Comparison of Divisions: Opposition Day — [3rd allotted day] — Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs — 4 Dec 2007 at 21:50 with Division No. 104 on 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49
(Swap the two divisions around).
I beg to move,
That this House deplores the performance of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; regrets that it has been responsible for huge and avoidable costs to farmers and taxpayers; notes with concern the significant cost overruns in the Department's programme and administration budgets; and believes that planned budget cuts of £270 million will further undermine efforts to deliver policies which tackle climate change, promote the farming industry and enhance the natural environment.
I beg to move, To leave out from "House" to the end of the Question, and to add instead thereof:
"commends the Government on its swift and effective action to deal with four different disease outbreaks in England in 2007; welcomes the announcement on 8th October 2007 of an aid package to farmers worth £12.5 million through extra support to hill farmers, fallen stock collection, meat promotion and help for farming support charities; congratulates the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on its effective emergency planning arrangements in conjunction with the emergency services and local authorities to warn those at risk from the recent tidal surge and initiate precautionary evacuation; applauds the increase in spending on flood defences since 1997, a 30 per cent. increase in real terms to around £600 million, and the announcement that spending will rise to a maximum of £800 million by 2010-11; and further congratulates the Government for bringing together environment, rural affairs and food and farming under Defra to create a unified structure essential for the effective delivery of integrated Government policies across these issues.".
Question put accordingly, That the original words stand part of the Question:-
The House divided: Ayes 186, Noes 275.
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 |
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 |
David Heathcoat-Amory | Wells | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Horam | Orpington | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Boris Johnson | Henley | Con | aye |
absent |
Julie Kirkbride | Bromsgrove | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Peter Luff | Mid Worcestershire | 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 |
David Mundell | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Owen Paterson | North Shropshire | 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 |
James Arbuthnot | North East Hampshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Tony Baldry | Banbury | Con | absent |
aye |
Henry Bellingham | North West Norfolk | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Peter Bottomley | Worthing West | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Graham Brady | Altrincham and Sale West | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
James Brokenshire | Hornchurch | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Cameron | Witney | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Christopher Chope | Christchurch | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Greg Clark | Tunbridge Wells | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Patrick Cormack | South Staffordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Stephen Crabb | Preseli Pembrokeshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Curry | Skipton and Ripon | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Davies | Monmouth | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jonathan Djanogly | Huntingdon | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nadine Dorries | Mid Bedfordshire | Con | absent |
aye |
Iain Duncan Smith | Chingford and Woodford Green | Con | absent |
aye |
Tobias Ellwood | Bournemouth East | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Field | Cities of London and Westminster | Con | absent |
aye |
Liam Fox | Woodspring | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Edward Garnier | Harborough | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Chris Grayling | Epsom and Ewell | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Gummer | Suffolk Coastal | Con | absent |
aye |
Greg Hands | Hammersmith and Fulham | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Michael Howard | Folkestone and Hythe | Con | 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 |
David Jones | Clwyd West | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Daniel Kawczynski | Shrewsbury and Atcham | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Lancaster | North East Milton Keynes | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Lidington | Aylesbury | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Tim Loughton | East Worthing and Shoreham | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Maclean | Penrith and The Border | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Andrew Mitchell | Sutton Coldfield | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Bob Neill | Bromley and Chislehurst | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
George Osborne | Tatton | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Richard Ottaway | Croydon South | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Hugh Robertson | Faversham and Mid Kent | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Laurence Robertson | Tewkesbury | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Simmonds | Boston and Skegness | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Edward Timpson | Crewe and Nantwich | Con | absent |
aye |
Ed Vaizey | Wantage | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Peter Viggers | Gosport | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Charles Walker | Broxbourne | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Whittingdale | Maldon and East Chelmsford | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nicholas Winterton | Macclesfield | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Iris Robinson | Strangford | DUP | aye |
absent |
Nigel Dodds | Belfast North | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jeffrey M. Donaldson | Lagan Valley | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Dai Davies | Blaenau Gwent | Independent | no |
aye |
Andrew Pelling | Croydon Central | whilst Independent (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Independent (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Richard Taylor | Wyre Forest | Independent (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Robert Wareing | Liverpool, West Derby | whilst Independent | absent |
aye |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | 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 |
Robert Marshall-Andrews | Medway | Lab | no |
aye |
Shona McIsaac | Cleethorpes | Lab | no |
aye |
Julie Morgan | Cardiff North | 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 (minister) | no |
aye |
Mike Wood | Batley and Spen | Lab | no |
aye |
John Battle | Leeds West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Hilary Benn | Leeds Central | 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 |
Stephen Byers | North Tyneside | Lab | no |
absent |
Richard Caborn | Sheffield Central | Lab | no |
absent |
Martin Caton | Gower | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Michael Clapham | Barnsley West and Penistone | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Katy Clark | North Ayrshire and Arran | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Charles Clarke | Norwich South | Lab | no |
absent |
Jon Cruddas | Dagenham | Lab | no |
absent |
Claire Curtis-Thomas | Crosby | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Jim Dobbin | Heywood and Middleton | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Frank Field | Birkenhead | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Mike Gapes | Ilford South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Ian Gibson | Norwich North | Lab (minister) | 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 |
