Plain-language reference

Parliamentary glossary

Short definitions for terms used in Westminster Radar. Every definition links to an authoritative UK Parliament source.

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62 terms

Act of Parliament: A Bill approved by both Houses and given Royal Assent. An Act creates or changes law and is also called primary legislation. It follows the passage of a bill through the required parliamentary stages. Check the Act and commencement provisions to know whether a particular part is in force.; UK Parliament: Acts
Division: A formal vote in the House. Members record an Aye or No, and Parliament publishes the result and voting lists. Read the exact question and date before interpreting either side. A published name list can have teller or source discrepancies, which should be labelled rather than guessed away.; UK Parliament: voting
Hansard: The edited verbatim report of proceedings in the House of Commons and House of Lords, including debates and many formal statements. The text may be corrected after first publication. A single debate can contain many contributions, so a contribution count should not be treated as a count of distinct debates.; UK Parliament: Hansard
Register of Members’ Financial Interests: The published register in which MPs disclose financial interests and other matters covered by House of Commons rules. A recorded interest is a transparency entry, not a finding of misconduct. Check category, value, event date and publication edition before comparing it with other source records.; UK Parliament: financial interests
Royal Assent: The point at which the monarch formally agrees to a Bill that has completed its parliamentary stages, allowing it to become an Act. A bill can still have provisions that come into force on different dates. Royal Assent and practical commencement should be checked separately in the official legislation.; UK Parliament: Royal Assent
Select committee: A cross-party committee that examines a defined subject, often taking evidence and publishing reports and recommendations. Its membership can change over time. A report is a committee publication, not a law or automatic endorsement by every MP who has ever belonged to it.; UK Parliament: committees
Statutory instrument: The most common form of secondary legislation. Its legal power and parliamentary procedure come from an Act of Parliament. The parent Act sets the scope of the delegated power. A Commons vote on an instrument should be read against the exact instrument and procedure applicable to it.; UK Parliament glossary: statutory instruments
Tabled: Formally submitted for parliamentary consideration or publication, such as a question, motion or amendment. It does not necessarily mean debated. The date of tabling and the date an answer or debate is published can differ. Read both before describing when Parliament took action on the subject.; UK Parliament glossary
Teller: A Member appointed to count and report the votes on one side of a division. Parliament records tellers separately from other voters. The official published headcount and named list can differ because tellers are counted separately. Check the source before treating that as an error in an MP’s voting record.; UK Parliament glossary: teller
Written parliamentary question: A question submitted by an MP for a written ministerial answer. Questions and answers are published online. Some questions await an answer or receive a correction later. The tabling date, answer date and current text belong to the same stable question record.; UK Parliament: government scrutiny
All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG): An informal cross-party group of MPs and peers who share an interest in a subject, country or sector. It is not a select committee or an official body of the House. Check the APPG register for its officers, supporters and any financial benefits rather than treating its name as government policy.; UK Parliament glossary
Amendment: A proposed change to the text of a bill or motion. Members may debate and vote on an amendment separately from the main question, so the outcome should be read alongside the exact words proposed. An Aye on an amendment does not necessarily mean support for the entire bill.; UK Parliament glossary
Backbencher: An MP who is not a government minister or a member of the opposition front bench. Backbenchers can question ministers, propose business and serve on committees. The label describes a parliamentary role, not a party position or a measure of how much work the MP does.; UK Parliament glossary
Bill: A proposal for a new law or a change to existing law. A bill needs to pass the required stages in Parliament and receive Royal Assent before it becomes an Act. Its text can change through amendments, so check the version and stage when describing a vote.; UK Parliament glossary
Commons Library briefing: Research prepared by the House of Commons Library to explain a topic for MPs and other readers. It may summarise law, statistics or competing views, but it is not a decision of the House. Check its publication and update dates when using it to explain a current rule.; UK Parliament glossary
Business question: A question or exchange about the scheduling of House of Commons business. Members can use business questions to raise issues and seek time for a debate. An appearance in this part of Hansard is a parliamentary contribution, but it does not by itself create a vote or change the law.; UK Parliament glossary
By-election: An election held to fill a vacant seat between general elections. A by-election can change the MP representing a constituency while the Parliament continues. When comparing records over time, use the membership dates and Parliament IDs to avoid attaching an earlier MP’s activity to a successor.; UK Parliament glossary
Chamber: The room where a House of Parliament meets for its main debates and proceedings. Commons Chamber contributions are only part of what MPs do. Westminster Hall debates, committees, private constituency work and written questions may appear in other records or not in a public parliamentary transcript at all.; UK Parliament glossary
Clerk of the House: The senior official who advises the Commons on procedure and leads the House’s administration. Clerks help record and manage parliamentary business. A clerk’s procedural role is distinct from an elected MP’s political position and from the Government’s decisions about what policies to propose.; UK Parliament glossary
