Comparison of Divisions: Iraq — Select committee inquiry — rejected — 31 Oct 2006 at 18:53 with Division No. 104 on 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49
(Swap the two divisions around).
The majority of MPs voted against a further inquiry into the war in Iraq.
Those voting Aye put a new motion before the house to replace the one that was rejected in Division 330, The new motion said:
-
This House, recognising that there have already been four separate independent committees of inquiry into military action in Iraq and recognising the importance of learning all possible lessons from military action in Iraq and its aftermath, declines at this time, whilst the whole effort of the Government and the armed forces is directed towards improving the condition of Iraq, to make a proposal for a further inquiry which would divert attention from this vital task.
This motion then passed without a further vote.
Of the "four separate independent" inquiries, three of them, The Foreign Affairs Committee - The Decision to go to war in Iraq of July 2003, Intelligence and Security Committee - Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction Intelligence and Assessments of September 2003, and The Hutton Inquiry of January 2004 were held before it was established that Iraq lacked usable weapons of mass destruction and either avoided the question, or concluded that it was too early to tell. The fourth, The Butler Review of July 2004, did not have the support of the opposition parties who considered that its terms of reference were too narrow.
The majority of MPs voted in favour of the motion:[1]
-
This House
-
regrets the Government's recent statement[2] outlining the eligibility criteria for Gurkhas to reside in the United Kingdom;
-
recognises the contribution the Gurkhas have made to the safety and freedom of the United Kingdom for the past 200 years;
-
notes that more Gurkhas have laid down their lives for the United Kingdom than are estimated to want to live here;
-
believes that Gurkhas who retired before 1997 should be treated fairly and in the same way as those who have retired since;
-
is concerned that the Government's new guidelines will permit only a small minority of Gurkhas and their families to settle whilst preventing the vast majority;
-
further believes that people who are prepared to fight and die for the United Kingdom should be entitled to live in the country; and
-
calls upon the Government to withdraw its new guidelines immediately and bring forward revised proposals that extend an equal right of residence to all Gurkhas.
As a consequence, the alternative Government motion, which read:[3]
-
This House
-
recognises that this Government is the only one since the Second World War to allow Gurkhas and their families settlement rights to the United Kingdom;
-
notes that in 2004 the Government permitted settlement rights to Gurkhas discharged since 1997, following the transfer of the Brigade HQ from Hong Kong to the United Kingdom;
-
further notes that under these rules around 6,000 Gurkhas and family members have been welcomed to the UK;
-
acknowledges that the court judgement of September 2008 determined that the 1997 cut-off date was fair and rational, while seeking clarification of the criteria for settlement rights for those who retired before 1997;
-
further notes that on 24 April the Government published new and more generous guidelines for the settlement applications of Gurkhas who retired before 1997;
-
supports this revised guidance, which will make around 10,000 Gurkhas and family members eligible to settle in the UK;
-
further notes that the Government undertakes actively to inform those who may be eligible in Nepal of these changes and to review the impact of the new guidance within 12 months;
-
further notes that the contribution Gurkhas have made is already recognised by pensions paid to around 25,000 Gurkhas or their widows in Nepal that allow for a good standard of living there; and
-
further notes that in the year 2000 Gurkha pensions were doubled and that, earlier in April 2009, in addition to an inflationary uplift of 14 per cent., those over 80 years old received a 20 per cent. increase in their pension.
... was never voted upon.
Although this extremely rare Government defeat in an opposition day motion is not binding (has no legal force)[4] a Government minister made a statement later in the day to bring "forward the date for the determination of the outstanding applications to the end of May."[5]
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MPs for which their vote on Motion (a) differed from their inverted vote on Motion (b).
You can also see just opposite votes
between these two divisions,
or simply all the votes.
