although they walked through the Lobby, they never actually voted.
Noble Lords should please leave the Lobbies quickly after voting and not stand behind Tellers, talking and making it hard for other noble Lords to walk through the Lobbies. We preserve these simple courtesies and procedures to improve the House for everyone—Members, clerks, doorkeepers and other staff alike—and to look better for the public who watch our proceedings.
Finally, if noble Lords have any concerns about their pass not having been activated or if it has recently been renewed, please call in to the Table Office before voting starts and the clerks present will ensure that their pass is working properly. Whatever noble Lords do, they should please not approach the Clerk at the Table during the Division, as they have an important job to do in ensuring that the Division takes place properly.
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.
