Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am ar 27 Gorffennaf 1923.
Sir Douglas Hogg
, St Marylebone
I made no such suggestion. What I said was that in Committee I would leave to a free vote of the Committee the question of deleting this Clause from the Bill if it did not increase the existing rights.
A vote where members are not obliged to support their party's position, and can vote however they choose. This is the opposite to a whipped vote. It is customary for parties to provide a free vote for legislation dealing with matters of conscience.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
