Motion to sit in private

Parliament voted on 11 July 2025 on a motion to sit in private, which would have excluded the public and press from the parliamentary proceedings taking place at that time. The motion was defeated by 58 votes to 1, Division 266. The practical effect of such a motion, had it passed, would have been to clear the public gallery and conduct parliamentary business away from public or press scrutiny. Its defeat means proceedings continued in the open, as is standard practice. These motions do not affect the substance of any legislation; they concern only whether the public may observe Parliament at work. Only one MP voted in favour of closing the sitting to the public. All 58 recorded votes against came from across several parties: 35 Labour MPs, 15 Conservatives, 8 Labour and Co-operative MPs, 2 Liberal Democrats, and 1 Green MP voted to keep proceedings open. Three Labour MPs voted for the motion. No other party recorded a vote either way. The vast majority of MPs across all parties had no vote recorded.