Debate on NATO
3 July 2013
On Thursday 4 July, MPs took part in a debate in the House of Commons on the subject of NATO. The Backbench Business Committee scheduled this debate following representations from Hugh Bayley and Jason McCartney.
Watch the debate and read a transcript
The debate on NATO was opened by Hugh Bayley.
Watch the debate on Parliament TV and read the views expressed by MPs in Commons Hansard.
How the subject was selected
The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee following representations from Hugh Bayley and Jason McCartney at the Committee’s public meeting on 23 April 2013.
Backbench Business Committee
The Backbench Business Committee meets weekly on Tuesdays at 3pm to consider requests for debates from any backbench Members of Parliament on any subject, including those raised in e-petitions or national campaigns.
An MP must make a representation before the Committee for an e-petition or petition to be debated; e-petitions exceeding the Government's 100,000 signature threshold are not automatically allocated backbench time.
The Committee then has to decide how to allocate the limited Parliamentary time it has at its disposal. The Committee's meetings are always conducted in public and can be watched on Parliament TV.