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) |
John Reid | Airdrie and Shotts | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Judy Mallaber | Amber Valley | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Geoff Hoon | Ashfield | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Heyes | Ashton-under-Lyne | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Lidington | Aylesbury | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Sandra Osborne | Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Margaret Hodge | Barking | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Eric Illsley | Barnsley Central | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Jeff Ennis | Barnsley East and Mexborough | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Michael Clapham | Barnsley West and Penistone | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
John Hutton | Barrow and Furness | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Mann | Bassetlaw | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Mike Wood | Batley and Spen | Lab | absent |
aye |
Martin Linton | Battersea | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Dominic Grieve | Beaconsfield | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Patrick Hall | Bedford | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Peter Robinson | Belfast East | DUP | absent |
aye |
Nigel Dodds | Belfast North | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Alasdair McDonnell | Belfast South | SDLP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
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 |
Joan Humble | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Gordon Marsden | Blackpool South | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Ronnie Campbell | Blyth Valley | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
John Butterfill | Bournemouth West | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Roger Williams | Brecon and Radnorshire | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Eric Pickles | Brentwood and Ongar | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Dawn Primarolo | Bristol South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Stephen Williams | Bristol West | LDem (front bench) | absent |
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 |
John Thurso | Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Chris McCafferty | Calder Valley | Lab | aye |
absent |
Tony Wright | Cannock Chase | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Julie Morgan | Cardiff North | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Independent (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Brian H Donohoe | Central Ayrshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Dame Cheryl Gillan | Chesham and Amersham | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Paul Holmes | Chesterfield | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Lindsay Hoyle | Chorley | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Hugh Bayley | City of York | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Shona McIsaac | Cleethorpes | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Martyn Jones | Clwyd South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Kali Mountford | Colne Valley | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Ann Winterton | Congleton | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Betty Williams | Conwy | Lab | aye |
absent |
Edward Timpson | Crewe and Nantwich | Con | absent |
aye |
Andrew Pelling | Croydon Central | whilst Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Andrew Pelling | Croydon Central | whilst Independent (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jon Cruddas | Dagenham | Lab | aye |
absent |
Howard Stoate | Dartford | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Tim Boswell | Daventry | Con | no |
absent |
Ed Miliband | Doncaster North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Tessa Jowell | Dulwich and West Norwood | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Stewart Hosie | Dundee East | SNP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Steve Pound | Ealing North | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Virendra Sharma | Ealing, Southall | Lab | absent |
no |
Sammy Wilson | East Antrim | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jo Swinson | East Dunbartonshire | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Stephen Timms | East Ham | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Adam Ingram | East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gregory Campbell | East Londonderry | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jim Murphy | East Renfrewshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alistair Darling | Edinburgh South West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Colin Burgon | Elmet | Lab | aye |
absent |
Ben Bradshaw | Exeter | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Eric Joyce | Falkirk | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Rudi Vis | Finchley and Golders Green | Lab | aye |
absent |
Michael Jack | Fylde | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Edward Leigh | Gainsborough | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Sharon Hodgson | Gateshead East and Washington West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
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 |
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 |
Glenda Jackson | Hampstead and Highgate | Lab | absent |
aye |
Douglas Carswell | Harwich | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Willetts | Havant | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Martin McDonnell | Hayes and Harlington | Lab | absent |
aye |
John Howell | Henley | Con | absent |
aye |
Boris Johnson | Henley | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Paul Keetch | Hereford | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Jim Dobbin | Heywood and Middleton | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Barry Sheerman | Huddersfield | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Greg Pope | Hyndburn | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Mike Gapes | Ilford South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Andrew Turner | Isle of Wight | Con | absent |
aye |
Jeremy Corbyn | Islington North | Lab | absent |
aye |
Des Browne | Kilmarnock and Loudoun | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Roger Berry | Kingswood | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gordon Brown | Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
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 |
Michael Connarty | Linlithgow and East Falkirk | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Robert Wareing | Liverpool, West Derby | whilst Independent | absent |
aye |
Jim Devine | Livingston | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Andy Reed | Loughborough | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Kelvin Hopkins | Luton North | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Margaret Moran | Luton South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Nicholas Winterton | Macclesfield | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Theresa May | Maidenhead | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Ian McCartney | Makerfield | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Whittingdale | Maldon and East Chelmsford | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Graham Stringer | Manchester, Blackley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alan Meale | Mansfield | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Ashok Kumar | Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Lembit Öpik | Montgomeryshire | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Colin Challen | Morley and Rothwell | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Angus MacNeil | Na h-Eileanan an Iar | SNP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Peter Hain | Neath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Julian Lewis | New Forest East | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jim Cousins | Newcastle upon Tyne Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Doug Henderson | Newcastle upon Tyne North | Lab | aye |
absent |
Paul Farrelly | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Jessica Morden | Newport East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Paul Flynn | Newport West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Katy Clark | North Ayrshire and Arran | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Sylvia Hermon | North Down | UUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Malcolm Moss | North East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Owen Paterson | North Shropshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Stephen Byers | North Tyneside | Lab | aye |
absent |
Shailesh Vara | North West Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | both |
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 |
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 |
Kim Howells | Pontypridd | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Stephen Crabb | Preseli Pembrokeshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Paul Truswell | Pudsey | Lab | aye |
aye |
Rob Wilson | Reading East | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Martin Salter | Reading West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Karen Buck | Regent's Park and Kensington North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Nigel Evans | Ribble Valley | Con | no |
absent |
Paul Rowen | Rochdale | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Sandra Gidley | Romsey | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Denis MacShane | Rotherham | Lab | aye |
absent |
John Greenway | Ryedale | Con | no |
absent |
Phil Wilson | Sedgefield | Lab | absent |
no |
Richard Caborn | Sheffield Central | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Blunkett | Sheffield, Brightside | Lab | absent |
no |
Nick Clegg | Sheffield, Hallam | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Meg Munn | Sheffield, Heeley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Paddy Tipping | Sherwood | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Fiona Mactaggart | Slough | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
William McCrea | South Antrim | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Todd | South Derbyshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Patrick Cormack | South Staffordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Tim Yeo | South Suffolk | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Anne Snelgrove | South Swindon | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Wilshire | Spelthorne | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Anne Main | St Albans | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Andrew George | St Ives | LDem | absent |
aye |
Anne McGuire | Stirling | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Frank Cook | Stockton North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Mark Fisher | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Lab | absent |
aye |
John Maples | Stratford-on-Avon | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Beverley Hughes | Stretford and Urmston | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Gummer | Suffolk Coastal | Con | absent |
aye |
Siân James | Swansea East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Mark Pritchard | The Wrekin | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Andrew MacKinlay | Thurrock | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
John Stanley | Tonbridge and Malling | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
David Lammy | Tottenham | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Smith | Vale of Glamorgan | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Kate Hoey | Vauxhall | Lab | absent |
aye |
Neil Gerrard | Walthamstow | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Ed Vaizey | Wantage | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Helen Southworth | Warrington South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mike Hall | Weaver Vale | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Heathcoat-Amory | Wells | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Adrian Bailey | West Bromwich West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Neil Turner | Wigan | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Mark Oaten | Winchester | LDem | no |
absent |
Humfrey Malins | Woking | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Liam Fox | Woodspring | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Peter Bottomley | Worthing West | Con (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 %.