Committee report: A publication setting out a committee’s findings or recommendations after an inquiry or other work. A report is not itself a law or a government decision. Read the evidence and any government response separately, and check the committee’s membership at the time rather than assuming every MP authored each sentence.; UK Parliament glossary
Constituency: A geographical area represented by one MP in the House of Commons. Boundaries and constituency names can change at a general election. A postcode search should use the current boundary data; older speeches and votes remain linked to the MP and constituency in force at the time.; UK Parliament glossary
Debate: A period of parliamentary discussion on a motion, bill or other business. Hansard records speeches and proceedings, sometimes with later corrections. Speaking in a debate is different from voting on a related question. Read the date, chamber, motion and full context before summarising a contribution.; UK Parliament glossary
Deferred division: A Commons vote held at a later set time rather than immediately after a debate in circumstances allowed by the rules. The division date may therefore differ from the debate date. Read the published question and result before joining the two events in a timeline.; UK Parliament glossary
Government department: A part of central government responsible for a policy area or public service. Departments answer parliamentary questions through ministers, but responsibilities can move after machinery-of-government changes. Check the answering body on the question’s official record rather than assuming the current department handled a historical answer.; UK Parliament glossary
Dissolution: The formal end of a Parliament before a general election. MPs cease to hold their seats during dissolution, although they may stand again. Records from one Parliament remain historical evidence; a new election changes the membership and starts a new parliamentary period.; UK Parliament glossary
Early Day Motion: A motion tabled for debate on an unspecified day, often used to draw attention to a subject or show support. Most are not debated. An MP’s signature is a public expression associated with the motion, but it is not a vote or a law.; UK Parliament glossary
Financial interest: An interest or benefit that falls within a category requiring registration or declaration under Commons rules. A register entry improves transparency; it is not a finding that the MP broke a rule. Check the category, value, dates and official explanation before describing it.; UK Parliament glossary
Front bench: Seats and political roles associated with ministers and opposition spokespeople. The term often refers to those speaking for the Government or an opposition party on a subject. It is a role description, not a permanent classification for every contribution an MP makes.; UK Parliament glossary
General election: An election for all House of Commons constituencies, normally choosing a new Parliament’s MPs. The most recent general election took place on 4 July 2024. A website covering that Parliament should say clearly whether its records run from the election or begin later.; UK Parliament glossary
Whip: A party official who helps organise parliamentary business and communicates how a party wants its MPs to vote. ‘The whip’ can also mean a party’s voting instruction. The actual individual vote is established by Parliament’s division list, not by an assumption from party affiliation.; UK Parliament glossary
Hansard correction: A correction to the official report of parliamentary proceedings. A revised text may replace an earlier version while the debate’s date stays the same. An archive should keep stable source identifiers and update the displayed contribution instead of producing two apparently separate speeches.; UK Parliament glossary
House of Commons: The elected House of the UK Parliament, made up of MPs representing constituencies. Its business includes legislation, scrutiny of government and debates. A Commons vote list does not cover votes in the House of Lords, and an MP profile should not silently merge the two.; UK Parliament glossary
House of Lords: The second House of the UK Parliament. Its members scrutinise legislation and government work, but they are not MPs elected to Commons constituencies. Lords speeches or votes should be kept distinct from an MP’s Commons activity when a search covers both Houses.; UK Parliament glossary
Intervention: A brief contribution made while another Member is speaking, subject to the rules of debate. Hansard can attribute an intervention separately from a full speech. Counting transcript rows alone may therefore overstate the number of debates in which a Member took part.; UK Parliament glossary
Division lobby: One of the routes MPs use to vote Aye or No in a Commons division. Clerks record names and tellers count MPs passing through. The procedure is the basis of the published result; a site should preserve the official totals and check any mismatch with the name list.; UK Parliament glossary
Leader of the House: The government minister responsible for arranging Commons business and presenting the Government’s planned timetable to MPs. This office is different from the Speaker’s neutral procedural role. A business statement describes proposed scheduling; dates can change when the House agrees new business.; UK Parliament glossary
Ministerial statement: An announcement by a government minister to Parliament, sometimes followed by questions from MPs. An oral statement appears in the parliamentary record; a written statement is published separately. A statement can explain policy, but it should not be mistaken for a vote or an Act.; UK Parliament glossary
Motion: A proposal put to a House for decision. The exact wording identifies what Members were asked to agree or reject. Some motions concern procedure or time rather than a policy’s merits, so read the motion before interpreting the Aye and No sides of a division.; UK Parliament glossary
Opposition day: A sitting day allocated for business chosen by an opposition party rather than the Government. The House may debate and vote on motions selected for that day. An opposition-day division is a vote on its published question, not a complete record of every MP’s views on a topic.; UK Parliament glossary
Order Paper: The published agenda for a sitting day, listing business scheduled for the House. It can include questions, bills and motions. The agenda may change, and a listed item is not proof that a debate or division actually happened; check the subsequent official proceedings.; UK Parliament glossary
Pairing: An informal arrangement between parties under which MPs on opposite sides are both absent from a vote. The public division list alone may not identify why someone has no vote recorded. Do not infer a pairing for a specific MP without a reliable source.; UK Parliament glossary
