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]
Public Whip is run as a free not-for-profit service. If you'd like to support us, please
consider switching your (UK) electricity and/or gas to
Octopus Energy or
tip us via Ko-Fi.
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) |
John Reid | Airdrie and Shotts | Lab | aye |
absent |
Judy Mallaber | Amber Valley | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Geoff Hoon | Ashfield | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Heyes | Ashton-under-Lyne | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Sandra Osborne | Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Alex Salmond | Banff and Buchan | SNP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Margaret Hodge | Barking | Lab | aye |
absent |
Eric Illsley | Barnsley Central | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Michael Clapham | Barnsley West and Penistone | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
John Mann | Bassetlaw | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Martin Linton | Battersea | Lab | aye |
absent |
Patrick Hall | Bedford | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Peter Robinson | Belfast East | DUP | absent |
aye |
Nigel Dodds | Belfast North | DUP (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Alasdair McDonnell | Belfast South | SDLP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Frank Field | Birkenhead | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Gisela Stuart | Birmingham, Edgbaston | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Khalid Mahmood | Birmingham, Perry Barr | Lab | aye |
absent |
Lynne Jones | Birmingham, Selly Oak | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Roger Godsiff | Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath | Lab | no |
absent |
Joan Humble | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Gordon Marsden | Blackpool South | Lab | aye |
aye |
Ronnie Campbell | Blyth Valley | Lab | aye |
absent |
Mark Simmonds | Boston and Skegness | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Butterfill | Bournemouth West | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Doug Naysmith | Bristol North West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Julie Kirkbride | Bromsgrove | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Nick Palmer | Broxtowe | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
John Bercow | Buckingham | whilst Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Ivan Lewis | Bury South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Ruffley | Bury St Edmunds | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Chris McCafferty | Calder Valley | Lab | aye |
absent |
Tony Wright | Cannock Chase | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Julie Morgan | Cardiff North | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Independent (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Lindsay Hoyle | Chorley | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Hugh Bayley | City of York | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Shona McIsaac | Cleethorpes | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Betty Williams | Conwy | Lab | aye |
absent |
Jamie Reed | Copeland | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Claire Curtis-Thomas | Crosby | Lab | aye |
absent |
Richard Ottaway | Croydon South | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Rosemary McKenna | Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ann Clwyd | Cynon Valley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Jon Cruddas | Dagenham | Lab | aye |
absent |
Tim Boswell | Daventry | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Michael Ancram | Devizes | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Shahid Malik | Dewsbury | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ed Miliband | Doncaster North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Mundell | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Stewart Hosie | Dundee East | SNP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Jim McGovern | Dundee West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Steve Pound | Ealing North | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Sammy Wilson | East Antrim | DUP (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Jo Swinson | East Dunbartonshire | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Gregory Campbell | East Londonderry | DUP (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Anne Moffat | East Lothian | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Jim Murphy | East Renfrewshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gavin Strang | Edinburgh East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Clive Efford | Eltham | Lab | absent |
no |
John Austin | Erith and Thamesmead | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Rudi Vis | Finchley and Golders Green | Lab | aye |
absent |
Mark Durkan | Foyle | SDLP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Michael Jack | Fylde | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
John Robertson | Glasgow North West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Malcolm Bruce | Gordon | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Austin Mitchell | Great Grimsby | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Anthony D Wright | Great Yarmouth | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Nick Raynsford | Greenwich and Woolwich | Lab | aye |
aye |
Diane Abbott | Hackney North and Stoke Newington | Lab | aye |
aye |
Meg Hillier | Hackney South and Shoreditch | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Davis | Haltemprice and Howden | Con | no |
absent |
Glenda Jackson | Hampstead and Highgate | Lab | absent |
aye |
Paul Keetch | Hereford | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
James Clappison | Hertsmere | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Jim Dobbin | Heywood and Middleton | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Lynne Featherstone | Hornsey and Wood Green | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Greg Pope | Hyndburn | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Mike Gapes | Ilford South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
John Prescott | Kingston upon Hull East | Lab | aye |
absent |
Gordon Brown | Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
