Comparison of Divisions: Opposition Day — [9th Allotted Day] — Business Rates and the Recession — 25 Mar 2009 at 18:52 with Division No. 104 on 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49
(Swap the two divisions around).
I beg to move,
That this House notes with concern that the effect of the five per cent. rise in business rates and the end of transitional rate relief will mean soaring bills at a time of deflation and recession; notes the poor take-up of small business rate relief and calls for entitlement to be made automatic in England, as it is in Wales; believes the complex and shrinking Local Authority Business Growth Incentive Scheme should be replaced with genuine incentives for local authorities to promote business growth; further calls for local authorities to have the power to apply local business rate discounts; expresses concern about the effect of the 2010 rates re-valuation on retail premises and urges a review of the re-valuation plans; cautions that local firms will suffer as a result of the Government's business rate rises on empty property, new supplementary rates being imposed with no business say, and retrospective increases in rates on business by ports; and asserts that the Government's policies on business rates are harming local firms during the recession.
I beg to move an amendment, to leave out from "House" to the end of the Question and add:
"notes that the Government has recognised the problems that many businesses face and is committed to do all it can to help them through these testing times; recognises the action the Government has taken to give targeted support to businesses including a £20 billion working capital scheme, an aim to pay Government suppliers within 10 days, a cut in the main rate of value added tax to 15 per cent., a deferral in the increase in the small companies' rate of corporation tax, free business health checks, more than £100 million towards debt advice, the HM Revenue and Customs Time to Pay scheme benefiting 93,000 firms by deferring £1.6 billion in tax, and extension of Empty Property Relief; believes the Government's commitment to the annual Retail Price Index cap means that there has been no real terms increase in business rates since 1990; welcomes the Small Business Rate Relief scheme benefiting 392,000 businesses by £260 million in 2007-08; recognises that funding of almost £1 billion since 2005-06 has been provided through the Local Authority Business Growth Incentive scheme; further supports fairness in the system that ensures that properties are revalued every five years with transitional relief to phase in significant increases in bills from revaluation; and acknowledges help provided for businesses, including in ports, receiving unexpected and significant backdated rates bills by introducing an unprecedented eight years to pay, as part of a package of measures that ensures through the rates system there is certainly, fairness and appropriate relief for businesses.".
Question put accordingly (Standing Order No. 31(2)), That the original words stand part of the Question.
The House divided: Ayes 220, Noes 297.
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) | absent |
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 |
Eric Illsley | Barnsley Central | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Michael Clapham | Barnsley West and Penistone | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Hutton | Barrow and Furness | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
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 | absent |
aye |
Alasdair McDonnell | Belfast South | SDLP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Baron | Billericay | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Gisela Stuart | Birmingham, Edgbaston | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Liam Byrne | Birmingham, Hodge Hill | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
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) | no |
aye |
Gordon Marsden | Blackpool South | Lab | no |
aye |
Ronnie Campbell | Blyth Valley | Lab | no |
absent |
Mark Simmonds | Boston and Skegness | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Butterfill | Bournemouth West | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Brooks Newmark | Braintree | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Barry Gardiner | Brent North | Lab | absent |
no |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Doug Naysmith | Bristol North West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Julie Kirkbride | Bromsgrove | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Nick Palmer | Broxtowe | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Ivan Lewis | Bury South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Ruffley | Bury St Edmunds | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Hywel Williams | Caernarfon | PC (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Thurso | Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Chris McCafferty | Calder Valley | Lab | no |
absent |
Harriet Harman | Camberwell and Peckham | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Howarth | Cambridge | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Julie Morgan | Cardiff North | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Eric Martlew | Carlisle | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Adam Price | Carmarthen East and Dinefwr | PC (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Tom Brake | Carshalton and Wallington | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Williams | Ceredigion | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Hunter | Cheadle | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Lindsay Hoyle | Chorley | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Hugh Bayley | City of York | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Shona McIsaac | Cleethorpes | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Martyn Jones | Clwyd South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Betty Williams | Conwy | Lab | no |
absent |
Jamie Reed | Copeland | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Geoffrey Robinson | Coventry North West | Lab | absent |
no |
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 | no |
absent |
Alan Milburn | Darlington | Lab | absent |
no |
Tim Boswell | Daventry | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Michael Ancram | Devizes | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Ed Miliband | Doncaster North | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Mundell | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Steve Pound | Ealing North | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Sammy Wilson | East Antrim | DUP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Anne Moffat | East Lothian | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Jim Murphy | East Renfrewshire | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gavin Strang | Edinburgh East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Nigel Griffiths | Edinburgh South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Alistair Darling | Edinburgh South West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Clive Efford | Eltham | Lab | absent |
no |
John Austin | Erith and Thamesmead | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Julia Goldsworthy | Falmouth and Camborne | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Rudi Vis | Finchley and Golders Green | Lab | no |
absent |
Mark Durkan | Foyle | SDLP (front bench) | no |
absent |
Michael Jack | Fylde | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Mason | Glasgow East | SNP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
