PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS.

Evening Star, Issue 22086, 20 July 1935, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS.

A mechanical defect in the clock on the table of the House of Commons, which records the times elapsing between the calling of a .division and the locking of the lobby doors, caused some inconvenience lately. When the tellers appeared at the table in the division over the amendment on the paper, the chairman of committee announced that owing to a slight defect in the clock the doors of the lobby had been locked too soon, and that it would be necessary to take the division again. The London ‘ Daily Telegraph ’ recalls that nearly 30 years ago the Commons gave up the old sand-glass method of timing divisions and went in for a patent clock, worked by pressing buttons on the stopwatch principle. The Lords stuck to the sand glass. The present method of taking a division in the Commons was adopted in 1900. ■ Six minutes are allowed for M.P.s to vote between the challenging of a division and the order “Lock the doors.” There have been many minor changes in the rules since the two-lobby system of “ Ayes ” and “ Noos ” was first adopted in 1836. Some people to-day advocate reform. It is suggested that time would be saved if, as on the Continent, M.P.s could vote in their seats by pressing buttons. Unfortunately, there are at Westminster 615 M.P.s and only some 360 seats. The trouble with the suggested reforms is that none provides for recording the name of every member as he votes.