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 |
Geoff Hoon | Ashfield | 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 |
Martyn Jones | Clwyd South | 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 | no |
absent |
John MacDougall | Glenrothes | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Judy Mallaber | Amber Valley | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Anne McGuire | Stirling | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Michael Meacher | Oldham West and Royton | Lab | 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 |
Sandra Osborne | Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Greg Pope | Hyndburn | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Bill Rammell | Harlow | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Robertson | Glasgow North West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Martin Salter | Reading West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Marsha Singh | Bradford West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Anne Snelgrove | South Swindon | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Gavin Strang | Edinburgh East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Gisela Stuart | Birmingham, Edgbaston | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Paddy Tipping | Sherwood | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Neil Turner | Wigan | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Shaun Woodward | St Helens South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Anthony D Wright | Great Yarmouth | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Diane Abbott | Hackney North and Stoke Newington | Lab | absent |
aye |
Mark Fisher | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Lab | absent |
aye |
Kate Hoey | Vauxhall | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Glenda Jackson | Hampstead and Highgate | Lab | absent |
aye |
John Martin McDonnell | Hayes and Harlington | Lab | absent |
aye |
Hilary Armstrong | North West Durham | Lab | absent |
no |
Kevin Barron | Rother Valley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Stuart Bell | Middlesbrough | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Roger Berry | Kingswood | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Clive Betts | Sheffield, Attercliffe | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gordon Brown | Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Dawn Butler | Brent South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Colin Challen | Morley and Rothwell | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ben Chapman | Wirral South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Yvette Cooper | Pontefract and Castleford | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mary Creagh | Wakefield | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ann Cryer | Keighley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alistair Darling | Edinburgh South West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Denham | Southampton, Itchen | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Drew | Stroud | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Natascha Engel | North East Derbyshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Rob Flello | Stoke-on-Trent South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Barry Gardiner | Brent North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Nigel Griffiths | Edinburgh South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Grogan | Selby | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Peter Hain | Neath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Healey | Wentworth | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Stephen Hepburn | Jarrow | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Heppell | Nottingham East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Keith Hill | Streatham | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Sharon Hodgson | Gateshead East and Washington West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Hutton | Barrow and Furness | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Sally Keeble | Northampton North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Barbara Keeley | Worsley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Fraser Kemp | Houghton and Washington East | Lab | absent |
no |
Bob Laxton | Derby North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ian McCartney | Makerfield | Lab | absent |
no |
Pat McFadden | Wolverhampton South East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jim Murphy | East Renfrewshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Albert Owen | Ynys Môn | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
James Purnell | Stalybridge and Hyde | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Terry Rooney | Bradford North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Lindsay Roy | Glenrothes | Lab | absent |
no |
Mohammad Sarwar | Glasgow Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Andrew Slaughter | Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Angela Smith | Sheffield, Hillsborough | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Spellar | Warley | Lab | absent |
no |
Ian Stewart | Eccles | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Emily Thornberry | Islington South and Finsbury | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Kitty Ussher | Burnley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Claire Ward | Watford | Lab (minister) | absent |
tellno |
Malcolm Wicks | Croydon North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Tony Wright | Cannock Chase | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | absent |
both |
Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Sandra Gidley | Romsey | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Lembit Öpik | Montgomeryshire | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Jo Swinson | East Dunbartonshire | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Norman Baker | Lewes | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Colin Breed | South East Cornwall | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jeremy Browne | Taunton | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Paul Burstow | Sutton and Cheam | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Lorely Burt | Solihull | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Menzies Campbell | North East Fife | LDem | absent |
aye |
Nick Clegg | Sheffield, Hallam | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Edward Davey | Kingston and Surbiton | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Evan Harris | Oxford West and Abingdon | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Christopher Huhne | Eastleigh | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Susan Kramer | Richmond Park | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Laws | Yeovil | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Leech | Manchester, Withington | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Greg Mulholland | Leeds North West | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Alan Reid | Argyll and Bute | LDem (front bench) | absent |
tellaye |
Sarah Teather | Brent East | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Williams | Ceredigion | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Elfyn Llwyd | Meirionnydd Nant Conwy | PC (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Alasdair McDonnell | Belfast South | SDLP (front bench) | no |
aye |
Stewart Hosie | Dundee East | SNP (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Angus MacNeil | Na h-Eileanan an Iar | 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 366 voted the same way, with 24 voting in opposite ways.
There were 60 MPs who didn't vote in either division,
and 196 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])
=
366
(366 + 24 + 0.2x196)
=
366
429.2
=
0.853
=
85.3 %.