Comparison of Divisions: Opposition Day — Iraq Inquiry — 11 Jun 2007 at 19:45 with Division No. 104 on 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49
(Swap the two divisions around).
The majority of MPs voted against holding an inquiry into the Iraq war at this time.
Those voting Aye passed replaced the words of the previous motion with the following:
-
This House
-
notes the Resolution of 31st October 2006;
-
recognises that there have already been four separate independent committees of inquiry into military action in Iraq;
-
further recognises the importance of learning all possible lessons from military action in Iraq and its aftermath; and
-
therefore 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 amended motion then passed automatically.
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) |
Brian Binley | Northampton South | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Tim Boswell | Daventry | Con | no |
absent |
John Butterfill | Bournemouth West | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
David Davis | Haltemprice and Howden | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Nigel Evans | Ribble Valley | Con | no |
absent |
James Gray | North Wiltshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
John Greenway | Ryedale | Con | no |
absent |
David Heathcoat-Amory | Wells | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
John Horam | Orpington | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Michael Jack | Fylde | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Boris Johnson | Henley | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Julie Kirkbride | Bromsgrove | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Humfrey Malins | Woking | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
John Maples | Stratford-on-Avon | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Malcolm Moss | North East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Owen Paterson | North Shropshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Andrew Pelling | Croydon Central | whilst Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
John Stanley | Tonbridge and Malling | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
David Wilshire | Spelthorne | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
John Bercow | Buckingham | whilst Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Peter Bottomley | Worthing West | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Douglas Carswell | Harwich | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Patrick Cormack | South Staffordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Stephen Crabb | Preseli Pembrokeshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Liam Fox | Woodspring | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Dame Cheryl Gillan | Chesham and Amersham | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Dominic Grieve | Beaconsfield | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Gummer | Suffolk Coastal | Con | absent |
aye |
John Howell | Henley | Con | absent |
aye |
Edward Leigh | Gainsborough | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Julian Lewis | New Forest East | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Lidington | Aylesbury | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Anne Main | St Albans | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Theresa May | Maidenhead | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Eric Pickles | Brentwood and Ongar | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Pritchard | The Wrekin | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Edward Timpson | Crewe and Nantwich | Con | absent |
aye |
Andrew Turner | Isle of Wight | Con | absent |
aye |
Ed Vaizey | Wantage | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Shailesh Vara | North West Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Whittingdale | Maldon and East Chelmsford | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Willetts | Havant | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Rob Wilson | Reading East | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Ann Winterton | Congleton | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nicholas Winterton | Macclesfield | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Tim Yeo | South Suffolk | Con (front bench) | 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 |
William McCrea | South Antrim | 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 |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Paul Farrelly | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Neil Gerrard | Walthamstow | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Joan Humble | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Andrew MacKinlay | Thurrock | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Shona McIsaac | Cleethorpes | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Julie Morgan | Cardiff North | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Nick Palmer | Broxtowe | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Nick Raynsford | Greenwich and Woolwich | Lab | aye |
aye |
Andy Reed | Loughborough | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Linda Riordan | Halifax | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Andrew Smith | Oxford East | Lab | aye |
aye |
Paul Truswell | Pudsey | Lab | aye |
aye |
Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab | aye |
aye |
Adrian Bailey | West Bromwich West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
John Battle | Leeds West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Hilary Benn | Leeds Central | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Karen Buck | Regent's Park and Kensington North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Richard Burden | Birmingham, Northfield | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Colin Burgon | Elmet | Lab | aye |
absent |
Stephen Byers | North Tyneside | Lab | aye |
absent |
Richard Caborn | Sheffield Central | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Ronnie Campbell | Blyth Valley | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Michael Clapham | Barnsley West and Penistone | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Katy Clark | North Ayrshire and Arran | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Charles Clarke | Norwich South | Lab | aye |
absent |
Frank Cook | Stockton North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Jon Cruddas | Dagenham | Lab | aye |
absent |
Jim Dobbin | Heywood and Middleton | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Frank Field | Birkenhead | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Mike Gapes | Ilford South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Mike Hall | Weaver Vale | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Patrick Hall | Bedford | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Fabian Hamilton | Leeds North East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Doug Henderson | Newcastle upon Tyne North | Lab | aye |
absent |
David Heyes | Ashton-under-Lyne | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Meg Hillier | Hackney South and Shoreditch | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Margaret Hodge | Barking | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Jimmy Hood | Lanark and Hamilton East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Geoff Hoon | Ashfield | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Lindsay Hoyle | Chorley | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Eric Illsley | Barnsley Central | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Siân James | Swansea East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Martyn Jones | Clwyd South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Ashok Kumar | Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Ivan Lewis | Bury South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Martin Linton | Battersea | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Denis MacShane | Rotherham | Lab | aye |
