Political Lobbying Is Named After a Physical Room
A lobby is an entrance hall. Political lobbying is named after the halls where people waited to speak to legislators.
A lobby is an entrance hall, and also a group seeking to influence legislators. The political sense comes from the room: in the British Parliament, the *lobbies* are the halls where members pass and where outsiders could catch them to press a case. The persistent story that the word comes from the Willard Hotel lobby in Washington is a later invention — the parliamentary use predates it. In the Commons, members still vote by walking through division lobbies.
- An entrance hall. *The hotel lobby.'*
- A pressure group. *The farming lobby.*
- To seek to influence. *Lobby your MP.*
- Division lobby — where MPs vote. *The division lobbies.*
- Lobbyist — one who lobbies. *A lobbyist.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | lobby | The main lobby. |
| Plural | lobbies | Two lobbies. |
| Verb | lobby | Lobby for change. |
| Agent | lobbyist | A lobbyist. |
| Latin | lobia | A covered walk. |
- Wait for me in the lobby.Building.
- The industry lobbied hard against it.Politics.
- MPs vote by walking through the lobbies.Procedure.
How a Commons vote works
- A division is called when the voices are unclear
- Members walk through the Aye or No lobby
- Tellers count them as they pass
- Eight minutes are allowed before the doors are locked
- The lobbies gave the political word its name
Medieval Latin *lobia*, a covered walk or portico, from a Germanic word related to *lodge*. The political sense dates from the 1600s.
Did lobbying start at the Willard Hotel?
No. That story is later folklore. The word comes from the lobbies of the British Parliament and predates the hotel.
What is a division lobby?
One of the two corridors in the House of Commons through which members walk to record a vote.