Motion to sit in private

On 7 March 2025, the House of Commons voted on a procedural motion to sit in private, which would have excluded the public and press from the chamber. The motion was defeated by 75 votes to 1, with the overwhelming majority of participating MPs rejecting secret proceedings. A motion to sit in private, if passed, would have cleared the public galleries and barred press access to the parliamentary session, removing the transparency that underpins democratic accountability. The near-unanimous rejection means that the day's business, which included debates on the Green Spaces Bill, the Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill, and the Protection of Children (Digital Safety and Data Protection) Bill, continued in full public view. The result preserves the principle that parliamentary proceedings are open to citizens and journalists as a matter of course. The motion was tabled by Labour MP John Grady and attracted only one supporting vote, with 75 MPs voting against. Labour MPs made up the largest bloc of those voting no, alongside Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, reflecting a cross-party consensus in favour of transparency. No party formally supported the motion. Such motions are a recognised procedural device under Standing Order No. 163 and are almost always rejected; this result follows that established pattern firmly.