absent |
Khalid Mahmood | Birmingham, Perry Barr | Lab | aye |
absent |
Judy Mallaber | Amber Valley | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
John Mann | Bassetlaw | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Marshall | Glasgow East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Chris McCafferty | Calder Valley | Lab | aye |
absent |
Anne McGuire | Stirling | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Alan Meale | Mansfield | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Ed Miliband | Doncaster North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Austin Mitchell | Great Grimsby | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Kali Mountford | Colne Valley | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Edward O'Hara | Knowsley South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Sandra Osborne | Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Greg Pope | Hyndburn | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Bridget Prentice | Lewisham East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
John Reid | Airdrie and Shotts | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
John Robertson | Glasgow North West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Martin Salter | Reading West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Anne Snelgrove | South Swindon | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Gisela Stuart | Birmingham, Edgbaston | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Paddy Tipping | Sherwood | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Neil Turner | Wigan | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Rudi Vis | Finchley and Golders Green | Lab | aye |
absent |
Betty Williams | Conwy | Lab | aye |
absent |
Anthony D Wright | Great Yarmouth | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Paul Flynn | Newport West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | both |
both |
Diane Abbott | Hackney North and Stoke Newington | Lab | absent |
aye |
Jeremy Corbyn | Islington North | Lab | absent |
aye |
Mark Fisher | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Lab | absent |
aye |
Kate Hoey | Vauxhall | Lab | absent |
aye |
Kelvin Hopkins | Luton North | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Glenda Jackson | Hampstead and Highgate | Lab | absent |
aye |
Gordon Marsden | Blackpool South | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
John Martin McDonnell | Hayes and Harlington | Lab | absent |
aye |
Steve Pound | Ealing North | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Alan Simpson | Nottingham South | Lab | absent |
aye |
Mike Wood | Batley and Spen | Lab | absent |
aye |
Hugh Bayley | City of York | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Roger Berry | Kingswood | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Blunkett | Sheffield, Brightside | Lab | absent |
no |
Ben Bradshaw | Exeter | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gordon Brown | Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Des Browne | Kilmarnock and Loudoun | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Colin Challen | Morley and Rothwell | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Chaytor | Bury North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Michael Connarty | Linlithgow and East Falkirk | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jim Cousins | Newcastle upon Tyne Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alistair Darling | Edinburgh South West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Quentin Davies | Grantham and Stamford | whilst Lab (front bench) | absent |
no |
Jim Devine | Livingston | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Brian H Donohoe | Central Ayrshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jeff Ennis | Barnsley East and Mexborough | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Peter Hain | Neath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Sharon Hodgson | Gateshead East and Washington West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Kim Howells | Pontypridd | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Beverley Hughes | Stretford and Urmston | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Hutton | Barrow and Furness | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Adam Ingram | East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Tessa Jowell | Dulwich and West Norwood | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Eric Joyce | Falkirk | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Lammy | Tottenham | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Fiona Mactaggart | Slough | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ian McCartney | Makerfield | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Margaret Moran | Luton South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jessica Morden | Newport East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Meg Munn | Sheffield, Heeley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jim Murphy | East Renfrewshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Dawn Primarolo | Bristol South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Lindsay Roy | Glenrothes | Lab | absent |
no |
Mohammad Sarwar | Glasgow Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Virendra Sharma | Ealing, Southall | Lab | absent |
no |
Barry Sheerman | Huddersfield | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Smith | Vale of Glamorgan | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Peter Soulsby | Leicester South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Helen Southworth | Warrington South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Howard Stoate | Dartford | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Graham Stringer | Manchester, Blackley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Stephen Timms | East Ham | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mark Todd | South Derbyshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Phil Wilson | Sedgefield | Lab | absent |
no |
Tony Wright | Cannock Chase | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Sandra Gidley | Romsey | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Paul Keetch | Hereford | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Mark Oaten | Winchester | LDem | no |
absent |
Lembit Öpik | Montgomeryshire | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Paul Rowen | Rochdale | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Jo Swinson | East Dunbartonshire | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Roger Williams | Brecon and Radnorshire | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Nick Clegg | Sheffield, Hallam | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Andrew George | St Ives | LDem | absent |
aye |
Paul Holmes | Chesterfield | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Thurso | Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Stephen Williams | Bristol West | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Alasdair McDonnell | Belfast South | SDLP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Stewart Hosie | Dundee East | SNP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Angus MacNeil | Na h-Eileanan an Iar | SNP (front bench) | no |
absent |
John Mason | Glasgow East | SNP | 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 14 voted the same way, with 404 voting in opposite ways.
There were 50 MPs who didn't vote in either division,
and 178 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])
=
404
(404 + 14 + 0.2x178)
=
404
453.6
=
0.891
=
89.1 %.