Opposition day debates in the House of Commons since 1992

Opposition days are days allocated in the House of Commons for debates on subjects chosen by the opposition (non-government) parties.

Under Commons Standing Order No.14, 20 days in each session are made available to the opposition, of which:

• 17 days are allocated to the leader of the Official Opposition
• three days are allocated to the leader of the second largest opposition party, who shares the time with smaller parties

If a session lasts longer than a year, the whips may agree to further Opposition days. The Government may also provide further ‘unallotted’ Opposition days, even in a year-long session. Some of these might be used for the smaller parties. On full Opposition days, the Opposition may decide to use the time available for a single debate, or for two debates on different subjects. When there are two subjects, the time is roughly split in half. In this case, the two subjects may be debated on the same day, or on different days.

Opposition day debates are announced by the Leader of the House in the weekly business statement on Thursdays. Once decided by the opposition party, the subject of the debate and text of the motion is published in the Future Business section of the Order Paper. Often the motion is not tabled until the day before the debate which means it is not available until the day of the debate, when it appears in the Order Paper.

What happens on an Opposition Day?

At the beginning of an Opposition Day, an Opposition frontbencher speaks first, and begins by moving the motion, saying “I beg to move the motion standing in my name on the Order Paper.”

If the Government has not tabled an amendment to the Opposition’s motion, the Speaker proposes the question and the House proceeds to debate the motion. A minister will usually make the next speech.

If the Government has tabled an amendment to the Opposition’s motion, and the Speaker has selected it (the Speaker will tell the House whether that is so at the beginning of the debate), a minister makes the next speech, and opens by saying, “I beg to move the amendment in my name on the Order Paper”.

After the minister’s speech, the Speaker proposes the question. In most debates in which the House is considering amendments, the question would be “That the amendment be made”, but on allotted Opposition days, it is “That the original words stand part of the question”. This allows the House to discuss and vote on the Opposition’s motion as well as the Government’s amendment. Otherwise, the Government’s amendment would be decided first, and if it was agreed, that would prevent the Opposition voting on their own motion.

The same rule does not automatically apply to unallotted Opposition days but may be applied by means of a Business of the House motion. It also does not apply when a Government amendment only either adds to or deletes part of the Opposition motion but does not do both. A spokesperson from the third largest party (or the official Opposition if the debate is being held by the third largest party) is likely to be called next. Then the Speaker will call backbenchers to make their speeches.

At the end of the debate, there are usually final speeches by a second frontbencher from the Opposition and a minister. If the debate finishes before its scheduled end time, the Speaker will put the question. If the Government has tabled an amendment, there are two questions to be decided. The first to be put is “That the original words stand part of the question”. This means that the motion the Opposition moved is put for a decision. This can be done with or without a vote. If the question is agreed, then the House moves on to the next item on the Order Paper. If it’s not agreed, then the second question will be put by the Speaker – this time “That the proposed words be there added”. This one asks the House to decide on the Government’s amendment to the Opposition’s original wording. Again, it can be decided with or without a vote.

If the debate is continuing at its scheduled end time, the Speaker does not put the question, and the debate is adjourned, without a decision or a vote. To avoid this, the Opposition may, if there’s only a minute or so to go, move a closure motion – in other words, a motion that the debate ends there and then. If the Speaker accepts a closure motion, and the House agrees it, the House proceeds immediately to a decision on the Opposition’s motion and any Government amendment.

Amendments

Many opposition motions criticise Government policies and decisions and the Government often tables an amendment to remove most of the text, replacing it with text commending the Government instead. Government amendments are usually carried under majority governments.

The Government does not table an amendment to every motion, sometimes it simply votes against the motion. Not all motions are critical of the Government, in such cases opposition motions have been agreed without a vote. Amendments can be tabled by other opposition parties.

The Speaker selects which amendment, if any, is taken. Usually only one amendment is selected, however, in a break from convention the Speaker selected two amendments – a government amendment and an amendment tabled by the Official Opposition – to an Opposition motion by the Scottish National Party in January 2024. Following the decision, the Speaker made a statement to the House outlining his selection process for the amendments.

Humble address

The Opposition sometimes table a motion in the form of a humble address on Opposition days. A humble address is a message to the King. It’s used, among other things, to call for papers from departments headed by a Secretary of State. It can be debated, amended, and voted on like any other motion. Humble addresses, if agreed, are understood to be binding on the House.

Government responses

The Government may choose to make a statement in response to an Opposition day debate. Written statements made in response to Opposition day debates are available on the Written statements website.

The downloadable Excel file lists dates of debates, parties choosing the subject, and the outcome of each debate. Source details are available in the Excel file. 

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