Comparison of Divisions: Opposition Day — Electoral System — 26 Feb 2007 at 21:44 with Division No. 104 on 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49
(Swap the two divisions around).
I beg to move,
That this House believes that all electors are entitled to a free, fair and secure vote; notes that in its Eleventh Report the Committee on Standards in Public Life found evidence of a continuing threat of fraud in the electoral system and called for the implementation of secure individual voter registration and other measures to protect integrity; regrets the unwillingness of the Government to adopt such a system in Great Britain despite calls from the Committee, the Electoral Commission and many others; welcomes the investigation by the Council of Europe into electoral fraud in the United Kingdom and the visit to London today of two rapporteurs; expresses concern at Government attempts to introduce electronic voting until such time as adequate security measures are available; and believes that urgent steps are needed to restore public confidence and integrity in the electoral system, starting with individual voter registration.
I beg to move, To leave out from "House" to the end of the Question, and to add instead thereof:
"believes that the Government has introduced a range of sensible and proportionate measures to ensure that elections are safe and secure; recognises that public confidence in the electoral process is paramount; believes that the Government is taking an appropriate and sensible approach in testing and trialling e-voting before making any decision to introduce it or not; supports the action being taken by the Government to ensure that electoral registers are comprehensive and accurate; and notes that these issues were debated during the passage of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 through Parliament."
Question put, That the original words stand part of the Question:-
The House divided: Ayes 219, Noes 282.
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 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) |
Brian Binley | Northampton South | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Butterfill | Bournemouth West | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
James Clappison | Hertsmere | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Kenneth Clarke | Rushcliffe | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Derek Conway | Old Bexley and Sidcup | whilst Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
David Davis | Haltemprice and Howden | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Nigel Evans | Ribble Valley | Con | aye |
absent |
James Gray | North Wiltshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Greenway | Ryedale | Con | aye |
absent |
Oliver Heald | North East Hertfordshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
David Heathcoat-Amory | Wells | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Horam | Orpington | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Michael Jack | Fylde | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Boris Johnson | Henley | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Julie Kirkbride | Bromsgrove | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Humfrey Malins | Woking | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Maples | Stratford-on-Avon | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Michael Mates | East Hampshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Malcolm Moss | North East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Andrew Pelling | Croydon Central | whilst Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Stanley | Tonbridge and Malling | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
David Wilshire | Spelthorne | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Michael Ancram | Devizes | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Peter Bottomley | Worthing West | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Angela Browning | Tiverton and Honiton | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Alistair Burt | North East Bedfordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Cameron | Witney | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Liam Fox | Woodspring | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nick Gibb | Bognor Regis and Littlehampton | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Michael Gove | Surrey Heath | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Chris Grayling | Epsom and Ewell | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Gummer | Suffolk Coastal | Con | absent |
aye |
Charles Hendry | Wealden | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Gerald Howarth | Aldershot | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Howell | Henley | Con | absent |
aye |
Jeremy Hunt | South West Surrey | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Eleanor Laing | Epping Forest | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Peter Lilley | Hitchin and Harpenden | Con | absent |
aye |
Anne McIntosh | Vale of York | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Brooks Newmark | Braintree | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
George Osborne | Tatton | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
James Paice | South East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Richard Shepherd | Aldridge-Brownhills | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nicholas Soames | Mid Sussex | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Edward Timpson | Crewe and Nantwich | Con | absent |
aye |
Andrew Turner | Isle of Wight | Con | absent |
aye |
Theresa Villiers | Chipping Barnet | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Ben Wallace | Lancaster and Wyre | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jeremy Wright | Rugby and Kenilworth | Con | absent |
aye |
Gregory Campbell | East Londonderry | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nigel Dodds | Belfast North | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jeffrey M. Donaldson | Lagan Valley | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Peter Robinson | Belfast East | DUP | absent |
