Motion and Vote
After Churchill's speech the House divided. The motion was "That this House do now adjourn" and constituted a vote of confidence.
| Yes votes | 281 |
|---|---|
| No votes | 200 |
The Government's notional majority was 213 but 39 Government supporters voted with the Opposition, and some others abstained. The Government still won the vote by 281 to 200, but the catastrophic fall in the Government's majority put great pressure on it. A Labour MP Josiah Wedgwood led the singing of Rule Britannia, joined by Conservative rebel Harold Macmillan of the Noes; this gave way to cries of 'Go!' as Chamberlain left the Chamber.
Read more about this topic: Norway Debate, May 8
Famous quotes containing the words motion and/or vote:
“till disproportion’d sin
Jarr’d against natures chime, and with harsh din
Broke the fair musick that all creatures made
To their great Lord, whose love their motion sway’d
In perfect Diapason, whilst they stood
In first obedience, and their state of good.”
—John Milton (1608–1674)
“The freeman, casting with unpurchased hand
The vote that shakes the turrets of the land.”
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894)