Comparison of Divisions: Income Tax — Abolition of 10% starting rate — 18 Mar 2008 at 21:41 with Division No. 104 on 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49
(Swap the two divisions around).
The majority of MPs voted to delete all references to the "starting rate" of taxation[1] in the Income Tax Act 2007.[2] This left only the "basic rate", whose limit was moved from £33,300[3] to £36,000 and the "higher rate" of income tax.
This change in taxation was mentioned in the April 2007 budget,[4] but questions about its consequences went unanswered.[5]
Two months after the April 2007 budget, a law which would have required the Government to produce an assessment of how any change in personal taxation would affect the different income groups was voted down by a majority of MPs.[6]
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) |
Tim Boswell | Daventry | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
John Butterfill | Bournemouth West | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Kenneth Clarke | Rushcliffe | 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 |
Oliver Heald | North East Hertfordshire | Con (front bench) | 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 | 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 |
Michael Mates | East Hampshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Francis Maude | Horsham | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Malcolm Moss | North East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
John Stanley | Tonbridge and Malling | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Robert Walter | North Dorset | Con | no |
absent |
David Wilshire | Spelthorne | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Sir David Amess | Southend West | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Cameron | Witney | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Patrick Cormack | South Staffordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Liam Fox | Woodspring | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Christopher Fraser | South West Norfolk | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nick Gibb | Bognor Regis and Littlehampton | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Michael Gove | Surrey Heath | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Gummer | Suffolk Coastal | Con | absent |
aye |
John Howell | Henley | Con | absent |
aye |
Greg Knight | East Yorkshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jacqui Lait | Beckenham | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Stephen O'Brien | Eddisbury | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mike Penning | Hemel Hempstead | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Pritchard | The Wrekin | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Graham Stuart | Beverley and Holderness | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Robert Syms | Poole | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Edward Timpson | Crewe and Nantwich | Con | absent |
aye |
Shailesh Vara | North West Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Willetts | Havant | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Iris Robinson | Strangford | DUP | no |
absent |
David Simpson | Upper Bann | DUP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Jeffrey M. Donaldson | Lagan Valley | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Sammy Wilson | East Antrim | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Dai Davies | Blaenau Gwent | Independent | aye |
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 |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Independent Conservative (front bench) | no |
absent |
Diane Abbott | Hackney North and Stoke Newington | Lab | aye |
aye |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Harry Cohen | Leyton and Wanstead | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Jeremy Corbyn | Islington North | Lab | aye |
aye |
Paul Farrelly | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Mark Fisher | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Lab | aye |
aye |
Kelvin Hopkins | Luton North | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Joan Humble | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Andrew MacKinlay | Thurrock | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Gordon Marsden | Blackpool South | Lab | aye |
aye |
Robert Marshall-Andrews | Medway | Lab | aye |
aye |
John Martin McDonnell | Hayes and Harlington | Lab | aye |
aye |
Shona McIsaac | Cleethorpes | Lab | aye |
aye |
Julie Morgan | Cardiff North | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Nick Palmer | Broxtowe | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Steve Pound | Ealing North | 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 |
Alan Simpson | Nottingham South | Lab | aye |
aye |
Andrew Smith | Oxford East | Lab | aye |
aye |
Paul Truswell | Pudsey | Lab | aye |
aye |
Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Mike Wood | Batley and Spen | Lab | aye |
aye |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | aye |
both |
John Austin | Erith and Thamesmead | 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 | aye |
absent |
Ronnie Campbell | Blyth Valley | Lab | aye |
absent |
Martin Caton | Gower | 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 |
Claire Curtis-Thomas | Crosby | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Jim Dobbin | Heywood and Middleton | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Gwyneth Dunwoody | Crewe and Nantwich | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Bill Etherington | Sunderland North | Lab | aye |
absent |
Frank Field | Birkenhead | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Paul Flynn | Newport West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Mike Gapes | Ilford South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Ian Gibson | Norwich North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Roger Godsiff | Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath | Lab | 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 |
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 |
Siân James | Swansea East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Lynne Jones | Birmingham, Selly Oak | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Martyn Jones | Clwyd South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Peter Kilfoyle | Liverpool, Walton | Lab | 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 | 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 |
Chris McCafferty | Calder Valley | Lab | aye |
absent |
Anne McGuire | Stirling | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Michael Meacher | Oldham West and Royton | Lab | aye |
absent |
Alan Meale | Mansfield | Lab | aye |
absent |
Ed Miliband | Doncaster North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Austin Mitchell | Great Grimsby | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Anne Moffat | East Lothian | 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 |
Bill Rammell | Harlow | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Jamie Reed | Copeland | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
John Robertson | Glasgow North West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Martin Salter | Reading West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Marsha Singh | Bradford West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Anne Snelgrove | South Swindon | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Gavin Strang | Edinburgh East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Paddy Tipping | Sherwood | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Betty Williams | Conwy | Lab | aye |
absent |
Neil Gerrard | Walthamstow | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Kate Hoey | Vauxhall | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Glenda Jackson | Hampstead and Highgate | Lab | absent |
aye |
Charlotte Atkins | Staffordshire Moorlands | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Kevin Barron | Rother Valley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Hazel Blears | Salford | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Blunkett | Sheffield, Brightside | Lab | absent |
no |
Gordon Brown | Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Dawn Butler | Brent South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Liam Byrne | Birmingham, Hodge Hill | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mary Creagh | Wakefield | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ann Cryer | Keighley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Natascha Engel | North East Derbyshire | Lab | absent |
no |
Paul Goggins | Wythenshawe and Sale East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Hamilton | Midlothian | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Stephen Hepburn | Jarrow | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Tessa Jowell | Dulwich and West Norwood | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ann Keen | Brentford and Isleworth | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Lammy | Tottenham | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Kerry McCarthy | Bristol East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ian McCartney | Makerfield | Lab | absent |
no |
Gillian Merron | Lincoln | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Denis Murphy | Wansbeck | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jim Murphy | East Renfrewshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Doug Naysmith | Bristol North West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Lindsay Roy | Glenrothes | Lab | absent |
no |
Jacqui Smith | Redditch | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Smith | Vale of Glamorgan | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ian Stewart | Eccles | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mark Tami | Alyn and Deeside | 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 |
Tony Wright | Cannock Chase | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Mike Hancock | Portsmouth South | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Paul Keetch | Hereford | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Charles Kennedy | Ross, Skye and Lochaber | 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 |
Colin Breed | South East Cornwall | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Vincent Cable | Twickenham | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nick Harvey | North Devon | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Eddie McGrady | South Down | SDLP | aye |
absent |
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 |
Alex Salmond | Banff and Buchan | 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 25 voted the same way, with 426 voting in opposite ways.
There were 36 MPs who didn't vote in either division,
and 159 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])
=
426
(426 + 25 + 0.2x159)
=
426
482.8
=
0.882
=
88.2 %.