Sort by: Name | Constituency | Party | Vote (a) | Vote (b)
Name | Constituency | Party | Vote (a) | Vote (b) |
Hywel Francis | Aberavon | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Reid | Airdrie and Shotts | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Geoff Hoon | Ashfield | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Sandra Osborne | Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Alex Salmond | Banff and Buchan | SNP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Margaret Hodge | Barking | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Eric Illsley | Barnsley Central | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Michael Clapham | Barnsley West and Penistone | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
John Mann | Bassetlaw | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Martin Linton | Battersea | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Patrick Hall | Bedford | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Alasdair McDonnell | Belfast South | SDLP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Alan Beith | Berwick-upon-Tweed | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
George Galloway | Bethnal Green and Bow | Respect | no |
absent |
Frank Field | Birkenhead | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Gisela Stuart | Birmingham, Edgbaston | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Richard Burden | Birmingham, Northfield | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Khalid Mahmood | Birmingham, Perry Barr | Lab | aye |
absent |
Roger Godsiff | Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath | Lab | no |
absent |
Joan Humble | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Gordon Marsden | Blackpool South | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Ronnie Campbell | Blyth Valley | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Crausby | Bolton North East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Butterfill | Bournemouth West | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Marsha Singh | Bradford West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Roger Williams | Brecon and Radnorshire | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Ian Liddell-Grainger | Bridgwater | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Julie Kirkbride | Bromsgrove | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Nick Palmer | Broxtowe | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
John Bercow | Buckingham | whilst Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Chaytor | Bury North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ivan Lewis | Bury South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Chris McCafferty | Calder Valley | Lab | aye |
absent |
Tony Wright | Cannock Chase | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jennifer Willott | Cardiff Central | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Julie Morgan | Cardiff North | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Independent (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Iain Duncan Smith | Chingford and Woodford Green | Con | absent |
aye |
Lindsay Hoyle | Chorley | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Shona McIsaac | Cleethorpes | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Martyn Jones | Clwyd South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Kali Mountford | Colne Valley | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Betty Williams | Conwy | Lab | aye |
absent |
Jamie Reed | Copeland | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Gwyneth Dunwoody | Crewe and Nantwich | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Edward Timpson | Crewe and Nantwich | Con | absent |
aye |
Andrew Pelling | Croydon Central | whilst Con | no |
absent |
Andrew Pelling | Croydon Central | whilst Independent | absent |
aye |
Jon Cruddas | Dagenham | Lab | aye |
absent |
Tim Boswell | Daventry | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Michael Ancram | Devizes | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Ed Miliband | Doncaster North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Mundell | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Stewart Hosie | Dundee East | SNP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Steve Pound | Ealing North | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Piara S Khabra | Ealing, Southall | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Virendra Sharma | Ealing, Southall | Lab | absent |
no |
Jo Swinson | East Dunbartonshire | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Anne Moffat | East Lothian | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Gavin Strang | Edinburgh East | Lab | no |
absent |
Nigel Griffiths | Edinburgh South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Colin Burgon | Elmet | Lab | aye |
absent |
Rudi Vis | Finchley and Golders Green | Lab | aye |
absent |
Michael Jack | Fylde | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Mohammad Sarwar | Glasgow Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Marshall | Glasgow East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
John Mason | Glasgow East | SNP | absent |
aye |
John Robertson | Glasgow North West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Lindsay Roy | Glenrothes | Lab | absent |
no |
Quentin Davies | Grantham and Stamford | whilst Lab (front bench) | absent |
no |
Adam Holloway | Gravesham | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Austin Mitchell | Great Grimsby | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Anthony D Wright | Great Yarmouth | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Nick Raynsford | Greenwich and Woolwich | Lab | aye |
aye |
Diane Abbott | Hackney North and Stoke Newington | Lab | absent |
aye |
Meg Hillier | Hackney South and Shoreditch | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Linda Riordan | Halifax | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
David Davis | Haltemprice and Howden | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Bill Rammell | Harlow | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Willetts | Havant | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Howell | Henley | Con | absent |
aye |
Boris Johnson | Henley | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Paul Keetch | Hereford | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
James Clappison | Hertsmere | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Jim Dobbin | Heywood and Middleton | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Frank Dobson | Holborn and St Pancras | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Francis Maude | Horsham | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Greg Pope | Hyndburn | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Mike Gapes | Ilford South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Emily Thornberry | Islington South and Finsbury | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ann Cryer | Keighley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Prescott | Kingston upon Hull East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Edward O'Hara | Knowsley South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Jeffrey M. Donaldson | Lagan Valley | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jimmy Hood | Lanark and Hamilton East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Hilary Benn | Leeds Central | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Fabian Hamilton | Leeds North East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
