Comparison of Divisions: Protection of freedom of expression (sexual orientation) — 9 Jan 2008 at 19:30 with Division No. 104 on 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49
(Swap the two divisions around).
The majority voted against including a freedom of speech clause into Part III (racial hatred) of the Public Order Act 1986,[1][2] which would have said:
Nothing in this Part shall be read or given effect in a way which prohibits or restricts discussion of, criticism of or expressions of antipathy towards, conduct relating to a particular sexual orientation, or urging persons of a particular sexual orientation to refrain from or modify conduct related to that orientation.
The precise implementation of this motion, had it been passed, would have been to insert a new section 13A into schedule 22 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill[3] that, when enforced, would have inserted a new section 29JA into the part of the Public Order Act 1986 which had been heavily amended by the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006.[4]
There doesn't appear to be an up to date version of the Public Order Act 1986 which is anywhere accessible to the public.
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) |
Diane Abbott | Hackney North and Stoke Newington | Lab | no |
aye |
Danny Alexander | Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Norman Baker | Lewes | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
John Bercow | Buckingham | whilst Con (front bench) | no |
aye |
Crispin Blunt | Reigate | Con (front bench) | no |
aye |
Tom Brake | Carshalton and Wallington | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Annette Brooke | Mid Dorset and North Poole | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Jeremy Browne | Taunton | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Malcolm Bruce | Gordon | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Paul Burstow | Sutton and Cheam | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Lorely Burt | Solihull | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Menzies Campbell | North East Fife | LDem | no |
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 |
Edward Davey | Kingston and Surbiton | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Dai Davies | Blaenau Gwent | Independent | no |
aye |
Michael Fabricant | Lichfield | Con (front bench) | no |
aye |
Paul Farrelly | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Lynne Featherstone | Hornsey and Wood Green | LDem | no |
aye |
Mark Fisher | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Lab | no |
aye |
Don Foster | Bath | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Andrew George | St Ives | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Neil Gerrard | Walthamstow | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Evan Harris | Oxford West and Abingdon | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Nick Harvey | North Devon | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
David Heath | Somerton and Frome | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
John Hemming | Birmingham, Yardley | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Paul Holmes | Chesterfield | LDem | no |
aye |
Kelvin Hopkins | Luton North | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
David Howarth | Cambridge | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Simon Hughes | North Southwark and Bermondsey | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Christopher Huhne | Eastleigh | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Joan Humble | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Mark Hunter | Cheadle | LDem | no |
aye |
Glenda Jackson | Hampstead and Highgate | Lab | no |
aye |
Robert Key | Salisbury | Con (front bench) | no |
aye |
Susan Kramer | Richmond Park | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Norman Lamb | North Norfolk | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
David Laws | Yeovil | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
John Leech | Manchester, Withington | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Elfyn Llwyd | Meirionnydd Nant Conwy | PC (front bench) | no |
aye |
Gordon Marsden | Blackpool South | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
John Martin McDonnell | Hayes and Harlington | Lab | no |
aye |
Shona McIsaac | Cleethorpes | Lab | no |
aye |
Michael Moore | Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Julie Morgan | Cardiff North | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Nick Palmer | Broxtowe | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Adam Price | Carmarthen East and Dinefwr | PC (front bench) | no |
aye |
Nick Raynsford | Greenwich and Woolwich | Lab | no |
aye |
Andy Reed | Loughborough | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Alan Reid | Argyll and Bute | LDem (front bench) | no |
tellaye |
Willie Rennie | Dunfermline and West Fife | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Dan Rogerson | North Cornwall | LDem (front bench) | no |
tellaye |
Bob Russell | Colchester | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Adrian Sanders | Torbay | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Alan Simpson | Nottingham South | Lab | no |
aye |
Andrew Smith | Oxford East | Lab | no |
aye |
Robert Smith | West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Andrew Stunell | Hazel Grove | LDem | no |
aye |
Matthew Taylor | Truro and St Austell | LDem | no |
aye |
Richard Taylor | Wyre Forest | Independent (front bench) | no |
aye |
Sarah Teather | Brent East | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
John Thurso | Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Paul Truswell | Pudsey | Lab | no |
aye |
Ed Vaizey | Wantage | Con (front bench) | no |
aye |
Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Mark Williams | Ceredigion | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Stephen Williams | Bristol West | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Phil Willis | Harrogate and Knaresborough | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Jennifer Willott | Cardiff Central | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Richard Younger-Ross | Teignbridge | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Adam Afriyie | Windsor | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
James Arbuthnot | North East Hampshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Richard Bacon | South Norfolk | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Gregory Barker | Bexhill and Battle | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Baron | Billericay | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Barrett | Edinburgh West | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Simon Burns | West Chelmsford | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Vincent Cable | Twickenham | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Cameron | Witney | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Douglas Carswell | Harwich | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nick Clegg | Sheffield, Hallam | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Patrick Cormack | South Staffordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Curry | Skipton and Ripon | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jeffrey M. Donaldson | Lagan Valley | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Stephen Dorrell | Charnwood | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Liam Fox | Woodspring | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nick Gibb | Bognor Regis and Littlehampton | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Julia Goldsworthy | Falmouth and Camborne | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Michael Gove | Surrey Heath | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
William Hague | Richmond (Yorks) | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Sylvia Hermon | North Down | UUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Douglas Hogg | Sleaford and North Hykeham | Con | absent |
aye |
Martin Horwood | Cheltenham | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Howell | Henley | Con | absent |
aye |