aye |
Sammy Wilson | East Antrim | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Andrew Pelling | Croydon Central | whilst Independent (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Independent (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Robert Wareing | Liverpool, West Derby | whilst Independent | absent |
aye |
Diane Abbott | Hackney North and Stoke Newington | Lab | no |
aye |
Harry Cohen | Leyton and Wanstead | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Jeremy Corbyn | Islington North | Lab | no |
aye |
Paul Farrelly | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Neil Gerrard | Walthamstow | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Kelvin Hopkins | Luton North | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Joan Humble | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Andrew MacKinlay | Thurrock | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Gordon Marsden | Blackpool South | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
John Martin McDonnell | Hayes and Harlington | Lab | no |
aye |
Shona McIsaac | Cleethorpes | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Nick Palmer | Broxtowe | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Steve Pound | Ealing North | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Nick Raynsford | Greenwich and Woolwich | Lab | no |
aye |
Andy Reed | Loughborough | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Linda Riordan | Halifax | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Alan Simpson | Nottingham South | Lab | no |
aye |
Andrew Smith | Oxford East | Lab | no |
aye |
Paul Truswell | Pudsey | Lab | no |
aye |
Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab | no |
aye |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | no |
both |
Adrian Bailey | West Bromwich West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Battle | Leeds West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Karen Buck | Regent's Park and Kensington North | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Richard Burden | Birmingham, Northfield | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Colin Burgon | Elmet | Lab | no |
absent |
Richard Caborn | Sheffield Central | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Ronnie Campbell | Blyth Valley | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Martin Caton | Gower | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Katy Clark | North Ayrshire and Arran | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Charles Clarke | Norwich South | Lab | no |
absent |
Frank Cook | Stockton North | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Jon Cruddas | Dagenham | Lab | no |
absent |
Gwyneth Dunwoody | Crewe and Nantwich | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Bill Etherington | Sunderland North | Lab | no |
absent |
Paul Flynn | Newport West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Ian Gibson | Norwich North | Lab | no |
absent |
Roger Godsiff | Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath | Lab | no |
absent |
Mike Hall | Weaver Vale | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Patrick Hall | Bedford | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Doug Henderson | Newcastle upon Tyne North | Lab | no |
absent |
David Heyes | Ashton-under-Lyne | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Meg Hillier | Hackney South and Shoreditch | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Margaret Hodge | Barking | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Jimmy Hood | Lanark and Hamilton East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Lindsay Hoyle | Chorley | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Eric Illsley | Barnsley Central | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Siân James | Swansea East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Lynne Jones | Birmingham, Selly Oak | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Piara S Khabra | Ealing, Southall | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Peter Kilfoyle | Liverpool, Walton | Lab | no |
absent |
Ashok Kumar | Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Ivan Lewis | Bury South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Martin Linton | Battersea | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Judy Mallaber | Amber Valley | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Mann | Bassetlaw | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Marshall | Glasgow East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Anne McGuire | Stirling | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Michael Meacher | Oldham West and Royton | Lab | no |
absent |
Alan Meale | Mansfield | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Miliband | South Shields | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Ed Miliband | Doncaster North | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Austin Mitchell | Great Grimsby | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Anne Moffat | East Lothian | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Kali Mountford | Colne Valley | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Edward O'Hara | Knowsley South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Sandra Osborne | Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Greg Pope | Hyndburn | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Bridget Prentice | Lewisham East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Prescott | Kingston upon Hull East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Reid | Airdrie and Shotts | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Martin Salter | Reading West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Anne Snelgrove | South Swindon | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Gavin Strang | Edinburgh East | Lab | no |
absent |
Paddy Tipping | Sherwood | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Neil Turner | Wigan | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Rudi Vis | Finchley and Golders Green | Lab | no |
absent |
Robert Wareing | Liverpool, West Derby | whilst Lab | no |
