Comparison of Divisions: Reduction of VAT from 17.5% to 15% — 17 Dec 2008 at 16:05 with Division No. 104 on 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49
(Swap the two divisions around).
The majority of MPs voted in favour of reducing the VAT rate from 17.5% to 15%.
They did this by voting against the motion[1] to annul the Order (Statutory Instrument) laid before the house for the reduction of the rate by fourteen and two sevenths of a percent (2.5 out of 17.5) which came into force on 1 December 2008.[2]
The Order was made under the powers in Value Added Tax Act 1994[3] where it says:
-
The Treasury may by order increase or decrease the rate of VAT for the time being in force by such percentage thereof not exceeding 25 per cent. as may be specified in the order, but any such order shall cease to be in force at the expiration of a period of one year from the date on which it takes effect, unless continued in force by a further order under this subsection.
This explains the strange formulation of the tax change statement, as well as the reason varying the VAT was chosen -- the powers to do it require the minimum of Parliamentary hassle.
As part of the order, the VAT on imported works of art went up from 28.58% to 33.34%,[4] which is compensatory increase by fourteen and two sevenths of a percent.
If I'm guessing right, this issue is going to be all over the next election about "How the Conservatives voted against a tax cut" in 2008, and it will go on and on and on to the point that nobody understands it and it doesn't matter.
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) |
John Reid | Airdrie and Shotts | Lab | no |
absent |
Judy Mallaber | Amber Valley | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Michael Weir | Angus | SNP (front bench) | no |
aye |
Geoff Hoon | Ashfield | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Heyes | Ashton-under-Lyne | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Sandra Osborne | Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Michael Clapham | Barnsley West and Penistone | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Mann | Bassetlaw | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Mike Wood | Batley and Spen | Lab | no |
aye |
Martin Linton | Battersea | Lab | no |
absent |
Patrick Hall | Bedford | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Peter Robinson | Belfast East | DUP | no |
aye |
Nigel Dodds | Belfast North | DUP (front bench) | no |
aye |
Alasdair McDonnell | Belfast South | SDLP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Frank Field | Birkenhead | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Gisela Stuart | Birmingham, Edgbaston | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Richard Burden | Birmingham, Northfield | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Roger Godsiff | Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath | Lab | no |
absent |
Joan Humble | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Gordon Marsden | Blackpool South | Lab | no |
aye |
Dai Davies | Blaenau Gwent | Independent | no |
aye |
Ruth Kelly | Bolton West | Lab | absent |
no |
Joe Benton | Bootle | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mark Simmonds | Boston and Skegness | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Butterfill | Bournemouth West | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Marsha Singh | Bradford West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Roger Williams | Brecon and Radnorshire | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Eric Pickles | Brentwood and Ongar | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Julie Kirkbride | Bromsgrove | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Nick Palmer | Broxtowe | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Hywel Williams | Caernarfon | PC (front bench) | no |
aye |
Chris McCafferty | Calder Valley | Lab | no |
absent |
Tony Wright | Cannock Chase | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Julie Morgan | Cardiff North | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Adam Price | Carmarthen East and Dinefwr | PC (front bench) | no |
aye |
Mark Williams | Ceredigion | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jonathan R Shaw | Chatham and Aylesford | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Lindsay Hoyle | Chorley | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Shona McIsaac | Cleethorpes | Lab | no |
aye |
Martyn Jones | Clwyd South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Tom Clarke | Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Betty Williams | Conwy | Lab | no |
absent |
Bob Ainsworth | Coventry North East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Geoffrey Robinson | Coventry North West | Lab | absent |
no |
Edward Timpson | Crewe and Nantwich | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Claire Curtis-Thomas | Crosby | Lab | no |
absent |
Jon Cruddas | Dagenham | Lab | no |
absent |
Alan Milburn | Darlington | Lab | absent |
no |
Tim Boswell | Daventry | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Bob Laxton | Derby North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ed Miliband | Doncaster North | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Tessa Jowell | Dulwich and West Norwood | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Mundell | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Stewart Hosie | Dundee East | SNP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Steve Pound | Ealing North | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Virendra Sharma | Ealing, Southall | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Cummings | Easington | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Sammy Wilson | East Antrim | DUP (front bench) | no |
aye |
Michael Mates | East Hampshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Gregory Campbell | East Londonderry | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Anne Moffat | East Lothian | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Nigel Waterson | Eastbourne | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Ian Stewart | Eccles | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gavin Strang | Edinburgh East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Colin Burgon | Elmet | Lab | no |
absent |
John Austin | Erith and Thamesmead | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Michael Jack | Fylde | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Mohammad Sarwar | Glasgow Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Mason | Glasgow East | SNP (front bench) | no |
aye |
Ian Davidson | Glasgow South West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Martin Caton | Gower | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Quentin Davies | Grantham and Stamford | whilst Lab (front bench) | absent |
no |
Austin Mitchell | Great Grimsby | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Anthony D Wright | Great Yarmouth | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Nick Raynsford | Greenwich and Woolwich | Lab | no |
aye |
Diane Abbott | Hackney North and Stoke Newington | Lab | no |
aye |
Meg Hillier | Hackney South and Shoreditch | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Linda Riordan | Halifax | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Glenda Jackson | Hampstead and Highgate | Lab | no |
aye |
Bill Rammell | Harlow | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Phil Willis | Harrogate and Knaresborough | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Martin McDonnell | Hayes and Harlington | Lab | no |
aye |
Mike Penning | Hemel Hempstead | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Paul Keetch | Hereford | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Mark Prisk | Hertford and Stortford | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
James Clappison | Hertsmere | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Jim Dobbin | Heywood and Middleton | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Francis Maude | Horsham | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Celia Barlow | Hove | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Barry Sheerman | Huddersfield | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mike Gapes | Ilford South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Jeremy Corbyn | Islington North | Lab | no |
