This Week in Westminster — w/c 3 August 2026

Parliament’s week, summarised from the open data it publishes.

In the division lobbies

The Commons recorded 12 divisions in the period covered. The closest was Draft Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026, decided by 283 to 182. The most one-sided was National Security (State Threats) Bill: motion to agree to Lords Amendment 1 (394 to 85).

See the latest Commons votes in full, and our guide to how MPs vote.

Legislation advancing

Several bills advanced through the stages set out in our guide to how a bill becomes law:

• Commercial Payments Bill [HL] — Report stage.
• Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Act 2026 — Royal Assent.
• Armed Forces Bill — Committee stage.
• Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL] — Report stage.

See all bills currently before Parliament.

On the petitions site

11 petitions have passed the 100,000 mark that triggers consideration for a debate. The most-signed open petitions were:

• Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership — 242,345 signatures.
• Do not ban social media for under 16s — 217,382 signatures.
• Ban anyone convicted of terrorism offences from standing for public office — 204,735 signatures.
• Make all court and tribunal transcripts available free of charge — 204,114 signatures.
• Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership — 163,342 signatures.

See the petitions gaining traction and how petitions work.

None of this is the whole of Parliament’s work, but it captures the shape of a normal sitting week.

Source: UK Parliament open data (Commons Votes, Bills and Petitions services), used under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0. Figures reflect the public record at the time of the last site update.