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free vote

British

noun

a parliamentary division in which members are not constrained by a party whip

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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free vote

Parliamentarians have been given a free vote on the bill, meaning they are not "whipped" by their party to vote one way or the other.

From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026

MPs were given a free vote on Friday.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2025

As is usual for matters of conscience, MPs will get a free vote, meaning that they do not have to follow any particular party line.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2025

MPs are set to get a free vote next week - meaning they will not be told how to vote by their party - on a change to the law.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2025

We want protection to American citizens and protection to American laborers, a free vote and a fair count, an assertion of all the powers of the government in doing what is right.

From Recollections of Forty Years in the House, Senate and Cabinet An Autobiography. by Sherman, John

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023