Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Hastings.

Welcome to today's lesson.

I'm really looking forward to taking you on your learning journey today.

Today's lesson comes from the unit "Can digital democracy increase political participation?" And the lesson is called "In-person or Online: How should MPs vote?" So, let's get started with today's lesson.

Good luck.

Today's learning outcome is that by the end of the lesson you will be able to determine whether MPs should vote electronically or continue voting in person.

The key words for today's lesson are Member of Parliament, MP, a person elected to represent our interests and concerns in the House of Commons.

They consider and can propose new laws as well as raising issues that matter to you in the House.

House of Commons, an elected body currently consisting of 650 members of Parliament, where MPs debate, make laws and scrutinise the government.

It is the lower house of Parliament and meets in the Palace of Westminster.

And Speaker of the House of Commons, an MP chosen by other MPs to chair debates in the House of Commons.

They make sure the rules are followed.

Once elected, they stop being involved in party politics and stay neutral in debates.

So, there are going to be two parts to the learning that we're doing today.

The first learning cycle is how do MPs vote? And in the second learning cycle, we're going to look at the question, is remote digital voting the future for MPs? So, let's get started with our first learning cycle, how do MPs vote? Members of Parliament, MPs, sit in the House of Commons.

They're part of the legislature.

This means it is their role to make laws.

To become a law, a proposal called a bill must be introduced, debated and checked in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The bill is often amended, that means changed, before a final vote.

And once there's a final vote that bill becomes a law.

For a bill to be passed and become a law, a majority of MPs have to vote in its favour.

So, let's check our understanding of this.

I'd like you to fill in the missing terms. A member of Parliament, MP, sits in the House of what? They form part of the what? This means it is their role to make laws.

For this to happen, a bill has to be introduced, scrutinised and what in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

It is often amended before a final what? For a law to be passed, a what of MPs have to vote in favour of the bill for it to become a law.

So, fill in those missing terms. So, a Member of Parliament, MP, sits in the House of Commons.

They form parts of the legislature.

This means it is their role to make laws.

For this to happen, a bill has to be introduced, scrutinised and debated in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

It is often amended before a final vote.

For a law to be passed, a majority of MPs have to vote in favour of the bill for it to become law.

Well done if you correctly filled in those missing terms. In the House of Commons, voting is undertaken by a simple 'one member, one vote' system.

When it is time to vote, the Speaker announces, "Division! Clear the lobbies.

A division bell rings, and green bell symbols appear on screens, TV screens, across Parliament.

This alerts MPs that a vote is going to take place.

If they're not currently sitting in the chamber of the House of Commons, and maybe they're in one of the many offices around the Houses of Parliament, then they can make their way to the House of Commons.

MPs have eight minutes to get to the chamber to vote.

So, if they're a long way away, you may see the corridors, MPs running along to get to the chamber in time.

During a vote, MPs divide into separate areas depending on how they want to vote.

These areas are called lobbies.

The aye, yes, and the nay, no, lobbies.

In each lobby, MPs their passer at a reader which records their name and vote.

Two tellers also count and check who voted.

The number counted by the tellers is the definitive result of the division.

The Division List records how members voted and is available to the public soon after the vote, which means the constituents can see how their constituency MP has voted on particular laws.

Tellers from both lobbies report the results to the Speaker who announces the result.

"What happens if the vote is tied," asks Izzy.

In the House of Commons, if the vote is a tie, which is very rare, the Speaker has the casting vote.

The Speaker will normally cast their vote in a way that follows past decisions and that will keep the issue open for further discussion.

So, to check our understanding, I'd like you to match the term to the definition for how MPs vote.

A, lobby, B, division, C, teller and D, Speaker.

One, when a vote is held in the House of Commons, two, records the votes and announces the result, three, an area which shows which way the MP wants to vote, and four, calls, "Division, clear the lobbies!" So, match those now.

So, A, lobby matches with three.

B, division matches with one.

C, teller matches with two.

And D, Speaker matches with four.

So, well done if you correctly matched those.

So, onto our first practise task.

What I'd like you to do is to use the key terms below to write a paragraph explaining how MPs vote.

So, you need to use all of these key terms in a paragraph.

Vote, lobbies, tellers, Speaker, division, aye, nay, House of Commons, and 'one member, one vote.