John Battle | Leeds West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab | aye |
aye |
Peter Soulsby | Leicester South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Bridget Prentice | Lewisham East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Robert Wareing | Liverpool, West Derby | whilst Independent | absent |
aye |
Robert Wareing | Liverpool, West Derby | whilst Lab | no |
absent |
Andy Reed | Loughborough | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Kelvin Hopkins | Luton North | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Ian McCartney | Makerfield | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Tony Lloyd | Manchester Central | Lab | absent |
no |
Graham Stringer | Manchester, Blackley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gerald Kaufman | Manchester, Gorton | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alan Meale | Mansfield | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Robert Marshall-Andrews | Medway | Lab | absent |
aye |
Elfyn Llwyd | Meirionnydd Nant Conwy | PC (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Dai Havard | Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Peter Luff | Mid Worcestershire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Ashok Kumar | Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Lembit Öpik | Montgomeryshire | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Geraldine Smith | Morecambe and Lunesdale | Lab | absent |
no |
Angus MacNeil | Na h-Eileanan an Iar | SNP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Julian Lewis | New Forest East | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Doug Henderson | Newcastle upon Tyne North | Lab | aye |
absent |
Paul Farrelly | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Ian Paisley | North Antrim | DUP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Katy Clark | North Ayrshire and Arran | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Robert Walter | North Dorset | Con | no |
absent |
Sylvia Hermon | North Down | UUP (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Alistair Burt | North East Bedfordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Malcolm Moss | North East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
James Arbuthnot | North East Hampshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Oliver Heald | North East Hertfordshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Mark Lancaster | North East Milton Keynes | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Owen Paterson | North Shropshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Stephen Byers | North Tyneside | Lab | aye |
absent |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | absent |
both |
James Gray | North Wiltshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Brian Binley | Northampton South | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Charles Clarke | Norwich South | Lab | aye |
absent |
Alan Simpson | Nottingham South | Lab | absent |
aye |
Derek Conway | Old Bexley and Sidcup | whilst Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
John Horam | Orpington | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Andrew Smith | Oxford East | Lab | aye |
aye |
Gordon Prentice | Pendle | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Linda Gilroy | Plymouth, Sutton | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mike Hancock | Portsmouth South | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Paul Truswell | Pudsey | Lab | aye |
aye |
Martin Salter | Reading West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Vera Baird | Redcar | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Karen Buck | Regent's Park and Kensington North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Nigel Evans | Ribble Valley | Con | no |
absent |
Sandra Gidley | Romsey | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Charles Kennedy | Ross, Skye and Lochaber | LDem | no |
absent |
Denis MacShane | Rotherham | Lab | aye |
absent |
Kenneth Clarke | Rushcliffe | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
John Greenway | Ryedale | Con | no |
absent |
Tony Blair | Sedgefield | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Phil Wilson | Sedgefield | Lab | absent |
no |
Richard Caborn | Sheffield Central | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Angela Smith | Sheffield, Hillsborough | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Paddy Tipping | Sherwood | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
William McCrea | South Antrim | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Borrow | South Ribble | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Miliband | South Shields | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Patrick Cormack | South Staffordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Anne Snelgrove | South Swindon | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Wilshire | Spelthorne | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Anne McGuire | Stirling | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Dari Taylor | Stockton South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mark Fisher | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Lab | absent |
aye |
Iris Robinson | Strangford | DUP | no |
absent |
John Maples | Stratford-on-Avon | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Bill Etherington | Sunderland North | Lab | aye |
absent |
Siân James | Swansea East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Brian Jenkins | Tamworth | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Laurence Robertson | Tewkesbury | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Andrew MacKinlay | Thurrock | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
John Stanley | Tonbridge and Malling | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Paul Murphy | Torfaen | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Smith | Vale of Glamorgan | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Kate Hoey | Vauxhall | Lab | absent |
aye |
Neil Gerrard | Walthamstow | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Mike Hall | Weaver Vale | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Heathcoat-Amory | Wells | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Grant Shapps | Welwyn Hatfield | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Adrian Bailey | West Bromwich West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Lyn Brown | West Ham | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Neil Turner | Wigan | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Mark Oaten | Winchester | LDem | no |
absent |
Ben Chapman | Wirral South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Humfrey Malins | Woking | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
The measure of similarity between these two divisions is a calculation
based on a comparison of their votes.
There were
646 MPs who could have voted in both of these divisions,
and 15 voted the same way, with 439 voting in opposite ways.
There were 29 MPs who didn't vote in either division,
and 163 who voted in only one of them.
We invert the vote on the second division if it makes the distance closer (since the meaning of
'Aye' and 'No' are often interchangeable depending on how the question was put).
In this case, they line up on opposite sides.
An 's vote in in only one of the divisions contributes a factor of 0.2 to the distance.
The calculation runs as follows:
ratio =
[same-votes]
([same-votes] + [differing-votes] + 0.2x[abstain-in-one])
=
439
(439 + 15 + 0.2x163)
=
439
486.6
=
0.902
=
90.2 %.