The Decision-Making Process

Introduction

Although the House of Commons is usually thought of as a debating forum, it is fundamentally a decision-making body. Its rules and practices are ultimately designed to allow its members to agree to or reject the proposals before it. The Speaker and the other presiding officers are responsible both for maintaining order and decorum during the decision-making process and for deciding all questions of order raised.

The three decisions selected for this chapter deal with the deferral of recorded divisions. In one decision, Speaker Parent addressed the issue of two whips requesting that a vote be deferred to different times; while in another, he ruled on recorded divisions demanded and deferred on a Thursday.

The Deputy Speaker (Peter Milliken) also clarified the circumstances under which a recorded division could be deferred under Standing Order 45(5).