Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

Well, I'll try and direct my eyes more broadly when I'm saying this, then. There's so much I could say. You're reflecting on the chair. Members are reflecting on the chair when they are calling into doubt or question any considerations that I'm making, so I'd ask members to be mindful of that, please. Now, returning to standing order 128, it says:

Members calling for a division must not leave the area of Members' seats and they must vote with those Members who, in the Speaker's opinion, were in the minority when the Members called 'Aye' or 'No'.

The simple fact of the matter is that I, as the Speaker, am not in the chair all the time. As we know, we have deputy chairs and deputy speakers and Speaker's panel members. I couldn't possibly know who called for the division. In any event, we've wasted enough of colleagues' time. There is no-one voting for the ayes. Under standing order 126, if only one member calls for a division, the division does not proceed. Clearly, this division does not proceed when there is no-one on the ayes.

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