Naming (parliamentary procedure)

Naming is a procedure in the British House of Commons, Canadian House of Commons, Australian House of Representatives, and the New Zealand Parliament, whereby the Speaker or one of his or her deputies proposes a vote on the suspension of a member of the House if the Speaker believes that the member has broken the rules of conduct of the House. Usually this is only done if the member has already been ordered to leave the House (which automatically leads to suspension for the remainder of that day) and refused to do so, or has committed a serious breach of conduct, and carries a suspension of up to five days and the loss of the Member's salary during that period.

Contents

• House of Commons United Kingdom
• House of Representatives Australia
• References

In the British House of Commons, the procedure to name Members is under Standing Order 44. Members can be suspended for the remainder of the day under Standing Order 43 (previously numbered as Standing Order 42).

The Speaker or Deputy Speaker declares "I name", followed by the name of the member; and invites the leader or deputy leader of the house to move the motion that the member be removed and then puts the question:

A division is not normally required since MPs will usually back the speaker's judgement. However, when John McDonnell was named by deputy speaker Alan Haselhurst on 15 January 2009 for the disturbing the mace, a division was called because George Galloway and other members declared themselves with the Noes. A vote on the suspension was not held as the government refused to provide tellers.

In the Australian House of Representatives, the procedure to name members is under Standing Order 94b. Members can be removed from the house for an hour under Standing Order 94a. The difference between these two Standing Orders is that if a member is removed under Standing Order 94a the removal is not open to a division. If a member is named under Standing Order 94b the removal is open to a vote. If a member is named, the Speaker declares, "I name", followed by the Electoral Division of the member, and then the Leader of the House moves the question:

If the vote passes by a simple majority then the member is required to leave the house for 24 hours.

The procedure has also been used once in the Massachusetts Senate. On October 27, 1981, Senate President William M. Bulger named Senator Alan Sisitsky after Sisitsky continuously disrupted the Senate proceedings. Sisitsky was then removed from the Senate Chamber by a court officer. The matter was referred to the Senate Ethics Committee, which recommended that Sisitsky be suspended indefinitely until he issued a formal apology to the Senate.