Votes and decisions
How bill stage votes work
A Bill can produce several different votes as the Commons considers it. Some decide whether the Bill should continue, while others decide whether particular wording should be changed, removed or added. The meaning of an Aye or No therefore depends on the question being put at that stage.
Short answer
“Bill stage vote” is a broad description. The Commons may be deciding whether to accept the Bill’s general principle, whether to alter particular provisions, or whether to give the Bill final approval in that House. The stage and the wording of the motion show which of those decisions is being taken.
Where votes fit in the Commons stages
This is a voting map rather than the full law-making process. It shows the main Commons stages and the kind of question a recorded division may settle at each one.
First Reading
The Bill is formally introduced and printed. There is no debate on the substance of the Bill at this stage.
Second Reading
The Commons debates the Bill’s general principles and can decide whether it should proceed to detailed scrutiny.
Committee stage
The Bill is examined in detail. Votes can concern amendments, individual clauses, schedules and proposed new clauses.
Report Stage
The Bill returns to the whole House, where further amendments and new clauses can be considered and voted on.
Third Reading
The Commons holds its final debate on the Bill and can decide whether to approve it as it then stands.
General principle
Second Reading
Second Reading is the first main Commons debate on the principles of a Bill. If the House agrees that the Bill should be read a second time, it can move on to detailed consideration.
In a straightforward Second Reading division, an Aye supports allowing the Bill to continue. It does not settle the final wording of the Bill: detailed changes can still be proposed at later stages.
A separate division can also be held on a reasoned amendment to the Second Reading motion. Where that happens, the amendment is the immediate question and should be read separately from the eventual Second Reading decision.
Committee stage
Committee stage is the detailed examination of the Bill. Most Commons Bills are considered by a Public Bill Committee, although some or all of a Bill can instead be considered by a Committee of the whole House.
Public Bill Committee
A smaller group of MPs examines the Bill. Only members of that committee vote on amendments and other questions during those sittings.
- Amendments can change existing wording.
- Clauses and schedules are considered as the committee works through the Bill.
- New clauses can propose additional provisions.
Committee of the whole House
Some Bills, or particular parts of them, are considered on the floor of the Commons instead. In that form of committee, every MP can take part and vote.
- The questions can still concern amendments, clauses and new clauses.
- The main difference for the reader is who is entitled to participate in the vote.
- The official Bill proceedings show which proposals were agreed, negatived, withdrawn or not called.
Amendments, clauses and new clauses
Many Bill-related divisions are about a specific part of the text rather than the Bill as a whole. The label on the vote and the wording of the question identify what change was before the House or committee.
Amendment
A proposed change to wording already in the Bill. An Aye supports that particular amendment when the question is whether it should be made.
Clause
A numbered provision within the Bill. A “clause stand part” question asks whether that clause should remain part of the Bill.
New clause
A proposed additional provision. A vote on a new clause asks whether that new text should be added to the Bill.
Schedule
A schedule contains additional detailed provisions attached to the Bill. It can also be amended and considered as part of the Bill’s detailed scrutiny.
Why this matters when reading a vote
An MP can support a Bill overall and still vote against one amendment, or oppose the Bill overall and vote for an amendment intended to change it. The vote records the decision on the particular question before the House at that moment.
Whole House scrutiny
Report Stage
After Committee stage, the Bill can return to the floor of the Commons at Report Stage. All MPs can take part, and further amendments or new clauses can be proposed.
A Report Stage division is therefore often a vote on a particular proposed change. The fact that it happens later in the Bill’s Commons journey does not turn every Report Stage vote into a decision on the whole Bill.
Third Reading
Third Reading is the Commons’ final debate on the Bill as it stands after the earlier stages. In the Commons, amendments cannot be made to the Bill at Third Reading.
What is being decided?
The House decides whether to approve the Bill at its final Commons stage. An Aye on a straightforward Third Reading question supports that final Commons approval.
What does it not mean?
Commons Third Reading does not by itself mean that the Bill has become law. The Bill may still need to complete its passage through the other House and any later stages needed for both Houses to agree the same text.
One Bill can produce many different votes
A long or contested Bill can produce numerous recorded divisions. Reading them as a sequence helps show how the text and the House’s decisions developed.
Second Reading
Does the Bill proceed beyond the debate on its general principles?
Amendment
Should particular existing wording be changed?
New Clause
Should a new provision be added to the Bill?
Report amendment
Should the whole House make a further change after Committee stage?
Third Reading
Should the Commons give final approval to the Bill as it now stands?
Votes connected with a Bill are not all Bill-stage votes
A Bill can also be accompanied by procedural or financial questions. The Bill name may appear prominently even though the immediate vote is about how the House will handle the Bill rather than whether a clause or the Bill itself should be agreed.
The What kind of vote is this? guide explains how Project Open Gov separates these categories.
Worked example from Project Open Gov
A Bill-related result from the Votes feature
This example is drawn from the current Project Open Gov Votes data. The vote-type label identifies the broad category, while the selected division label and explanatory text identify the particular Bill question being decided.
MPs voted on whether prosecutions for the Bill’s offence of misleading the public should require the consent of the Attorney General.
Public Office (Accountability) Bill Report Stage
The chart shows the selected division’s proportional Aye/No split. The stage or amendment wording explains what those figures decided.
How Project Open Gov presents Bill-related votes
Project Open Gov can distinguish a broad Bill-stage vote from more specific categories such as a New Clause vote or Bill Committee vote. The label helps orient the reader, while the individual division title and “What happened” explanation show the particular question.
That distinction is important where one vote group contains several divisions. Two divisions connected with the same Bill can ask materially different questions and produce different Aye/No patterns.
Continue learning
Use the related guides to identify the vote category or interpret the numerical result.
Votes and decisions
Return to the main votes learning area.
Open section →What kind of vote is this?
Identify whether a vote concerns a Bill, regulation, procedure or another type of business.
Read guide →How to understand a vote result
Read Ayes, Noes, majority, division numbers and party breakdowns.
Read guide →How Lords amendment votes work
Understand Commons decisions on changes made by the House of Lords.
Read guide →How statutory instrument votes work
Understand votes on regulations, orders and other statutory instruments.
Read guide →Official sources
Use the Bill page, amendment papers, proceedings and parliamentary guidance to check the exact stage and question behind a division.