John Robertson | Glasgow North West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Malcolm Bruce | Gordon | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
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 |
Linda Riordan | Halifax | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
David Davis | Haltemprice and Howden | Con | aye |
absent |
Glenda Jackson | Hampstead and Highgate | Lab | absent |
aye |
Bill Rammell | Harlow | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Martin McDonnell | Hayes and Harlington | Lab | absent |
aye |
Andrew Dismore | Hendon | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Paul Keetch | Hereford | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
James Clappison | Hertsmere | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Jim Dobbin | Heywood and Middleton | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Lynne Featherstone | Hornsey and Wood Green | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Greg Pope | Hyndburn | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Mike Gapes | Ilford South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Danny Alexander | Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jeremy Corbyn | Islington North | Lab | no |
aye |
John Prescott | Kingston upon Hull East | Lab | no |
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) | 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) | absent |
aye |
Norman Baker | Lewes | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Bridget Prentice | Lewisham East | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Jim Dowd | Lewisham West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Harry Cohen | Leyton and Wanstead | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Peter Kilfoyle | Liverpool, Walton | Lab | no |
absent |
Robert Wareing | Liverpool, West Derby | whilst Independent | no |
aye |
Andy Reed | Loughborough | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Kelvin Hopkins | Luton North | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Alan Meale | Mansfield | Lab | no |
absent |
Robert Marshall-Andrews | Medway | Lab | absent |
aye |
Elfyn Llwyd | Meirionnydd Nant Conwy | PC (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Peter Luff | Mid Worcestershire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Ashok Kumar | Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland | Lab | no |
absent |
Lembit Öpik | Montgomeryshire | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Angus Robertson | Moray | SNP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Paul Farrelly | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Paul Flynn | Newport West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Edward Balls | Normanton | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Katy Clark | North Ayrshire and Arran | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Dan Rogerson | North Cornwall | LDem (front bench) | absent |
tellaye |
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 |
Menzies Campbell | North East Fife | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Oliver Heald | North East Hertfordshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
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 |
Brian Binley | Northampton South | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Ian Gibson | Norwich North | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Charles Clarke | Norwich South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Alan Simpson | Nottingham South | Lab | no |
aye |
Michael Meacher | Oldham West and Royton | Lab | no |
absent |
John Horam | Orpington | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Andrew Smith | Oxford East | Lab | absent |
aye |
Douglas Alexander | Paisley and Renfrewshire South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Maclean | Penrith and The Border | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Pete Wishart | Perth and North Perthshire | SNP (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Alison Seabeck | Plymouth, Devonport | Lab | absent |
no |
Kim Howells | Pontypridd | Lab | absent |
no |
Mark Hendrick | Preston | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Paul Truswell | Pudsey | Lab | no |
aye |
Mark Francois | Rayleigh | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Karen Buck | Regent's Park and Kensington North | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Crispin Blunt | Reigate | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Nigel Evans | Ribble Valley | Con | aye |
absent |
Paul Rowen | Rochdale | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Sandra Gidley | Romsey | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Charles Kennedy | Ross, Skye and Lochaber | LDem | aye |
absent |
Kenneth Clarke | Rushcliffe | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Richard Caborn | Sheffield Central | Lab | no |
absent |
Nick Clegg | Sheffield, Hallam | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Meg Munn | Sheffield, Heeley | Lab | absent |
no |
Paddy Tipping | Sherwood | Lab (minister) | no |
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) | no |
absent |
Patrick Cormack | South Staffordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Anne Snelgrove | South Swindon | Lab | no |
absent |
Stephen Ladyman | South Thanet | Lab | absent |
no |
Jeremy Hunt | South West Surrey | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
David Wilshire | Spelthorne | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Shaun Woodward | St Helens South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
James Purnell | Stalybridge and Hyde | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Anne McGuire | Stirling | Lab | no |
absent |
Frank Cook | Stockton North | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Dari Taylor | Stockton South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
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 |
George Osborne | Tatton | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
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 |
Paul Murphy | Torfaen | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Simpson | Upper Bann | DUP (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Kate Hoey | Vauxhall | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Neil Gerrard | Walthamstow | Lab (minister) | no |
aye |
Ed Vaizey | Wantage | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mike Hall | Weaver Vale | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Heathcoat-Amory | Wells | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Adrian Bailey | West Bromwich West | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Richard Spring | West Suffolk | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Tim Farron | Westmorland and Lonsdale | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Neil Turner | Wigan | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Ben Chapman | Wirral South | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
David Cameron | Witney | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Humfrey Malins | Woking | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Peter Bottomley | Worthing West | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Albert Owen | Ynys Môn | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
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 410 voted the same way, with 21 voting in opposite ways.
There were 41 MPs who didn't vote in either division,
and 174 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])
=
410
(410 + 21 + 0.2x174)
=
410
465.8
=
0.880
=
88.0 %.