Scottish Parliament – Oct. 1, 2025 – 2
Mobile Phones in Schools (Amendment 1)
Result
❌ Motion failed.
Aye: 49 MSPs
No: 62 MSPs
Absent: 18 MSPs
Parliamentary analysis
Strong conflict: Opposition proposesThis vote is most similar to a group of votes where the opposition has proposed a motion and the government is strongly opposing it (few defections, high turnout).
This usually suggests an important point of principle, or that it would have substantive effects if passed.
Motion
Motion type: Amendment(?)
S6M-19123.1: As an amendment to motion S6M-19123 in the name of Pam Duncan-Glancy (Mobile Phones in Schools), leave out from “banned” to end and insert "subject to a clear national ban in classrooms, recognising the strong evidence of how distracting they are and how disruptive they can be to pupils’ ability to learn and teachers’ ability to teach;
acknowledges that while headteachers and local authorities have some powers to restrict the use of mobile phones, existing Scottish guidance is weak, and calls, therefore, on the Scottish Government to update its guidance with clear national direction on what is expected."
Original motion(S6M-19123): That the Parliament agrees that mobile phones should be banned for learners in school classrooms.
Annotations
No annotations for this decision.
Whip reports
No whip reports for this decision.
Overall counts
| Grouping | MSPs on date | Vote participant count | For motion | Against motion | Absent motion | Turnout | For motion percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All MSPs | 129 | 111 | 49 | 62 | 18 | 86.05% | 44.14% |
Government counts
| Grouping | MSPs on date | Vote participant count | For motion | Against motion | Absent motion | Turnout | For motion percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government | 63 | 58 | 1 | 57 | 5 | 92.06% | 1.72% |
| Opposition | 66 | 53 | 48 | 5 | 13 | 80.30% | 90.57% |
Party voting counts
| Grouping | MSPs on date | Vote participant count | For motion | Against motion | Absent motion | Party turnout | For motion percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform UK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00% | n/a |
| Independent | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66.67% | 100.00% |
| Conservative | 28 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 5 | 82.14% | 100.00% |
| Green | 8 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 62.50% | 0.00% |
| Scottish National Party | 63 | 58 | 1 | 57 | 5 | 92.06% | 1.72% |
| Labour | 21 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 85.71% | 100.00% |
| Liberal Democrat | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Voting list
| Person | Party | Vote | Party alignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annabelle Ewing | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Sharon Dowey | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Màiri McAllan | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Neil Gray | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Graeme Dey | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Kenneth Gibson | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Humza Yousaf | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Claire Baker | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Bob Doris | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Richard Leonard | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Liam Kerr | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Gillian Martin | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Beatrice Wishart | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Emma Roddick | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Evelyn Tweed | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Kate Forbes | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Lorna Slater | Green | No | 100.00% |
| Karen Adam | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Liam McArthur | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Maggie Chapman | Green | No | 100.00% |
| Rhoda Grant | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Audrey Nicoll | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| John Mason | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Annie Wells | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Siobhian Brown | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Jenni Minto | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Craig Hoy | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Murdo Fraser | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Tess White | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Russell Findlay | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Neil Bibby | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Gillian Mackay | Green | Absent | n/a |
| Sandesh Gulhane | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Ross Greer | Green | Absent | n/a |
| Jackie Baillie | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Clare Haughey | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Willie Coffey | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Christine Grahame | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Roz McCall | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Stephen Kerr | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Oliver Mundell | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Douglas Ross | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Fulton MacGregor | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Stephanie Callaghan | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Kaukab Stewart | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| James Dornan | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Jim Fairlie | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Ben Macpherson | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Jeremy Balfour | Independent | Aye | n/a |
| Jamie Hepburn | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Angus Robertson | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Pam Duncan-Glancy | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Mark Griffin | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Paul Sweeney | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Paul McLennan | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Mark Ruskell | Green | No | 100.00% |
| Anas Sarwar | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Elizabeth Smith | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Richard Lochhead | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Shona Robison | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| David Torrance | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Michael Matheson | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Edward Mountain | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Alex Cole-Hamilton | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Maree Todd | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Sue Webber | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Miles Briggs | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Paul O'Kane | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Michelle Thomson | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Jackie Dunbar | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Colin Beattie | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Brian Whittle | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Finlay Carson | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Fiona Hyslop | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Natalie Don | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Mercedes Villalba | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Daniel Johnson | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Fergus Ewing | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Monica Lennon | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Carol Mochan | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Davy Russell | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Alexander Burnett | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Ariane Burgess | Green | No | 100.00% |
| Sarah Boyack | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Ash Denham | Scottish National Party | Aye | 1.72% |
| Jackson Carlaw | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Angela Constance | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Clare Adamson | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Bill Kidd | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Elena Whitham | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Rachael Hamilton | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Nicola Sturgeon | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Baroness Clark | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Marie McNair | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Ivan McKee | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Shirley-Anne Somerville | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| George Adam | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Michael Marra | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Colin Smyth | Independent | Absent | n/a |
| Alison Johnstone | Green | Absent | n/a |
| Alexander Stewart | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jamie Greene | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Ruth Maguire | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Douglas Lumsden | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Joe FitzPatrick | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Keith Brown | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Tom Arthur | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Emma Harper | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Maurice Golden | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Martin Whitfield | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Stuart McMillan | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Willie Rennie | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jamie Halcro Johnston | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Mairi Gougeon | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Pam Gosal | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Tim Eagle | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Patrick Harvie | Green | No | 100.00% |
| Alex Rowley | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Rona Mackay | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Kevin Stewart | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Alasdair Allan | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Jenny Gilruth | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Meghan Gallacher | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| John Swinney | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Pauline McNeill | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Foysol Choudhury | Independent | Aye | n/a |
| Gordon MacDonald | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Collette Stevenson | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Graham Simpson | Reform UK | Absent | n/a |