aye |
Alan Johnson | Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gordon Brown | Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Edward O'Hara | Knowsley South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Jeffrey M. Donaldson | Lagan Valley | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jimmy Hood | Lanark and Hamilton East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Hilary Benn | Leeds Central | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Fabian Hamilton | Leeds North East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Battle | Leeds West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Harry Cohen | Leyton and Wanstead | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Jane Kennedy | Liverpool, Wavertree | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Robert Wareing | Liverpool, West Derby | whilst Independent | absent |
aye |
Andy Reed | Loughborough | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Peter Tapsell | Louth and Horncastle | Con | absent |
aye |
Ann Widdecombe | Maidstone and The Weald | Con | absent |
aye |
Robert Marshall-Andrews | Medway | Lab | no |
aye |
Elfyn Llwyd | Meirionnydd Nant Conwy | PC (front bench) | no |
aye |
Caroline Spelman | Meriden | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nadine Dorries | Mid Bedfordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Annette Brooke | Mid Dorset and North Poole | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nicholas Soames | Mid Sussex | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Peter Luff | Mid Worcestershire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Stuart Bell | Middlesbrough | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ashok Kumar | Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Hamilton | Midlothian | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Lembit Öpik | Montgomeryshire | LDem | aye |
absent |
Angus Robertson | Moray | SNP (front bench) | no |
aye |
Angus MacNeil | Na h-Eileanan an Iar | SNP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Julian Lewis | New Forest East | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Richard Benyon | Newbury | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Doug Henderson | Newcastle upon Tyne North | Lab | no |
absent |
Paul Farrelly | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Jessica Morden | Newport East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Paul Flynn | Newport West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Katy Clark | North Ayrshire and Arran | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Robert Walter | North Dorset | Con | aye |
absent |
Sylvia Hermon | North Down | UUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Malcolm Moss | North East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Mark Lancaster | North East Milton Keynes | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Owen Paterson | North Shropshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Stephen Byers | North Tyneside | Lab | no |
absent |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | no |
both |
James Gray | North Wiltshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Sally Keeble | Northampton North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Brian Binley | Northampton South | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Steve Webb | Northavon | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Ian Gibson | Norwich North | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Alan Simpson | Nottingham South | Lab | absent |
aye |
Huw Irranca-Davies | Ogmore | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Derek Conway | Old Bexley and Sidcup | whilst Independent (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Horam | Orpington | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Andrew Smith | Oxford East | Lab | no |
aye |
Pete Wishart | Perth and North Perthshire | SNP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mike Hancock | Portsmouth South | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Paul Truswell | Pudsey | Lab | absent |
aye |
Martin Salter | Reading West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Vera Baird | Redcar | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jacqui Smith | Redditch | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Karen Buck | Regent's Park and Kensington North | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Sandra Gidley | Romsey | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Charles Kennedy | Ross, Skye and Lochaber | LDem | aye |
absent |
Denis MacShane | Rotherham | Lab | no |
absent |
Kenneth Clarke | Rushcliffe | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Greenway | Ryedale | Con | aye |
absent |
Phil Wilson | Sedgefield | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Richard Caborn | Sheffield Central | Lab | no |
absent |
Paddy Tipping | Sherwood | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
William McCrea | South Antrim | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Todd | South Derbyshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Miliband | South Shields | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Patrick Cormack | South Staffordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Anne Snelgrove | South Swindon | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Gary Streeter | South West Devon | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Gauke | South West Hertfordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Christopher Fraser | South West Norfolk | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Shaun Woodward | St Helens South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Charlotte Atkins | Staffordshire Moorlands | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Anne McGuire | Stirling | Lab | no |
absent |
Frank Cook | Stockton North | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Mark Fisher | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Lab | no |
aye |
John Maples | Stratford-on-Avon | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Siân James | Swansea East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Richard Younger-Ross | Teignbridge | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Pritchard | The Wrekin | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Andrew MacKinlay | Thurrock | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
John Stanley | Tonbridge and Malling | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Geoffrey Cox | Torridge and West Devon | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Kate Hoey | Vauxhall | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Neil Gerrard | Walthamstow | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Mike Hall | Weaver Vale | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Peter Bone | Wellingborough | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Heathcoat-Amory | Wells | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Adrian Bailey | West Bromwich West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Rosie Cooper | West Lancashire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Richard Spring | West Suffolk | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Penrose | Weston-Super-Mare | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Neil Turner | Wigan | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Stephen Hammond | Wimbledon | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Oaten | Winchester | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Humfrey Malins | Woking | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Pat McFadden | Wolverhampton South East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Liam Fox | Woodspring | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Peter Bottomley | Worthing West | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Richard Taylor | Wyre Forest | Independent (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 407 voted the same way, with 33 voting in opposite ways.
There were 41 MPs who didn't vote in either division,
and 165 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])
=
407
(407 + 33 + 0.2x165)
=
407
473
=
0.860
=
86.0 %.