Comparison of Divisions: Iraq War Inquiry — Declines to make a proposal — 25 Mar 2009 at 15:51 with Division No. 104 on 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49
(Swap the two divisions around).
The majority of MPs voted against holding a further inquiry into the Iraq war at this time but to agree a time will come when an inquiry is appropriate.
The majority of MPs voted for the motion, which read:[1]
-
This House
-
notes the Resolutions of this House of 31 October 2006,[2] 11 June 2007[3] and 25 March 2008[4] on an Iraq inquiry;
-
recognises the heroic efforts of the British armed forces in Iraq who have a continuing role which this House should be careful not to undermine;
-
further recognises that a time will come when an inquiry is appropriate, but
-
declines to make a proposal for a further inquiry at this time, whilst important operations are underway in Iraq to support the people and government of Iraq.
(The Prime Minister's Spokesman had insisted that he thought it was okay to make an announcement on when troops would return, but continue to stonewall the announcement of an inquiry whilst the Armed Forces were still operational in Iraq.)[5]
This replaced a motion that was rejected in the previous 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 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) |
Brian Binley | Northampton South | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Tim Boswell | Daventry | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
John Butterfill | Bournemouth West | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
James Clappison | Hertsmere | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Kenneth Clarke | Rushcliffe | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
David Davis | Haltemprice and Howden | Con | 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 |
Julie Kirkbride | Bromsgrove | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Peter Luff | Mid Worcestershire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Humfrey Malins | Woking | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
John Maples | Stratford-on-Avon | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Malcolm Moss | North East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
David Mundell | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Owen Paterson | North Shropshire | 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 |
Michael Ancram | Devizes | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Bercow | Buckingham | whilst Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Crispin Blunt | Reigate | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Patrick Cormack | South Staffordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Daniel Kawczynski | Shrewsbury and Atcham | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Lancaster | North East Milton Keynes | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Richard Ottaway | Croydon South | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Pritchard | The Wrekin | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Ruffley | Bury St Edmunds | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Simmonds | Boston and Skegness | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Gregory Campbell | East Londonderry | DUP (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Nigel Dodds | Belfast North | DUP (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Sammy Wilson | East Antrim | DUP (front bench) | aye |
aye |
David Simpson | Upper Bann | DUP (front bench) | aye |
absent |
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 |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Independent (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Diane Abbott | Hackney North and Stoke Newington | Lab | aye |
aye |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Paul Farrelly | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Joan Humble | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Gordon Marsden | Blackpool South | Lab | aye |
aye |
Shona McIsaac | Cleethorpes | Lab (minister) | 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 |
Andrew Smith | Oxford East | Lab | aye |
aye |
John Austin | Erith and Thamesmead | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Adrian Bailey | West Bromwich West | 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 |
Stephen Byers | North Tyneside | Lab | aye |
absent |
Richard Caborn | Sheffield Central | Lab | aye |
absent |
Ronnie Campbell | Blyth Valley | Lab | aye |
absent |
Michael Clapham | Barnsley West and Penistone | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Charles Clarke | Norwich South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Frank Cook | Stockton North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Jon Cruddas | Dagenham | Lab | aye |
absent |
Claire Curtis-Thomas | Crosby | Lab | aye |
absent |
Jim Dobbin | Heywood and Middleton | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Bill Etherington | Sunderland North | Lab | aye |
absent |
Frank Field | Birkenhead | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Mike Gapes | Ilford South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Ian Gibson | Norwich North | Lab (minister) | 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 |
Doug Henderson | Newcastle upon Tyne North | Lab | 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 | aye |
absent |
Jimmy Hood | Lanark and Hamilton East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Geoff Hoon | Ashfield | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Lindsay Hoyle | Chorley | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Eric Illsley | Barnsley Central | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Siân James | Swansea East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Ashok Kumar | Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland | Lab | aye |
absent |
Ivan Lewis | Bury South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Martin Linton | Battersea | 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 | aye |
absent |
Michael Meacher | Oldham West and Royton | Lab | aye |
absent |
Alan Meale | Mansfield | Lab | aye |
absent |
David Miliband | South Shields | Lab (minister) | 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 |
John Prescott | Kingston upon Hull East | Lab | aye |
absent |
Jamie Reed | Copeland | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
John Reid | Airdrie and Shotts | Lab | aye |
absent |
John Robertson | Glasgow North West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Martin Salter | Reading West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Anne Snelgrove | South Swindon | Lab | aye |
absent |
Gavin Strang | Edinburgh East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Gisela Stuart | Birmingham, Edgbaston | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Paddy Tipping | Sherwood | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Neil Turner | Wigan | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Rudi Vis | Finchley and Golders Green | Lab | aye |
absent |
Betty Williams | Conwy | Lab | aye |
absent |
Shaun Woodward | St Helens South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Anthony D Wright | Great Yarmouth | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Gordon Prentice | Pendle | Lab (minister) | no |
no |
Peter Soulsby | Leicester South | Lab (minister) | no |
no |
Paul Flynn | Newport West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Roger Godsiff | Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath | Lab | no |
absent |
Lynne Jones | Birmingham, Selly Oak | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | both |
both |
Harry Cohen | Leyton and Wanstead | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Mark Fisher | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Lab | absent |
aye |
Neil Gerrard | Walthamstow | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Kate Hoey | Vauxhall | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Glenda Jackson | Hampstead and Highgate | Lab | absent |
aye |
Robert Marshall-Andrews | Medway | Lab | absent |
aye |
Paul Truswell | Pudsey | Lab | absent |
aye |
Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Edward Balls | Normanton | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Hugh Bayley | City of York | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gordon Brown | Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ben Chapman | Wirral South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ann Clwyd | Cynon Valley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jim Cousins | Newcastle upon Tyne Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
John Denham | Southampton, Itchen | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Drew | Stroud | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Clive Efford | Eltham | Lab | absent |
no |
John Grogan | Selby | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mark Hendrick | Preston | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
George Howarth | Knowsley North and Sefton East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Kim Howells | Pontypridd | Lab | absent |
no |
Shahid Malik | Dewsbury | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jim McGovern | Dundee West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Rosemary McKenna | Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Meg Munn | Sheffield, Heeley | Lab | absent |
no |
Jim Murphy | East Renfrewshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Paul Murphy | Torfaen | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Doug Naysmith | Bristol North West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Graham Stringer | Manchester, Blackley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Dari Taylor | Stockton South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Tony Wright | Cannock Chase | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Sandra Gidley | Romsey | 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 |
Mark Oaten | Winchester | LDem (front bench) | 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 |
Malcolm Bruce | Gordon | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Menzies Campbell | North East Fife | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Lynne Featherstone | Hornsey and Wood Green | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Durkan | Foyle | SDLP (front bench) | no |
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 |
Sylvia Hermon | North Down | UUP (front bench) | aye |
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 19 voted the same way, with 448 voting in opposite ways.
There were 30 MPs who didn't vote in either division,
and 149 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])
=
448
(448 + 19 + 0.2x149)
=
448
496.8
=
0.902
=
90.2 %.