MPs overturn ban on Twitter use in House of Commons
14 October 2011
by Luke Thomas
MPs have voted against a motion to prohibit the use of Twitter within the House of Commons. The amendment, which was proposed in January, was put to the test on Thursday and rejected by 206 votes to 63.
Various arguments were put forth on the topic, with some feeling that it would bring the Commons into “disrepute” and make it harder for MPs to concentrate on debates, while others claimed that it allows them to keep in touch and up-to-date and that to enact a ban on it would be “an inexplicable step back in time”.
Devizes’ MP, Claire Perry, said in opposition to the motion that “tweeting helps MPs to stay informed, in touch and accountable to their constituents”.
And Angela Smith, the shadow deputy Commons minister, claimed that not embracing the widespread use of Twitter would be to “deny reality and to deny the dynamic relationship that now exists between Parliament and the world outside”.
But the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, Simon Hughes, supported the ban, saying that “the administration of our lives should happen outside here, not in here.
“It looks pretty bad if people spend their time in a debate looking at papers that aren't anything to do with it,” stated Hughes. “I think it looks even less connected with the debate if people spend all their time playing around with bits of electronic machinery. If we're here we should be taking part in the debate.”
Had the motion passed, MPs would have only been allowed to “receive and send urgent messages” when sitting in the Commons. Instead, MPs voted to allow themselves the right to use handheld electronic devices “provided that they are silent, and used in a way that does not impair decorum”.
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