Comparison of Divisions: Opposition Day — [5th allotted day] — Higher Education — ELQ funding — 8 Jan 2008 at 21:42 with Division No. 104 on 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49
(Swap the two divisions around).
The original Opposition motion, on the Government's plan to withdraw HEFCE funding from courses taught to students who already possess an equivalent or higher level qualification, read:
That this House is concerned that the Government's decision to withdraw funding from institutions for equivalent or lower qualification students will have a disproportionate impact on the part-time sector in general and on specific institutions such as Birkbeck and the Open University; and urges the Government to consider ways in which it can minimise the damage this measure will do to lifelong learning and the delivery of the Leitch agenda objectives.
This vote is part of a destructive amendment manoeuvre. This vote is on whether the text of this original motion should remain, and the majority No vote deletes the text of the original motion.
The following vote substitutes entirely different text.
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 |
Tim Boswell | Daventry | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Butterfill | Bournemouth West | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
James Clappison | Hertsmere | 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 |
Michael Jack | Fylde | 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 |
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 |
Francis Maude | Horsham | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Owen Paterson | North Shropshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Robert Walter | North Dorset | Con | aye |
absent |
David Wilshire | Spelthorne | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Simon Burns | West Chelmsford | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Douglas Carswell | Harwich | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Patrick Cormack | South Staffordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Chris Grayling | Epsom and Ewell | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Harper | Forest of Dean | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Douglas Hogg | Sleaford and North Hykeham | Con | absent |
aye |
Gerald Howarth | Aldershot | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Howell | Henley | Con | absent |
aye |
Andrew Lansley | South Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Anne Main | St Albans | 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 |
Edward Timpson | Crewe and Nantwich | Con | absent |
aye |
David Tredinnick | Bosworth | Con | absent |
aye |
David Simpson | Upper Bann | DUP (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Jeffrey M. Donaldson | Lagan Valley | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Peter Robinson | Belfast East | DUP | 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 |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Harry Cohen | Leyton and Wanstead | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Mark Fisher | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Lab | no |
aye |
Neil Gerrard | Walthamstow | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Joan Humble | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Gordon Marsden | Blackpool South | Lab (minister) | 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 |
Andrew Smith | Oxford East | Lab | no |
aye |
Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
John Austin | Erith and Thamesmead | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Adrian Bailey | West Bromwich West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Battle | Leeds West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Hilary Benn | Leeds Central | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Richard Burden | Birmingham, Northfield | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Stephen Byers | North Tyneside | Lab | no |
absent |
Richard Caborn | Sheffield Central | Lab | no |
absent |
Ronnie Campbell | Blyth Valley | 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 |
Bill Etherington | Sunderland North | Lab | no |
absent |
Frank Field | Birkenhead | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Paul Flynn | Newport West | 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 |
Siân James | Swansea East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Lynne Jones | Birmingham, Selly Oak | 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 |
Judy Mallaber | Amber Valley | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Mann | Bassetlaw | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Marshall | Glasgow East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Chris McCafferty | Calder Valley | Lab | no |
absent |
Anne McGuire | Stirling | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Michael Meacher | Oldham West and Royton | Lab | no |
absent |
Alan Meale | Mansfield | Lab | 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 |
Greg Pope | Hyndburn | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Bridget Prentice | Lewisham East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Prescott | Kingston upon Hull East | Lab | no |
absent |
Bill Rammell | Harlow | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Jamie Reed | Copeland | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Reid | Airdrie and Shotts | Lab | 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 |
Rudi Vis | Finchley and Golders Green | Lab | no |
absent |
Betty Williams | Conwy | Lab | no |
absent |
Shaun Woodward | St Helens South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Anthony D Wright | Great Yarmouth | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | both |
both |
Jeremy Corbyn | Islington North | Lab | absent |
aye |
Paul Farrelly | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Kate Hoey | Vauxhall | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Kelvin Hopkins | Luton North | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Glenda Jackson | Hampstead and Highgate | Lab | absent |
aye |
Andrew MacKinlay | Thurrock | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Robert Marshall-Andrews | Medway | Lab | absent |
aye |
John Martin McDonnell | Hayes and Harlington | Lab | absent |
aye |
Linda Riordan | Halifax | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Alan Simpson | Nottingham South | Lab | absent |
aye |
Paul Truswell | Pudsey | Lab | absent |
aye |
Mike Wood | Batley and Spen | Lab | absent |
aye |
Douglas Alexander | Paisley and Renfrewshire South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Hilary Armstrong | North West Durham | Lab | absent |
no |
Roger Berry | Kingswood | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gordon Brown | Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Andy Burnham | Leigh | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Yvette Cooper | Pontefract and Castleford | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mary Creagh | Wakefield | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ian Davidson | Glasgow South West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Frank Dobson | Holborn and St Pancras | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Brian H Donohoe | Central Ayrshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Natascha Engel | North East Derbyshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Barbara Follett | Stevenage | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Bruce George | Walsall South | Lab | absent |
no |
John Grogan | Selby | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Peter Hain | Neath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Hamilton | Midlothian | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Phil Hope | Corby | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Kim Howells | Pontypridd | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Tessa Jowell | Dulwich and West Norwood | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ruth Kelly | Bolton West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Rosemary McKenna | Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Margaret Moran | Luton South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ken Purchase | Wolverhampton North East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Frank Roy | Motherwell and Wishaw | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Lindsay Roy | Glenrothes | Lab | absent |
no |
Joan Ryan | Enfield North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mohammad Sarwar | Glasgow Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Virendra Sharma | Ealing, Southall | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Smith | Vale of Glamorgan | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Helen Southworth | Warrington South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Phyllis Starkey | Milton Keynes South West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ian Stewart | Eccles | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mark Todd | South Derbyshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Kitty Ussher | Burnley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Claire Ward | Watford | Lab (minister) | absent |
tellno |
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 |
Jo Swinson | East Dunbartonshire | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Roger Williams | Brecon and Radnorshire | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Danny Alexander | Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Barrett | Edinburgh West | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nick Clegg | Sheffield, Hallam | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Edward Davey | Kingston and Surbiton | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Martin Horwood | Cheltenham | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Susan Kramer | Richmond Park | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Alan Reid | Argyll and Bute | LDem (front bench) | absent |
tellaye |
Phil Willis | Harrogate and Knaresborough | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Elfyn Llwyd | Meirionnydd Nant Conwy | PC (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Hywel Williams | Caernarfon | PC (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Durkan | Foyle | SDLP (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Alasdair McDonnell | Belfast South | SDLP (front bench) | absent |
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 |
Pete Wishart | Perth and North Perthshire | 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 421 voted the same way, with 15 voting in opposite ways.
There were 40 MPs who didn't vote in either division,
and 170 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])
=
421
(421 + 15 + 0.2x170)
=
421
470
=
0.896
=
89.6 %.