MPs 'could vote digitally by 2020' as Westminster undergoes £7.1bn revamp

Digital voting or establishing a fixed voting time could become a feature if MPs and peers are forced to vacate the Palace

Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster are advertised by the Queen Elizabeth ll Conference Centre as being ‘within walking distance’ (Getty)

MPs and peers could start voting digitally by 2020 under plans being examined by the committee working on the £7.1bn revamp of the Palace of Westminster.

It is understood that digital voting or fixing a set time for attending priority three-line whip votes could become a feature of Parliament if MPs and peers are forced to move out when restoration work starts. Construction firms and engineers are set to enter the palace in the second three months of 2020.

At present, MPs have only eight minutes to reach the division lobby when a vote is called. If they have to move out during the restoration work, which will take at least six years, committee members believe it would take far longer to reach the temporary chamber.

Even the most obvious relocation option – the nearby Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre – involves crossing busy roads, crowded with tourists, from the politicians’ offices. It is believed that a list of alternative temporary venues is being compiled, but the QEII centre was taken off a government asset sale list during the coalition years in case it was needed during the eventual revamp.

A source close to the committee said that having a fixed time to vote was more likely than a digital vote. However, others are hoping that pushing through digital voting as a temporary measure could become permanent when the palace is fully renovated.

One source said: “People are coming to the committee and bringing proposals on making everything more efficient, asking whether we have to keep doing things the same way. These [digital and fixed-time voting] are two of the things that have been mentioned. A new venue wouldn’t have to do things in a like-for-like way.”

MPs contacted by The Independent on Sunday were divided on the options. Angela Rayner, a Labour whip, argued: “We should have digital voting in trade union ballots and I can’t see why it wouldn’t work for MPs – the Tories choose their London mayoral candidate that way.

“It would be easier for those of us with kids or caring responsibilities and, more importantly, people would get more time in the constituency.”

Stephen Phillips, a prominent Tory backbencher, said he didn’t agree with digital voting because going to the division in person meant he had an opportunity to discuss ideas or issues with ministers. But he thought a fixed voting time was a good idea, as it would stop MPs “spending loads of time hanging around with nothing to do” while they waited for a vote.

A report this summer outlined the options, from working around politicians for 32 years to moving them out of the palace for six. The palace is riddled with asbestos, none of its 3,000 windows shuts properly, and it is infested with moths and rodents.