Petition · past parliament
No secret ballot or abstentions for Brexit vote. All MPs must cast a vote.
Rejected
17 signatures
What the petition asks
In the light of the High Court decision requiring parliament to debate and vote on triggering article 50, and certain MPs open admission that they do not support the democratic will of the British people we request an open mandatory vote with no abstentions to let the people judge their MPS conduct
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
We're not sure what action you would like the House of Commons to take.
The only time that secret ballots are used in the House of Commons is for the election of certain office holders, such as the Speaker. The results of all other votes are published. You can find the results of any vote, including the names of MPs who took part and how they voted, in Hansard: https://hansard.parliament.uk/
There is also a new app which will show how MPs have voted:
https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2016/november/mobile-app-for-vote-results-launched/
At the moment, it is up to individual MPs to decide whether or not to take part in a vote. You could start a new petition calling on the House of Commons to change its rules, to require MPs to take part in certain votes.
The only time that secret ballots are used in the House of Commons is for the election of certain office holders, such as the Speaker. The results of all other votes are published. You can find the results of any vote, including the names of MPs who took part and how they voted, in Hansard: https://hansard.parliament.uk/
There is also a new app which will show how MPs have voted:
https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2016/november/mobile-app-for-vote-results-launched/
At the moment, it is up to individual MPs to decide whether or not to take part in a vote. You could start a new petition calling on the House of Commons to change its rules, to require MPs to take part in certain votes.
Timeline
| 3 Nov 2016 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 9 Nov 2016 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
17
Status
Rejected
Rejected
9 Nov 2016
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.