Comparison of Divisions: Opposition Day — [7th Allotted Day] — Unemployment — 10 Mar 2009 at 18:48 with Division No. 104 on 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49
(Swap the two divisions around).
I beg to move,
That this House notes that unemployment rose by 146,000 to 1.97 million in the three months to December 2008, the highest level since August 1997, that the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance in January 2009 rose by 73,800 to 1.23 million, and that the number of vacancies in the UK fell by 76,000 in the three months to January 2009 to 504,000, the lowest figure since records began; further notes that unemployment among 18 to 24-year-olds was 616,000 in the three months to November, the highest total since 1995; further notes that the Government has failed to establish a national loan guarantee scheme to increase the flow of credit to businesses, and calls on the Government to establish such a scheme; further notes that the Government failed to introduce necessary welfare reform during the years of economic growth; further calls on the Government to relax the rules on jobseeker's allowance to allow unemployed people rapidly to take up training opportunities; believes that the Government should immediately cut taxes for firms taking on new employees who have been unemployed for three months; notes with concern the failure of the procurement process for Flexible New Deal, and further calls on the Government not to backtrack on the use of the private and voluntary sectors in welfare-to-work provisions; and calls on the Department for Work and Pensions to expand the use of an 'invest to save' approach to welfare-to-work services, allowing the full potential of the expertise in these sectors to be realised.
I beg to move an amendment, to leave out from "House" to the end of the Question and add:
"notes that unemployment is rising in Britain and across the world; believes that unemployment is never a price worth paying and that as unemployment rises the amount of support that is offered should be increased; further notes that the Government is investing nearly £2 billion extra into giving additional assistance for the unemployed and that this will provide additional help to people losing their jobs, including a national rapid response service to react to redundancy situations, advice from day one of unemployment on skills and finding a job, assistance to pay mortgage bills to prevent people losing both their jobs and their homes, cash incentives for employers to recruit and train unemployed people, more training opportunities to help people back to work and more places on the New Deal employment programme; believes that it is preferable to invest millions into helping people now than to spend billions of pounds of public money on benefits in the future; further notes that in previous recessions the numbers on inactive benefits were allowed to increase dramatically; further believes that the mistakes of previous recessions must be avoided by investing now to prevent people becoming long-term unemployed today; and further believes that the Government should increase the support offered to people trapped on benefits by previous recessions."
The House having divided: Ayes 161, Noes 349.
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 |
James Clappison | Hertsmere | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Kenneth Clarke | Rushcliffe | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
David Davis | Haltemprice and Howden | Con | aye |
absent |
James Gray | North Wiltshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Oliver Heald | North East Hertfordshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
David Heathcoat-Amory | Wells | 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 |
Michael Mates | East Hampshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Malcolm Moss | North East Cambridgeshire | 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 |
John Stanley | Tonbridge and Malling | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Alistair Burt | North East Bedfordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Cameron | Witney | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Christopher Chope | Christchurch | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Philip Davies | Shipley | Con | absent |
aye |
Iain Duncan Smith | Chingford and Woodford Green | Con | absent |
aye |
Tobias Ellwood | Bournemouth East | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Michael Fallon | Sevenoaks | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Roger Gale | North Thanet | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Justine Greening | Putney | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Hoban | Fareham | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Philip Hollobone | Kettering | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Michael Howard | Folkestone and Hythe | Con | absent |
aye |
Gerald Howarth | Aldershot | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jeremy Hunt | South West Surrey | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Lancaster | North East Milton Keynes | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Edward Leigh | Gainsborough | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Patrick Mercer | Newark | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Richard Ottaway | Croydon South | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
James Paice | South East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Eric Pickles | Brentwood and Ongar | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Randall | Uxbridge | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Laurence Robertson | Tewkesbury | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Ruffley | Bury St Edmunds | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Richard Spring | West Suffolk | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Whittingdale | Maldon and East Chelmsford | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Ann Widdecombe | Maidstone and The Weald | Con | 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 |
Dai Davies | Blaenau Gwent | Independent | no |
aye |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Independent (front bench) | no |
aye |
Robert Wareing | Liverpool, West Derby | whilst Independent | no |
aye |
Diane Abbott | Hackney North and Stoke Newington | Lab | no |
aye |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | 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 |
Andrew MacKinlay | Thurrock | 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 (minister) | 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 |
Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | no |
both |
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 |
Karen Buck | Regent's Park and Kensington North | 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 |
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 (minister) | no |
absent |
Frank Cook | Stockton North | 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 |
Mike Gapes | Ilford South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Ian Gibson | Norwich North | 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 |
Fabian Hamilton | Leeds North East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Heyes | Ashton-under-Lyne | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Geoff Hoon | Ashfield | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Lindsay Hoyle | Chorley | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Eric Illsley | Barnsley Central | 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 | no |
absent |
Ivan Lewis | Bury South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Martin Linton | Battersea | Lab | no |
absent |
Denis MacShane | Rotherham | Lab | no |
absent |
Judy Mallaber | Amber Valley | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Mann | Bassetlaw | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Anne McGuire | Stirling | Lab | 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 |
