Unbridled passions? Free votes, issues of conscience and the accountability of British members of parliament

Certain issues in British politics are known as issues of ‘conscience’. It is usual for such issues to be dealt with by a free vote in the House of Commons. Such votes used to occur mainly on private members’ bills, although it is now more common for the Commons to resolve issues of conscience by using legislation brought forward by the government (with private members’ bills being used either in the earlier stages of campaigning or to enact uncontentious pieces of legislation). Because of this change in the way in which conscience legislation is processed, three former criticisms of parliament's treatment of conscience issues are no longer valid: turnout is now high; the clauses or bills are at least as well drafted as most government measures; and it is far from easy to enact such change. The system does, however, raise issues of political accountability, because it allows controversial legislation to be enacted for which in practice no one takes responsibility. The claim that this is because these issues are ‘above party’ is considered and rejected: conscience issues remain, for the most part, party issues.