Reference
Glossary
Plain-English explanations of the parliamentary terms used across Ayes and Noes. For how the site is built and where its data comes from, see Sources & methodology.
Aye / No
The two ways an MP can vote in a Commons division. "Aye" supports the motion; "No" opposes it. In the House of Lords the equivalents are "Content" and "Not Content".
Backbencher
An MP who does not hold a government ministerial role or a senior opposition (frontbench) role.
By-election
An election held in a single constituency between general elections, usually after the sitting MP resigns, dies, or is removed.
Crossbencher
A member of the House of Lords who is not affiliated to any political party and takes no party whip.
Did not vote
There is no recorded Aye or No vote for that MP in a division. It can reflect absence, illness, pairing, ministerial duties, abstention, or acting as a teller — on its own it does not explain the reason.
Dissolution
The formal end of a Parliament before a general election. All MPs' seats become vacant until the election.
Division
A recorded vote in the House of Commons. MPs walk through the "Aye" or "No" lobby to be counted. Divisions are the basis for the voting records on this site.
Hansard
The official, near-verbatim published report of what is said in debates in Parliament.
Motion
A formal proposal put before the House for debate and decision. If it is contested, it goes to a division where MPs vote Aye or No.
Opposition Day
A day on which an opposition party, rather than the government, chooses the subject for debate in the Commons.
Private Member's Bill
A bill introduced by an MP who is not a government minister, rather than by the government itself.
Prorogation
The formal ending of a parliamentary session. Most pending business stops until the next session begins. It is not the same as dissolution.
Reading (first, second, third)
Stages a bill passes through in each House. First reading introduces it; second reading is the first debate on its principle; third reading is the final vote on the completed bill in that House.
Rebellion / voted against party
When an MP's recorded vote differs from the majority recorded vote of their own party in a division. On this site it reflects the recorded vote only and does not describe the formal whip.
Recall petition
A process that lets constituents trigger a by-election if their MP meets certain conditions, such as a criminal conviction or a suspension from the House.
Recess
A period when Parliament is not sitting, such as the summer recess. Parliament still exists and MPs keep their seats — it is not a dissolution.
Speaker
The MP who chairs debates in the Commons and is politically impartial. The Speaker does not normally take part in divisions.
Teller
One of four MPs (two for each side) appointed to count the members passing through a division lobby. A teller's own vote is recorded but flagged separately, which is why published totals can differ slightly from the sum of individual votes.
Three-line whip
The strongest instruction a party gives its MPs to attend and vote a particular way — underlined three times on the weekly whip document. Defying it is treated as a serious act.
Whip
Both an MP appointed to manage their party's attendance and voting, and the written instruction itself telling MPs how to vote.