George Howarth | Knowsley North and Sefton East | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Edward O'Hara | Knowsley South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Jeffrey M. Donaldson | Lagan Valley | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jimmy Hood | Lanark and Hamilton East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Hilary Benn | Leeds Central | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Fabian Hamilton | Leeds North East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
John Battle | Leeds West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Peter Soulsby | Leicester South | Lab (minister) | no |
no |
Bridget Prentice | Lewisham East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Harry Cohen | Leyton and Wanstead | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Andy Reed | Loughborough | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Graham Stringer | Manchester, Blackley | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alan Meale | Mansfield | Lab | aye |
absent |
Robert Marshall-Andrews | Medway | Lab | absent |
aye |
Peter Luff | Mid Worcestershire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Ashok Kumar | Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland | Lab | aye |
absent |
Lembit Öpik | Montgomeryshire | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Angus MacNeil | Na h-Eileanan an Iar | SNP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Jim Cousins | Newcastle upon Tyne Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Doug Henderson | Newcastle upon Tyne North | Lab | aye |
absent |
Paul Farrelly | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Paul Flynn | Newport West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Edward Balls | Normanton | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Robert Walter | North Dorset | Con | no |
absent |
Sylvia Hermon | North Down | UUP (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Malcolm Moss | North East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Menzies Campbell | North East Fife | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Oliver Heald | North East Hertfordshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Mark Lancaster | North East Milton Keynes | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Owen Paterson | North Shropshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Stephen Byers | North Tyneside | Lab | aye |
absent |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | both |
both |
James Gray | North Wiltshire | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Brian Binley | Northampton South | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Ian Gibson | Norwich North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Charles Clarke | Norwich South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Michael Meacher | Oldham West and Royton | Lab | aye |
absent |
John Horam | Orpington | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Andrew Smith | Oxford East | Lab | aye |
aye |
Gordon Prentice | Pendle | Lab (minister) | no |
no |
Kim Howells | Pontypridd | Lab | absent |
no |
Mike Hancock | Portsmouth South | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Mark Hendrick | Preston | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Paul Truswell | Pudsey | Lab | absent |
aye |
Martin Salter | Reading West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Karen Buck | Regent's Park and Kensington North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Crispin Blunt | Reigate | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nigel Evans | Ribble Valley | Con | no |
absent |
Paul Rowen | Rochdale | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Sandra Gidley | Romsey | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Charles Kennedy | Ross, Skye and Lochaber | LDem | no |
absent |
Kenneth Clarke | Rushcliffe | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
John Greenway | Ryedale | Con | no |
absent |
John Grogan | Selby | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Richard Caborn | Sheffield Central | Lab | aye |
absent |
Meg Munn | Sheffield, Heeley | Lab | absent |
no |
Paddy Tipping | Sherwood | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Daniel Kawczynski | Shrewsbury and Atcham | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
William McCrea | South Antrim | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Miliband | South Shields | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Patrick Cormack | South Staffordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Anne Snelgrove | South Swindon | Lab | aye |
absent |
John Denham | Southampton, Itchen | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Wilshire | Spelthorne | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Shaun Woodward | St Helens South | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Anne McGuire | Stirling | Lab | aye |
absent |
Frank Cook | Stockton North | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Dari Taylor | Stockton South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Mark Fisher | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Lab | absent |
aye |
John Maples | Stratford-on-Avon | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
David Drew | Stroud | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Bill Etherington | Sunderland North | Lab | aye |
absent |
Siân James | Swansea East | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Mark Pritchard | The Wrekin | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Stanley | Tonbridge and Malling | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Paul Murphy | Torfaen | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Simpson | Upper Bann | DUP (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Kate Hoey | Vauxhall | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Neil Gerrard | Walthamstow | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Mike Hall | Weaver Vale | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
David Heathcoat-Amory | Wells | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
Adrian Bailey | West Bromwich West | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Neil Turner | Wigan | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Mark Oaten | Winchester | LDem (front bench) | no |
absent |
Ben Chapman | Wirral South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Humfrey Malins | Woking | Con (front bench) | no |
absent |
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 %.