Jeremy Hunt | South West Surrey | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Julian Lewis | New Forest East | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Andrew MacKinlay | Thurrock | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Anne Main | St Albans | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Robert Marshall-Andrews | Medway | Lab | absent |
aye |
John Mason | Glasgow East | SNP | absent |
aye |
Alasdair McDonnell | Belfast South | SDLP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
George Osborne | Tatton | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Richard Ottaway | Croydon South | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
James Paice | South East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Andrew Pelling | Croydon Central | whilst Independent (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Steve Pound | Ealing North | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
John Pugh | Southport | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Linda Riordan | Halifax | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Angus Robertson | Moray | SNP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Peter Robinson | Belfast East | DUP | absent |
aye |
David Ruffley | Bury St Edmunds | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Grant Shapps | Welwyn Hatfield | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Caroline Spelman | Meriden | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Independent (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Gary Streeter | South West Devon | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Peter Tapsell | Louth and Horncastle | Con | absent |
aye |
Edward Timpson | Crewe and Nantwich | Con | absent |
aye |
Peter Viggers | Gosport | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Robert Wareing | Liverpool, West Derby | whilst Independent | absent |
aye |
Nigel Waterson | Eastbourne | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Steve Webb | Northavon | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Michael Weir | Angus | SNP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Whittingdale | Maldon and East Chelmsford | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Hywel Williams | Caernarfon | PC (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nicholas Winterton | Macclesfield | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Pete Wishart | Perth and North Perthshire | SNP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mike Wood | Batley and Spen | Lab | absent |
aye |
Joe Benton | Bootle | Lab (minister) | aye |
no |
David Drew | Stroud | Lab (minister) | aye |
no |
Geoffrey Robinson | Coventry North West | Lab | aye |
no |
Geraldine Smith | Morecambe and Lunesdale | Lab (minister) | aye |
no |
Douglas Alexander | Paisley and Renfrewshire South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Hilary Armstrong | North West Durham | Lab | absent |
no |
Gordon Brown | Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Dawn Butler | Brent South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mary Creagh | Wakefield | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alistair Darling | Edinburgh South West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Clive Efford | Eltham | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Natascha Engel | North East Derbyshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Phil Hope | Corby | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
George Howarth | Knowsley North and Sefton East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Kim Howells | Pontypridd | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gerald Kaufman | Manchester, Gorton | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ann Keen | Brentford and Isleworth | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jim Knight | South Dorset | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Eric Martlew | Carlisle | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Rosemary McKenna | Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Tony McNulty | Harrow East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Madeleine Moon | Bridgend | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Margaret Moran | Luton South | 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 |
Barry Sheerman | Huddersfield | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jacqui Smith | Redditch | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Helen Southworth | Warrington South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ian Stewart | Eccles | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Howard Stoate | Dartford | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mark Tami | Alyn and Deeside | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Dari Taylor | Stockton South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Emily Thornberry | Islington South and Finsbury | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Don Touhig | Islwyn | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Kitty Ussher | Burnley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Claire Ward | Watford | Lab (minister) | absent |
tellno |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | aye |
both |
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 |
Ronnie Campbell | Blyth Valley | Lab | 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 |
Jim Dobbin | Heywood and Middleton | Lab (minister) | tellaye |
absent |
Nigel Evans | Ribble Valley | Con | aye |
absent |
Paul Flynn | Newport West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Roger Godsiff | Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath | Lab | 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 |
Peter Kilfoyle | Liverpool, Walton | Lab | 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 |
Owen Paterson | North Shropshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Greg Pope | Hyndburn | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Simpson | Upper Bann | DUP (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 |
John Austin | Erith and Thamesmead | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Adrian Bailey | West Bromwich West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Hilary Benn | Leeds Central | 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 |
Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | LDem (front bench) | 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 |
Jon Cruddas | Dagenham | Lab | no |
absent |
Bill Etherington | Sunderland North | Lab | no |
absent |
Ian Gibson | Norwich North | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Sandra Gidley | Romsey | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Mike Hall | Weaver Vale | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Patrick Hall | Bedford | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Mike Hancock | Portsmouth South | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
David Heyes | Ashton-under-Lyne | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Meg Hillier | Hackney South and Shoreditch | 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 |
Paul Keetch | Hereford | LDem (front bench) | 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 |
Denis MacShane | Rotherham | Lab | no |
absent |
Khalid Mahmood | Birmingham, Perry Barr | Lab | no |
absent |
Judy Mallaber | Amber Valley | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Mann | Bassetlaw | 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 |
Anne Moffat | East Lothian | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Lembit Öpik | Montgomeryshire | LDem (front bench) | 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 |
Paul Rowen | Rochdale | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Martin Salter | Reading 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 |
Jo Swinson | East Dunbartonshire | LDem (front bench) | 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 |
Roger Williams | Brecon and Radnorshire | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Shaun Woodward | St Helens South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Anthony D Wright | Great Yarmouth | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
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 349 voted the same way, with 76 voting in opposite ways.
There were 49 MPs who didn't vote in either division,
and 172 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])
=
349
(349 + 76 + 0.2x172)
=
349
459.4
=
0.760
=
76.0 %.