page_title: Division of the assembly
section_title: House of Lords
hierarchical_section_title: Division of the assembly / United Kingdom / House of Lords
caption_attribution_description: English: Passing of the Parliament Bill in the House of Lords, 1911.
context_page_description: In parliamentary procedure, a division of the assembly, division of the house, or simply division is a method of taking a vote that physically counts members voting.
  Historically, and often still today, members are literally divided into physically separate groups. This was the method used in the Roman Senate, and occasionally in Athenian democracy. Westminster system parliament chambers have separate division lobbies for the "Ayes" and "Noes" to facilitate physical division. In several assemblies, a division bell is rung throughout the building when a division is happening, in order to alert members not present in the chamber. In the United Kingdom, division bells are also present in a number of bars and restaurants near the Palace of Westminster in order to call members to vote who may be outside the building.
context_section_description: In the House of Lords, the Lord Speaker proposes the question and announces the result as in the Commons, but substitutes "Content" for "Aye" and "Not-content" for "No". A Lord may object to the Lord Speaker's determination. The Lord Speaker then announces a division by stating, "Clear the Bar!" The Bar of the House is then cleared. Tellers are appointed as in the Commons.
  Three minutes after the question was first proposed, the Lord Speaker again proposes the question as above. If his opinion is not challenged, then the question is decided without a division. But if his decision is once again disputed, the Lord Speaker may again ask the question. The question may be repeated as many times as the Lord Speaker pleases; the process is referred to as "collecting the voices". But if a single Lord maintains an objection, the Lord Speaker, not having the Commons Speaker's power to declare a division unnecessary, must eventually announce, "The Contents to the right by the Throne, the Not-contents to the left by the Bar". Lords then vote in the lobbies, as it is done in the Commons. Unlike the Speaker, the Lord Speaker may vote during a division; he does so from his seat rather than in a lobby. In the event that the votes are equal, then the following principles apply, but are implemented by the Standing Orders of the House rather than by convention:
  Legislation remains unchanged unless there is a majority in favour of amendment,
  Legislation is allowed to proceed to the next stage unless there is a majority in favour of rejection, and
  All other motions are rejected unless there is a majority in favour of passage.
  The quorum for divisions is three Lords on a procedural vote and thirty Lords on a substantive one.
caption: An important vote: the House of Lords voting for the Parliament Act 1911. From the Drawing by S. Begg
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