Parliamentary question: A formal question put by a Member to a minister or department. Questions may be oral or written and follow different procedures. A written question can receive an answer later, a holding answer or a correction; the official question record supplies the dates and current text.; UK Parliament glossary
Private Member’s Bill: A bill introduced by an MP or peer who is not acting as a government minister. It follows parliamentary stages and does not become law merely by being introduced. The parliamentary timetable can affect its progress, so distinguish presentation, debate, votes and Royal Assent.; UK Parliament glossary
Proxy vote: A vote cast by one MP on another MP’s behalf under the Commons proxy-voting arrangements. Parliament’s division lists identify proxy votes. The represented MP’s recorded position should not be reassigned to the MP casting it; the two people have different roles in the source.; UK Parliament glossary
Prorogation: The formal end of a parliamentary session without dissolving Parliament. Some business may be carried over under the relevant rules, while other business ends. A change of session is not a general election and does not automatically change the MP representing a constituency.; UK Parliament glossary
Public Bill Committee: A committee that examines a particular bill in detail during its Commons passage. Membership and proceedings are separate from a select committee’s ongoing scrutiny of a policy area. A contribution in committee should be read with the bill and stage it concerns.; UK Parliament glossary
Question Time: Scheduled oral questions to ministers in the Commons. MPs can seek answers and ask supplementary questions. A spoken question in Hansard and a written question in the separate database are different record types; a profile should not count the same item twice.; UK Parliament glossary
Recess: A period when the House is not sitting for its usual scheduled business. Parliamentary or constituency work may continue during recess. Fewer Commons divisions or Hansard speeches in such a week do not establish that an MP was inactive or unavailable to constituents.; UK Parliament glossary
Register edition: A dated publication of the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Comparing editions can show new, amended or removed entries, but the publication date is not always the date the underlying event occurred. Check the entry’s own dates and the official version before interpreting a change.; UK Parliament glossary
Report stage: A stage at which a bill is considered again by the whole House after committee scrutiny, with possible amendments. Divisions at report stage can concern individual changes to text rather than the entire bill. Check the question and bill version for each vote.; UK Parliament glossary
Second reading: The stage at which a House debates the broad principles of a bill. A vote at this stage concerns whether the bill should continue through the parliamentary process. It does not settle the final wording, which may be amended and voted on at later stages.; UK Parliament glossary
Secretary of State: A senior government minister heading a department. The office can change hands during a Parliament, and departments can be reorganised. An answer’s named minister and department should be interpreted for the date of the record, not assigned to whoever currently holds the post.; UK Parliament glossary
Select committee chair: The MP or peer who leads a select committee’s meetings and helps organise its scrutiny. The committee itself takes evidence and publishes reports. A chair’s role should be distinguished from a ministerial job and from endorsement of every view expressed by a witness.; UK Parliament glossary
Parliamentary session: A period of parliamentary business within a Parliament, normally marked by a State Opening and a legislative programme. A Parliament can contain more than one session. A session boundary may change business numbering, but it does not by itself begin a new general-election Parliament.; UK Parliament glossary
Speaker of the House of Commons: The MP elected by the Commons to preside over its proceedings and uphold order and rules. The Speaker’s procedural role is separate from government and opposition front benches. A casting vote or ruling should be understood in that role, not treated as an ordinary party instruction.; UK Parliament glossary
Standing Order: A standing rule adopted by a House to govern its proceedings. Standing Orders cover matters such as scheduling and voting procedure. They can be amended, so a guide to a vote should use the version relevant to the date of the division.; UK Parliament glossary
Ten Minute Rule Bill: A route by which an MP seeks leave to introduce a bill after a brief speech, sometimes with a speech against. Winning leave to introduce it does not make it law. Follow subsequent readings and any divisions to see what happened to the proposal.; UK Parliament glossary
Urgent question: A question the Speaker allows an MP to put to a minister at short notice on a matter of public importance. It can bring a minister to the Commons to answer questions. It is a scrutiny procedure, not a recorded vote on a government policy.; UK Parliament glossary
Westminster Hall debate: A debate held in Westminster Hall rather than the Commons Chamber. MPs can raise constituency or wider issues and hear a minister’s response. These debates are part of the official parliamentary record but generally have a different procedure from divisions on the Commons floor.; UK Parliament glossary
Written answer: A ministerial answer published in response to a written parliamentary question. The answer may arrive after the date the question was tabled and can later be corrected. Cite the official question record’s current wording and dates when summarising what the department said.; UK Parliament glossary
Written ministerial statement: A statement published by a minister in writing rather than delivered orally in the Chamber. It informs Parliament of an announcement or policy matter. It is a different source from a written parliamentary question, even though both may be searchable as written records.; UK Parliament glossary
Aye or No teller: An MP appointed to count one side of a Commons division. Tellers have their own labels in the official lists, and their headcount can differ from the number of ordinary names shown. A data importer must preserve that distinction rather than inventing a missing voter.; UK Parliament glossary