' So, pause the video whilst you complete your paragraph.

Well done for completing that task.

So, I asked you to use the terms to write a paragraph explaining how MPs vote.

The terms that I asked you to include are written here in purple so you can clearly see where they have been used.

So, how does your answer compare to this one? In the House of Commons, MPs vote on bills by taking part in a division.

When it's time to vote, the Speaker calls out to the MPs, "Division, clear the lobbies!" MPs then walk into one of two lobbies, the aye lobby or the nay lobby.

They scan their pass on an electronic reader to record their vote.

In each lobby, a teller also counts how many MPs go through.

Every MP gets one vote.

This is called 'one member, one vote.

' Tellers from both lobbies report the results to the Speaker who announces the outcome to the House.

So, well done for completing that task.

Onto our second learning cycle in today's lesson, is remote digital voting the future for MPs? So, instead of having to do it physically in person, should they be able to do it remotely and digitally? When the first COVID-19 lockdown started in March, 2020, daily life for everyone changed.

Parliament had to adapt, too.

New rules meant changes to how MPs took part in debates and votes.

In April, 2020, a hybrid system was introduced where MPs unable to travel to Westminster were able to ask questions and make statements in the House of Commons virtually.

On Tuesday 12th of May, 2020, the first ever remote digital division in the House of Commons took place.

MPs voted digitally on a motion on a General Debate on COVID.

Under the electronic voting system, when a division was called, MPs received a notification by text and email.

The division bells were sounded in Parliament as usual and MPs had 15 minutes to cast their votes.

So, not eight, but 15 minutes this time.

All votes were cast remotely and digitally, and results were collated using the existing system where names were recorded by tellers in the division lobbies.

"What happened to this new system," asks Izzy.

After returning from Whitsun recess in June, 2020, the House of Commons ended remote voting and returned to in-person voting with social distancing.

Okay, so keeping a certain distance between each MP whilst they went into the lobby.

From then on, MPs voted by lining up in spaced-out queues in the chamber.

This was shown live to the public for the first time.

MPs could still take part in some debates and questioning online if they could not attend in person.

So, let's check our understanding of what we've learned in the second learning cycle so far.

The following sentences contain mistakes.

I'd like you to find them and fix them.

So, from April, 2020, an online-only system was introduced where MPs unable to travel to Westminster were able to ask questions and make statements to the House of Commons virtually.

And the second statement, on Tuesday 12th of May, 2024, the first ever remote digital division in the House of Commons took place.

So, what are the mistakes? Find them and fix them.

So, let's find the mistakes and fix them.

Did you spot the following? From 1st of April, 2020, a hybrid system was introduced where MPs unable to travel to Westminster were able to ask questions and make statements to the House of Commons virtually.

And on Tuesday 12th of May, 2020, the first ever remote digital division in the House of Commons took place.

So, well done if you correctly identified those mistakes.

Izzy has another question.

"Why can't MPs just vote online all the time now?" Before remote or digital voting is used all the time, there are important things to think about.

It could change how Parliament works, how debates happen, and how decisions are made.

Any decision to make remote voting permanent needs careful thought to protect democracy and public trust.

So, what might be the advantages of allowing MPs to vote from home or online? Have a think about that question and discuss it with your learning partner now.

So, advantages that you might have discussed could include it improves accessibility for MPs who are ill, have a disability or additional needs, or have caring responsibilities.

So, they might have elderly relatives to look after or young relatives to look after, their own children, for example.

It saves time by streamlining the voting process.

So, rather than MPs having to queue to go through the lobby, it takes a few seconds for them to be able to vote.

It ensures continuity during emergencies, like pandemics.

So, you don't have to change a system because the system already exists.

It brings Parliament more up-to-date in our digital society.

Sometimes Parliament can seem very archaic, stuck in the past, and this would bring it more up-to-date.

It reduces the environmental impact by cutting down on travel.

So, there have been instances where MPs have been on aeroplanes heading to somewhere for a conversation in another country and discussion, and they've had to turn back because a debate which has had what is called a three-line whip, where that means that you have to go and vote as an MP, they've had to turn the plane back and go back to London because there's going to be a vote that day or that evening on an issue that is a three-line whip issue.

