Motion to sit in private

On 6 December 2024, the House of Commons voted on a procedural motion to sit in private, which would have cleared the public gallery and continued debate away from public view. The motion was defeated by 49 votes to 1, Division 57. The vote had no direct policy consequence, but its outcome preserved the default principle that parliamentary proceedings remain open to public observation. A vote to sit in private is a rarely used procedural device; had it passed, members of the public and journalists in the gallery would have been required to leave before debate continued. Only three Labour MPs voted at all on the Aye side, though the party breakdown records 3 Ayes in total against no Ayes from any other party. The motion attracted no cross-party support. With 49 MPs voting to keep proceedings open and only 1 recorded Aye, the result was not in doubt. The vast majority of MPs across all parties had no vote recorded.