Motion to sit in private

On 28 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 parliamentary session. The motion was defeated by 44 votes to 0, with no MP voting in favour. This was Division 156. Such motions rarely succeed, and this result follows a familiar pattern. The practical effect of defeat is that the session continued in public, as is standard parliamentary practice. Sittings in private are an exceptional and rarely used procedure, intended for genuinely sensitive circumstances. Two Labour MPs recorded Aye votes despite the government's position being to oppose the motion, though no other party voted in favour. The overwhelming majority of MPs across all parties either voted No or had no vote recorded. With 44 votes cast against and none in favour, the cross-party consensus against closing the sitting to the public was complete among those who participated.