Austin Mitchell | Great Grimsby | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Anne Moffat | East Lothian | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Sandra Osborne | Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock | 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 |
Jamie Reed | Copeland | Lab (minister) | 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 | no |
absent |
Gavin Strang | Edinburgh East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Paddy Tipping | Sherwood | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Neil Turner | Wigan | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Anthony D Wright | Great Yarmouth | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Harry Cohen | Leyton and Wanstead | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Glenda Jackson | Hampstead and Highgate | Lab | absent |
aye |
Mike Wood | Batley and Spen | Lab | absent |
aye |
Douglas Alexander | Paisley and Renfrewshire South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Janet Anderson | Rossendale and Darwen | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Hilary Armstrong | North West Durham | Lab | absent |
no |
Charlotte Atkins | Staffordshire Moorlands | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Stuart Bell | Middlesbrough | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Joe Benton | Bootle | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Bob Blizzard | Waveney | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gordon Brown | Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Liam Byrne | Birmingham, Hodge Hill | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Cairns | Inverclyde | Lab | absent |
no |
Colin Challen | Morley and Rothwell | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Chaytor | Bury North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Paul Clark | Gillingham | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mary Creagh | Wakefield | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alistair Darling | Edinburgh South West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Parmjit Dhanda | Gloucester | Lab | absent |
no |
Caroline Flint | Don Valley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Barbara Follett | Stevenage | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Michael Foster | Worcester | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Barry Gardiner | Brent North | Lab | absent |
no |
Paul Goggins | Wythenshawe and Sale East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Peter Hain | Neath | Lab | absent |
no |
John Healey | Wentworth | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Hutton | Barrow and Furness | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Eric Joyce | Falkirk | Lab | absent |
no |
Ruth Kelly | Bolton West | Lab | absent |
no |
Gillian Merron | Lincoln | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jessica Morden | Newport East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Chris Mullin | Sunderland South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Smith | Vale of Glamorgan | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Peter Soulsby | Leicester South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Helen Southworth | Warrington South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ian Stewart | Eccles | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Lynda Waltho | Stourbridge | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Tom Watson | West Bromwich East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Michael Wills | North Swindon | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Danny Alexander | Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Norman Baker | Lewes | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
John Barrett | Edinburgh West | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Alan Beith | Berwick-upon-Tweed | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Colin Breed | South East Cornwall | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Annette Brooke | Mid Dorset and North Poole | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Malcolm Bruce | Gordon | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Vincent Cable | Twickenham | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Menzies Campbell | North East Fife | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Nick Clegg | Sheffield, Hallam | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Tim Farron | Westmorland and Lonsdale | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Andrew George | St Ives | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Julia Goldsworthy | Falmouth and Camborne | 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 (front bench) | no |
aye |
Martin Horwood | Cheltenham | LDem (front bench) | 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 |
Mark Hunter | Cheadle | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Susan Kramer | Richmond Park | LDem | 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 |
Michael Moore | Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Greg Mulholland | Leeds North West | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
John Pugh | Southport | LDem (front bench) | 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 |
Robert Smith | West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Matthew Taylor | Truro and St Austell | LDem | no |
aye |
Sarah Teather | Brent East | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
John Thurso | Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | LDem (front bench) | no |
aye |
Steve Webb | Northavon | LDem (front bench) | 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 |
Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Sandra Gidley | Romsey | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Charles Kennedy | Ross, Skye and Lochaber | LDem | no |
absent |
Paul Rowen | Rochdale | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Roger Williams | Brecon and Radnorshire | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Tom Brake | Carshalton and Wallington | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jeremy Browne | Taunton | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Paul Burstow | Sutton and Cheam | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Lorely Burt | Solihull | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Edward Davey | Kingston and Surbiton | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Lynne Featherstone | Hornsey and Wood Green | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Don Foster | Bath | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Evan Harris | Oxford West and Abingdon | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Andrew Stunell | Hazel Grove | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Adam Price | Carmarthen East and Dinefwr | PC (front bench) | no |
aye |
Hywel Williams | Caernarfon | PC (front bench) | no |
aye |
Elfyn Llwyd | Meirionnydd Nant Conwy | PC (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Alasdair McDonnell | Belfast South | SDLP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Mason | Glasgow East | SNP (front bench) | no |
aye |
Angus Robertson | Moray | SNP (front bench) | no |
aye |
Michael Weir | Angus | SNP (front bench) | no |
aye |
Pete Wishart | Perth and North Perthshire | SNP (front bench) | no |
aye |
Stewart Hosie | Dundee East | SNP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Angus MacNeil | Na h-Eileanan an Iar | SNP (front bench) | no |
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
646 MPs who could have voted in both of these divisions,
and 356 voted the same way, with 77 voting in opposite ways.
There were 50 MPs who didn't vote in either division,
and 163 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])
=
356
(356 + 77 + 0.2x163)
=
356
465.6
=
0.765
=
76.5 %.