Early Day Motions
Early day motions are written proposals through which MPs can express opinions or draw attention to an issue. They are not usually debated.
Early day motions (EDMs) are short proposals that give MPs a chance to express an opinion, publicise a cause or support a position. They can be used to test and gather support on major issues.
It’s rare for EDMs to be debated, but other MPs can show their support for a proposal in an EDM by signing it. They can also submit amendments to EDMs.
EDMs and the names of the MPs who’ve signed them are published online in the EDMs database.
There’s a particular type of EDM (known as a ‘prayer’) that MPs can use to object to a negative statutory instrument (a type of delegated legislation).
The MP’s Guide to Procedure has a short section on EDMs. It gives details of how an MP can submit, support and amend an EDM, and information on how EDMs are published.
Who can table and sign an early day motion?Erskine May, the authoritative guide to parliamentary practice, says that any MP may table an EDM, “although in practice government ministers and parliamentary private secretaries do not do so”.1
In addition, by convention, the Speaker and Deputy Speakers as well as members of the opposition parties’ frontbench teams do not sign EDMs either.2 One exception to this convention is that opposition frontbenchers can table prayers against statutory instruments.
Why are they called early day motions?Erskine May states that EDMs are tabled by MPs “formally for debate ‘on an early day’, that is an unspecified future day”.3
What are the rules on the content of EDMs?EDMs are checked for conformity with the rules of the House (which are the same for all motions, whether for a specified day or not) by parliamentary staff in the Table Office, but the final decision on whether a motion is in order rests with the Speaker.
The main rules for EDMs are set out in the MPs’ Guide to Procedure:
An EDM must:
- be no longer than 250 words
- be expressed in a single sentence, beginning “That this House…”, using a semi-colon to separate each clause and using "and" to start the last clause
- have a short, descriptive, neutral title
An EDM must not:
- criticise other MPs, peers, judges or members of the royal family, unless this is the main subject of the motion (if it is, the title should be “Conduct of …”)
- refer to matters currently before the UK courts
- contain irony, or insulting or abusive language
- constitute an advertisement for a business
- be part of an advertising campaign in the form of multiple EDMs with minor variations on a single subject
An EDM can be submitted by a single MP. It’s not necessary to collect any more signatures although you may want to do this to show that other MPs support it.
EDMs don’t need to be about things ministers are responsible for. They can be used to highlight almost any issue.
Are EDMs debated?Because EDMs are tabled for an unspecified future day, they are not usually debated. Occasionally, the topic referred to in an EDM is debated. If the exact words of the EDM are used in a motion for a debate, the EDM is withdrawn and no more MPs can sign it.
Sometimes, the government will provide time to debate statutory instruments that have been prayed against. However, these debates usually take place in a delegated legislation committee that cannot prevent a statutory instrument having effect, as a vote on whether to annul a negative statutory instrument takes place in the Chamber.
EDMs virtually never have any direct consequence. However, public interest in EDMs, which is well known to MPs, perhaps in itself demonstrates their purpose. Even if an EDM does not attract wide national press coverage, it may well receive attention locally or regionally.
If an EDM is referred to at Business Questions, the full text of the EDM is printed in Hansard.
What can EDMs be used for?In a 2013 report on early day motions, the Commons Procedure Committee said that most EDMs fall into one or more of the following categories:
- expressing opinions on issues of general public interest, often to assess the degree of support among MPs
- continuing the political debate (for example, criticism of government or opposition policy)
- giving prominence to a campaign or the work of some pressure group outside the House
- highlighting local issues (such as the success of a local football team, the achievements of constituents, the need for a bypass, and so on)
EDMs are also used for narrower purposes:
- for ‘prayers’ against statutory instruments (see below)
- to criticise individuals
- to set out detailed allegations against a company, other body or individual under the protection of parliamentary privilege
‘Prayers’ against negative statutory instruments are so called because they “pray” that statutory instruments are annulled. For example, Early Day Motion 257, tabled on 2 June 2026, states:
That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, praying that the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Decisions and Appeals) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI, 2026, No. 457), dated 27 April 2026, a copy of which was laid before this House on 27 April, in the last session of Parliament, be annulled.
Further informationThe MPs’ Guide to Procedure is a collection of “step by step practical guides” to House of Commons procedures and processes for MPs. It has a section on early day motions that provides information for MPs on how to submit, support and amend an EDM; on how EDMs are published; and on EDMs and delegated legislation.
The Early Day Motions database is available online: EDM data goes back to the 1989-90 session of Parliament.
Footnotes