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 |
| 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% |
| Independent | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66.67% | 100.00% |
Voting list
| Person | Party | Vote | Party alignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annabelle Ewing | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Sharon Dowey | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Graeme Dey | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Neil Gray | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Stephen Kerr | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Claire Baker | Labour | 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% |
| Emma Roddick | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Evelyn Tweed | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Jeremy Balfour | Independent | Aye | n/a |
| Jamie Hepburn | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Lorna Slater | Green | No | 100.00% |
| Kaukab Stewart | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Karen Adam | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| James Dornan | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Jim Fairlie | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Paul Sweeney | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Paul McLennan | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Maggie Chapman | Green | No | 100.00% |
| Rhoda Grant | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Siobhian Brown | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Jenni Minto | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| David Torrance | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Craig Hoy | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Elizabeth Smith | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Audrey Nicoll | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Richard Lochhead | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Shona Robison | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Maree Todd | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Michael Matheson | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Edward Mountain | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Neil Bibby | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Murdo Fraser | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Tess White | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| 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% |
| Màiri McAllan | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Kenneth Gibson | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Humza Yousaf | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| 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% |
| Ben Macpherson | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Kate Forbes | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Liam McArthur | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Mark Ruskell | Green | No | 100.00% |
| Anas Sarwar | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Pam Duncan-Glancy | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Mark Griffin | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Angus Robertson | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| John Mason | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Annie Wells | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Alex Cole-Hamilton | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Russell Findlay | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Gillian Mackay | Green | Absent | n/a |
| Sandesh Gulhane | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Ross Greer | Green | Absent | n/a |
| Jackie Baillie | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Sue Webber | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Miles Briggs | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Jackie Dunbar | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Jamie Greene | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Ruth Maguire | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Paul O'Kane | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Alexander Stewart | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Michelle Thomson | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Daniel Johnson | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Fergus Ewing | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Ash Denham | Scottish National Party | Aye | 1.72% |
| Emma Harper | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Monica Lennon | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Maurice Golden | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Rona Mackay | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Kevin Stewart | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Pauline McNeill | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Rachael Hamilton | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| 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% |
| Meghan Gallacher | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| John Swinney | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Colin Smyth | Independent | Absent | n/a |
| Alison Johnstone | Green | Absent | n/a |
| Colin Beattie | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Douglas Lumsden | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| 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% |
| Joe FitzPatrick | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Keith Brown | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Tom Arthur | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Carol Mochan | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Davy Russell | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Stuart McMillan | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Martin Whitfield | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| Alexander Burnett | Conservative | Aye | 100.00% |
| Ariane Burgess | Green | No | 100.00% |
| Sarah Boyack | Labour | Aye | 100.00% |
| 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% |
| 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% |
| Alasdair Allan | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Jenny Gilruth | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Nicola Sturgeon | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Foysol Choudhury | Independent | Aye | n/a |
| Gordon MacDonald | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| Collette Stevenson | Scottish National Party | No | 98.28% |
| George Adam | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Michael Marra | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Graham Simpson | Reform UK | Absent | n/a |