📜 Business without Debate

Commons Chamber

🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️

Parliament approved several financial regulations, including amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Act and new Short Selling Regulations. A vote on electricity capacity mechanism changes was deferred. Nadia Whittome raised a point of order after being interrupted by Nigel Farage during a debate on child sexual abuse, emphasizing the need for fact-based discussions on sensitive issues. The Deputy Speaker acknowledged Whittome’s statement but clarified that the Chair does not control the content of MPs’ contributions.

Summary

  • The House approved the draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Ring-fenced Bodies, Core Activities, Excluded Activities and Prohibitions) (Amendment) Order 2024, which focuses on changes to banking regulations.

  • The House also approved the draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Designated Activities) (Supervision and Enforcement) Regulations 2024, aimed at regulating financial services and markets.

  • Approval was given to the draft Short Selling Regulations 2024, which deal with the practice of short selling in financial markets.

  • A decision on the draft Electricity Capacity Mechanism (Amendment) Regulations 2024 was deferred until 15 January 2025. These regulations are related to reforming retained EU law on electricity capacity.

  • The House approved the draft Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, which concern voting and election processes in Northern Ireland.

  • During the session, Labour MP Nadia Whittome raised a point of order regarding a comment made by Nigel Farage during a debate on child sexual abuse. Whittome stated that child sexual abuse occurs across all communities, and challenged Farage’s shout of “Denial!” She sought guidance on ensuring debates are fact-based, especially on sensitive issues. The Deputy Speaker, Caroline Nokes, acknowledged the point but stated it was not a matter for the Chair to intervene in the content of members’ contributions.

Divisiveness

The parliamentary session primarily consists of motions being proposed and agreed to without any dissenting votes or debate, indicating a high level of agreement. Only one point of order was raised by Nadia Whittome, which addressed a specific interjection by another Member during a previous debate. This interjection and the subsequent point of order do not reflect a broader disagreement on the legislative matters at hand but rather a point of contention on a factual statement made in a different context. The lack of substantive debate or opposition to the motions proposed suggests minimal disagreement within the session itself.