Points of Order — Voting—Proxy Votes and Presence of Members

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Last night in the House a vote was corrected after it became clear that a member for whom a proxy vote was being cast was not present within the parliamentary complex. In this particular case, the result of the vote overall would not have been affected by that reduction, but there have been instances—and there are regularly instances in this House at the moment—where, in fact, votes are carried by one person and one vote. There have been instances where members have requested a personal vote in those cases and it has been declined. I would like to seek a reassurance from you that where members have reason to doubt whether, in fact, all of the members for whom votes are being cast are present, a personal vote can be called for and will be allowed by the presiding officers. It is very clear in this case that votes were cast for somebody who was not present.

This is an important matter and I will look at it further. A personal vote can be called for and may be granted in very extraordinary occasions if a Speaker thought that it may make a material difference to a vote. What is important here is that we have a party vote system that is respected internationally, and, in fact, envied by many other democracies. It works on the basis of the integrity of whips who cast that vote, so it is absolutely essential that we trust the integrity of the whips as those votes are cast.

I have been dealing with a particular member this morning to make sure that that person understands very clearly the rules as to absences from this House. The purpose of seeking leave from the Speaker, if it is a smaller party, is so that that person is granted leave legitimately and that that vote can therefore be cast in good faith by the whip. I will look further at the matter, but it is absolutely crucial that we all respect the position that every whip is in in this House when they, in good faith, stand to cast a vote on behalf of their party or another party, acknowledging that leave may have been approved by a legitimate process, whether that be by a larger party and therefore controlled by a whip, or by an individual member of Parliament, in which case the leave is controlled by the Speaker.

💬 Ron Mark: Point of order—

Is this a further point of order?

💬 Ron Mark: It is the same point of order—

Order! [Interruption] Order! The member will resume his seat. On this occasion, because it is such an important issue, I will hear from the member. I think I have made my position absolutely clear, but I will hear the member.

Thank you very much for your indulgence, Mr Speaker. Being one such member who has, on a number of occasions, called for a personal vote in circumstances where the result of the vote cast was 60 to 61, and who has cited Standing Order 144, there is a developing perception that Standing Order 144, as it has been applied, has, effectively, been negated and ruled out. I would like you to have a look at that, because I do not believe that that was ever the intent of any Speaker. The second point is that having been a Government whip and a chief whip of my own party, I would defend the whip who puts their vote, because they cannot absolutely guarantee at that very instant that the information they have in front of them matches the reality. So I fully accept that the whip gave an honest vote on the day, but unfortunately he was unaware of what was happening behind his back.

I thank the member for his comment. With regard to Standing Order 144, the fact that the House may divide closely on a party vote is not, in itself, a reason to hold a personal vote. Close party votes may very well become a pattern throughout the life of a particular Parliament, and this one may be an example of that, where a Government holds a relatively small majority. In order for a personal vote to be held, there is a need for an element of confusion about the party vote, and in that particular case last night I am not sure that that confusion existed.

Unparliamentary Language—Speaker’s Ruling