Comparison of Divisions: Government's Fiscal Rules — new fiscal framework — rejected — 7 Oct 2008 at 18:41 with Division No. 104 on 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49
(Swap the two divisions around).
The majority of MPs voted against the motion, which read:[1]
-
This House
-
notes with concern the successive criticisms by the IMF, the EU and the OECD of the state of the UK's public finances;
-
further notes that the Government are reviewing the fiscal rules and calls on the Government to announce the outcome of that review first to this House;
-
further calls on the Government to clarify whether or not the Sustainable Investment rule will be met and to implement a full and independent review of the public finances, including off-balance sheet liabilities under the private finance initiative and public sector pension schemes; and
-
further calls for the fiscal rules to be scrapped and replaced with a forward-looking fiscal framework with an independent mechanism for monitoring and assessing the sustainability of the Government's fiscal position.
In its place an alternative motion was proposed:
-
This House
-
notes that the purpose of the fiscal framework is to smooth the path of the economy in the short term, to secure sustainable public finances in the medium term and to ensure that spending and taxation impact fairly between generations;
-
recognises the success of the framework over the past decade, reversing historical under-investment in the infrastructure of public services, reducing debt from 43 per cent. of GDP in 1997 to below 37 per cent. last year and allowing borrowing to increase this year in order to support the economy;
-
welcomes the £4 billion of tax cuts helping families and businesses this year;
-
further notes the turmoil in the world economy and financial markets;
-
recognises that Government is rightly focused on the turbulence in the financial markets and helping families and businesses with the twin shocks of the credit crunch and high commodity prices; and
-
welcomes the Government's commitment to take whatever steps are necessary to protect the stability of the financial system.
which passed without a further vote.
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 |
Kenneth Clarke | Rushcliffe | 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 |
David Heathcoat-Amory | Wells | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Horam | Orpington | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Michael Jack | Fylde | Con (front bench) | 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 |
Francis Maude | Horsham | 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 |
David Wilshire | Spelthorne | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Michael Ancram | Devizes | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Richard Bacon | South Norfolk | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Crispin Blunt | Reigate | 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 |
David Cameron | Witney | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Philip Dunne | Ludlow | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Michael Fallon | Sevenoaks | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Liam Fox | Woodspring | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Christopher Fraser | South West Norfolk | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Damian Green | Ashford | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Adam Holloway | Gravesham | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Michael Howard | Folkestone and Hythe | Con | absent |
aye |
Daniel Kawczynski | Shrewsbury and Atcham | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Julian Lewis | New Forest East | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Patrick Mercer | Newark | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Andrew Murrison | Westbury | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Richard Ottaway | Croydon South | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Malcolm Rifkind | Kensington and Chelsea | Con | absent |
aye |
Richard Spring | West Suffolk | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Tredinnick | Bosworth | Con | absent |
aye |
Nicholas Winterton | Macclesfield | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Gregory Campbell | East Londonderry | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nigel Dodds | Belfast North | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jeffrey M. Donaldson | Lagan Valley | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
William McCrea | South Antrim | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Peter Robinson | Belfast East | DUP | absent |
aye |
Derek Conway | Old Bexley and Sidcup | whilst Independent (front bench) | aye |
absent |
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 |
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 |
Jeremy Corbyn | Islington North | Lab | no |
aye |
Paul Farrelly | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Mark Fisher | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Lab | no |
aye |
Neil Gerrard | Walthamstow | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Kate Hoey | Vauxhall | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Kelvin Hopkins | Luton North | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Joan Humble | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Gordon Marsden | Blackpool South | Lab | no |
aye |
Robert Marshall-Andrews | Medway | Lab | no |
aye |
John Martin McDonnell | Hayes and Harlington | 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 |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | no |
both |
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 |
Colin Burgon | Elmet | Lab | 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 |
Jon Cruddas | Dagenham | Lab | no |
absent |
Jim Dobbin | Heywood and Middleton | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Frank Field | Birkenhead | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Paul Flynn | Newport West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Ian Gibson | Norwich North | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Mike Hall | Weaver Vale | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Patrick Hall | Bedford | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Doug Henderson | Newcastle upon Tyne North | Lab | 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 |
Peter Kilfoyle | Liverpool, Walton | Lab | no |
absent |
Ivan Lewis | Bury South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Martin Linton | Battersea | Lab (minister) | 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 | no |
absent |
Michael Meacher | Oldham West and Royton | 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 |
Edward O'Hara | Knowsley South | 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 Robertson | Glasgow North 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 |
Paddy Tipping | Sherwood | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Neil Turner | Wigan | Lab (minister) | 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 |
Glenda Jackson | Hampstead and Highgate | Lab | absent |
aye |
Andrew MacKinlay | Thurrock | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Mike Wood | Batley and Spen | Lab | absent |
aye |
Nick Ainger | Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Bob Ainsworth | Coventry North East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gordon Banks | Ochil and South Perthshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Margaret Beckett | Derby South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gordon Brown | Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Andy Burnham | Leigh | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ben Chapman | Wirral South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jim Cousins | Newcastle upon Tyne Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alistair Darling | Edinburgh South West | Lab (minister) | 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 |
Adam Ingram | East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow | Lab | absent |
no |
Ann Keen | Brentford and Isleworth | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ruth Kelly | Bolton West | Lab | absent |
no |
Andrew Love | Edmonton | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ian McCartney | Makerfield | Lab | absent |
no |
John McFall | West Dunbartonshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jim McGovern | Dundee West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alan Milburn | Darlington | Lab | absent |
no |
Margaret Moran | Luton South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jessica Morden | Newport East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jim Murphy | East Renfrewshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gwyn Prosser | Dover | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ken Purchase | Wolverhampton North East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Lindsay Roy | Glenrothes | Lab | absent |
no |
John Smith | Vale of Glamorgan | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Dari Taylor | Stockton South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gareth Thomas | Harrow West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Derek Wyatt | Sittingbourne and Sheppey | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Mark Oaten | Winchester | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Paul Rowen | Rochdale | 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 |
Norman Baker | Lewes | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Paul Burstow | Sutton and Cheam | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Vincent Cable | Twickenham | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Menzies Campbell | North East Fife | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nick Clegg | Sheffield, Hallam | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Simon Hughes | North Southwark and Bermondsey | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Michael Moore | Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Greg Mulholland | Leeds North West | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Steve Webb | Northavon | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Phil Willis | Harrogate and Knaresborough | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Alasdair McDonnell | Belfast South | SDLP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Stewart Hosie | Dundee East | SNP (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Michael Weir | Angus | SNP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst UKIP (front bench) | both |
absent |
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
645 MPs who could have voted in both of these divisions,
and 413 voted the same way, with 24 voting in opposite ways.
There were 48 MPs who didn't vote in either division,
and 160 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])
=
413
(413 + 24 + 0.2x160)
=
413
469
=
0.881
=
88.1 %.