A parliamentary vote is the act of a member of parliament (MP) indicating their preference on a piece of proposed legislation. It is usually done through shouting “aye” or “no”, when invited by the Speaker to do so. If one side’s shouts are much louder than the other, then the Speaker declares that the ayes or noes have won and the result is known as a division. If no-one challenges the result, it is accepted as correct.
However, if there are any doubts as to whether a MP voted in accordance with their party’s wishes, it may be possible to challenge this decision by asking a question of the Speaker. The Speaker will then decide on the validity of the challenge, and will either reject it or ask for a division to be called.
There are many reasons why MPs might vote against their party’s official stance. They might be convinced that the bill will not be good for their constituents or they may disagree with the bill’s language and meaning. Other reasons for voting against a bill could be a desire to break free from the party machine, or because they believe that the bill is not in line with their own personal beliefs.
Typically, elections in parliamentary systems are held on a constituency basis, though some countries use an at large system instead. The size of a constituency depends on the electoral system used, and can be based on a territorial basis or on some other system such as the STV or SNTV systems.
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