absent |
Anthony D Wright | Great Yarmouth | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Mark Fisher | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Lab | absent |
aye |
Kate Hoey | Vauxhall | Lab | absent |
aye |
Glenda Jackson | Hampstead and Highgate | Lab | absent |
aye |
Robert Marshall-Andrews | Medway | Lab | absent |
aye |
Julie Morgan | Cardiff North | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Mike Wood | Batley and Spen | Lab | absent |
aye |
Douglas Alexander | Paisley and Renfrewshire South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Anderson | Blaydon | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Janet Anderson | Rossendale and Darwen | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ian Austin | Dudley North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Edward Balls | Normanton | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Margaret Beckett | Derby South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Stuart Bell | Middlesbrough | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Roger Berry | Kingswood | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Blunkett | Sheffield, Brightside | Lab | absent |
no |
Gordon Brown | Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Yvette Cooper | Pontefract and Castleford | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Wayne David | Caerphilly | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Quentin Davies | Grantham and Stamford | whilst Lab (front bench) | absent |
no |
Maria Eagle | Liverpool, Garston | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Natascha Engel | North East Derbyshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jim Fitzpatrick | Poplar and Canning Town | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Paul Goggins | Wythenshawe and Sale East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Peter Hain | Neath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Hanson | Delyn | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Phil Hope | Corby | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Beverley Hughes | Stretford and Urmston | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Hutton | Barrow and Furness | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Kevan Jones | North Durham | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ruth Kelly | Bolton West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Lammy | Tottenham | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Margaret Moran | Luton South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jessica Morden | Newport East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Lindsay Roy | Glenrothes | Lab | absent |
no |
Chris Ruane | Vale of Clwyd | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mohammad Sarwar | Glasgow Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Virendra Sharma | Ealing, Southall | Lab | absent |
no |
Geraldine Smith | Morecambe and Lunesdale | Lab | absent |
no |
Helen Southworth | Warrington South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Spellar | Warley | Lab | absent |
no |
Ian Stewart | Eccles | Lab | absent |
no |
Howard Stoate | Dartford | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gareth Thomas | Harrow West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mark Todd | South Derbyshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Tom Watson | West Bromwich East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Malcolm Wicks | Croydon North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Michael Wills | North Swindon | Lab | absent |
no |
Phil Wilson | Sedgefield | Lab | absent |
no |
Rosie Winterton | Doncaster Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Sandra Gidley | Romsey | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Mike Hancock | Portsmouth South | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Paul Keetch | Hereford | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Charles Kennedy | Ross, Skye and Lochaber | LDem | aye |
absent |
Lembit Öpik | Montgomeryshire | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Paul Rowen | Rochdale | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Jo Swinson | East Dunbartonshire | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Danny Alexander | Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Norman Baker | Lewes | LDem | absent |
aye |
Tom Brake | Carshalton and Wallington | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Colin Breed | South East Cornwall | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Malcolm Bruce | Gordon | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Paul Burstow | Sutton and Cheam | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nick Clegg | Sheffield, Hallam | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Edward Davey | Kingston and Surbiton | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Hemming | Birmingham, Yardley | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Alan Reid | Argyll and Bute | LDem (front bench) | absent |
tellaye |
Willie Rennie | Dunfermline and West Fife | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Richard Younger-Ross | Teignbridge | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Hywel Williams | Caernarfon | PC (front bench) | no |
aye |
Elfyn Llwyd | Meirionnydd Nant Conwy | PC (front bench) | absent |
aye |
George Galloway | Bethnal Green and Bow | Respect | aye |
absent |
Alasdair McDonnell | Belfast South | SDLP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Stewart Hosie | Dundee East | SNP (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Mason | Glasgow East | SNP | absent |
aye |
Angus Robertson | Moray | SNP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Sylvia Hermon | North Down | UUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
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 394 voted the same way, with 22 voting in opposite ways.
There were 48 MPs who didn't vote in either division,
and 182 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 the same way.
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])
=
394
(394 + 22 + 0.2x182)
=
394
452.4
=
0.871
=
87.1 %.