And so that can obviously increase that travel and the impact on our environment.

It provides clear digital records for transparency and accountability.

So, what might be the disadvantages of allowing MPs to vote from home or online? Again, have a conversation with your learning partner about that question.

So, disadvantages that you might have discussed are security risks, such as hacking or cyber attacks.

Initial expense of setting up the system.

So, it could be quite costly to the taxpayer.

Technical issues could disrupt or delay votes.

So, if the internet goes down or someone's not having good internet access, then they might not be able to vote, and that could impact and delay it.

Less opportunity for in-person discussion and debate.

So, what's really great about being in-person is you might bump into another MP in a corridor and have a discussion about an upcoming debate.

You have those live debates in the House of Commons, in the Chamber, and you really get to be able to respond to what people have said very easily in those debates.

The loss of tradition and the symbolic value of in-person voting.

Parliamentary procedures are complicated.

They may not all translate to a digital version very easily.

And again, potential inequalities.

So, if some MPs have better access to digital infrastructure than others, then it can disadvantage those MPs that don't have good internet service and digital infrastructure.

So, when thinking about whether new procedures for voting should be introduced, one way to help structure our ideas is by creating REAL arguments.

So, R for reasons, a short statement or headline that is an important claim in your speech or argument.

Examples, a statistic, case study or illustration that supports the reason.

Analysis, an explanation of the relevance of the example and of the reason, adding context and clarification.

And link, a connection back to the reason and, where relevant, to the broader topic or theme of the speech as a whole.

So, let's check your understanding of what we've learned so far.

Which of the following are advantages of digital and remote voting? Improves accessibility for MPs.

Weaker debate culture.

Saves time.

Provides clear digital records.

Reduces environmental impact.

And security risks, such as hacking.

So, which of those are advantages? So, advantages are improves accessibility for MPs, saves time, provides clear digital records, and reduces environmental impact.

The other two are disadvantages of digital and remote voting.

So, well done if you correctly identified the advantages there.

So, I'd like you to put what we've learned today in that learning cycle into practise.

Here's a statement, "MPS should be able to vote digitally and remotely on laws." How far do you agree? Firstly, I'd like you to put an X on the judgement line to demonstrate your opinion, completely agree at one end and completely disagree at the other end.

So, where on the judgement line is your opinion going to be put? And secondly, write a short justification to outline your position.

Use the REAL format that I explained to you earlier to help.

Pause the video whilst you complete this task.

So, well done for completing that task.

I asked you to read the statement, "MPs should be able to vote digitally and remotely on laws." How far do you agree? Put an X on the judgement line to demonstrate your opinion.

If you agreed, you may have placed your X here, like I have done on this line.

And secondly, your justification may have looked like this.

Remote voting improves accessibility for all MPs.

During the COVID-19 lockdowns, MPs who were ill or had caring duties could still vote using digital systems. This means more MPs can participate fully, making Parliament fairer and more efficient.

Allowing remote voting long-term would modernise Parliament and help it run smoothly during emergencies.

However, you might have disagreed and put the X on the judgement line towards the disagree end.

If you disagreed, you may have placed your X like I have here, and you may have justified your answer like this.

Remote voting poses security risks and reduces accountability.

There are concerns about security and hacking.

There are also concerns about whether MPs are able to have as much debate and discussion if they are not there in-person.

This could damage trust in how decisions are made and weaken parliamentary debate.

For these reasons, voting should stay in person to protect tradition.

So, well done for completing that task, the final task in our learning today.

So, to summarise, "In person or online: How should MPs vote?" MPs are elected to the House of Commons to make laws.

During divisions, they vote by walking into their aye or nay lobbies and scanning their passes.

Tellers count votes, and the Speaker announces the result.

During the COVID-19 lockdowns, MPs voted from home using a digital system to keep Parliament running safely.

This made voting faster and more accessible, especially for MPs with health issues or caring responsibilities.

However, some people were concerned about security risks, weaker debate, and losing the tradition of voting in person.

Before remote or digital voting becomes a permanent option, it's important to carefully consider how it might change how parliament works, how debates happen, and how decisions are made.

So, well done for completing today's lesson and I really look forward to seeing you and teaching you and learning with you again soon.

Goodbye.