Privilege Motion - Project Open Gov

A motion connected to parliamentary privilege, standards or possible contempt of Parliament.

Category: Justice and security Parliamentary procedure Votes and divisions

Also used as: privilege motion, privilege motions, parliamentary privilege motion, contempt motion, standards motion

Source / explainer: Browse the UK Parliament glossary

Last reviewed: 21 August 2026

A privilege motion is a motion connected to parliamentary privilege, possible contempt of Parliament, or related standards matters. It may arise where the House is asked to consider conduct that could affect Parliament’s rights, authority or ability to carry out its work.

Related terms

Committee of PrivilegesA Commons committee that considers matters relating to parliamentary privilege referred to it by the House.Committee on StandardsA Commons committee concerned with standards of conduct for MPs.Member of ParliamentAn elected representative who sits in the House of Commons.Vote ResultThe recorded outcome of a parliamentary vote, showing whether the question was agreed or rejected.