Comparison of Divisions: Gurkha Settlement Rights — Government defeat — 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49 with Division No. 21 on 28 Jun 2005 at 21:59
(Swap the two divisions around).
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]
The Aye-voters agreed to set a timetable for Standing Committee D and "Third Reading" debate of the Identity Cards Bill.
The Standing Committee is to finish its work by Tuesday 19th July 2005. Afterwards, when the "Third Reading" is held in the main chamber, the debate must finish one hour before the end of the Parliamentary day.
MPs could have demanded a longer timetable with more scrutiny had they chosen to vote this motion down.
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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) |
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | Cotswold | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Roger Gale | North Thanet | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Gummer | Suffolk Coastal | Con | aye |
absent |
William Hague | Richmond (Yorks) | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Howell | Henley | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Julian Lewis | New Forest East | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Bob Neill | Bromley and Chislehurst | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
George Osborne | Tatton | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Richard Ottaway | Croydon South | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Nicholas Soames | Mid Sussex | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Edward Timpson | Crewe and Nantwich | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Nigel Waterson | Eastbourne | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Ann Widdecombe | Maidstone and The Weald | Con | aye |
absent |
George Young | North West Hampshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Brian Binley | Northampton South | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Tim Boswell | Daventry | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
John Butterfill | Bournemouth West | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
James Clappison | Hertsmere | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Derek Conway | Old Bexley and Sidcup | whilst Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Quentin Davies | Grantham and Stamford | whilst Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
David Davis | Haltemprice and Howden | Con | absent |
no |
Nigel Evans | Ribble Valley | Con | absent |
no |
Eric Forth | Bromley and Chislehurst | Con | absent |
no |
James Gray | North Wiltshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
John Greenway | Ryedale | Con | absent |
no |
Oliver Heald | North East Hertfordshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
John Horam | Orpington | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Michael Jack | Fylde | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Boris Johnson | Henley | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Julie Kirkbride | Bromsgrove | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Peter Luff | Mid Worcestershire | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Humfrey Malins | Woking | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
John Maples | Stratford-on-Avon | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Francis Maude | Horsham | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Malcolm Moss | North East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
David Mundell | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Owen Paterson | North Shropshire | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Andrew Pelling | Croydon Central | whilst Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
John Stanley | Tonbridge and Malling | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
David Wilshire | Spelthorne | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Ian Paisley | North Antrim | DUP | absent |
no |
Iris Robinson | Strangford | DUP (front bench) | absent |
no |
David Simpson | Upper Bann | DUP (front bench) | absent |
no |
Dai Davies | Blaenau Gwent | Independent | aye |
absent |
Andrew Pelling | Croydon Central | whilst Independent (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Independent (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Robert Wareing | Liverpool, West Derby | whilst Independent | aye |
absent |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | aye |
tellaye |
Harry Cohen | Leyton and Wanstead | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Paul Farrelly | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Joan Humble | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Andrew MacKinlay | Thurrock | 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 |
Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Paul Truswell | Pudsey | Lab | aye |
absent |
Ben Chapman | Wirral South | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Quentin Davies | Grantham and Stamford | whilst Lab (front bench) | no |
absent |
Jim Devine | Livingston | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Drew | Stroud | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Bruce George | Walsall South | Lab | no |
absent |
Peter Hain | Neath | Lab | no |
absent |
Adam Ingram | East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow | Lab | no |
absent |
Andrew Love | Edmonton | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Albert Owen | Ynys Môn | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Lindsay Roy | Glenrothes | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Virendra Sharma | Ealing, Southall | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Geraldine Smith | Morecambe and Lunesdale | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Smith | Vale of Glamorgan | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Phil Wilson | Sedgefield | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Winnick | Walsall North | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | both |
no |
John Austin | Erith and Thamesmead | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Adrian Bailey | West Bromwich West | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
John Battle | Leeds West | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Hilary Benn | Leeds Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Tony Blair | Sedgefield | Lab | absent |
aye |
Karen Buck | Regent's Park and Kensington North | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Richard Burden | Birmingham, Northfield | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Colin Burgon | Elmet | Lab | absent |
aye |
Stephen Byers | North Tyneside | Lab | absent |
aye |
Richard Caborn | Sheffield Central | Lab | absent |
aye |
Ronnie Campbell | Blyth Valley | Lab | absent |
aye |
Martin Caton | Gower | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Charles Clarke | Norwich South | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Robin Cook | Livingston | Lab | absent |
aye |
Jon Cruddas | Dagenham | Lab | absent |
aye |
Jim Dobbin | Heywood and Middleton | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Bill Etherington | Sunderland North | Lab | absent |
aye |
Frank Field | Birkenhead | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Mike Gapes | Ilford South | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Roger Godsiff | Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath | Lab | absent |
aye |
Mike Hall | Weaver Vale | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Patrick Hall | Bedford | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Fabian Hamilton | Leeds North East | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Doug Henderson | Newcastle upon Tyne North | Lab | absent |
aye |
David Heyes | Ashton-under-Lyne | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Meg Hillier | Hackney South and Shoreditch | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Margaret Hodge | Barking | Lab | absent |
aye |
Jimmy Hood | Lanark and Hamilton East | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Geoff Hoon | Ashfield | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Lindsay Hoyle | Chorley | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Eric Illsley | Barnsley Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Siân James | Swansea East | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Martyn Jones | Clwyd South | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Piara S Khabra | Ealing, Southall | Lab | absent |
aye |
Peter Kilfoyle | Liverpool, Walton | Lab | absent |
aye |
Ashok Kumar | Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland | Lab | absent |
aye |
Ivan Lewis | Bury South | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Martin Linton | Battersea | Lab | absent |
aye |
John MacDougall | Glenrothes | Lab | absent |
aye |
Denis MacShane | Rotherham | Lab | absent |
aye |
Khalid Mahmood | Birmingham, Perry Barr | Lab | absent |
aye |
Judy Mallaber | Amber Valley | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
John Mann | Bassetlaw | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
David Marshall | Glasgow East | Lab | absent |
aye |
Chris McCafferty | Calder Valley | Lab | absent |
aye |
Anne McGuire | Stirling | Lab | absent |
aye |
Alan Meale | Mansfield | Lab | absent |
aye |
David Miliband | South Shields | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Ed Miliband | Doncaster North | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Anne Moffat | East Lothian | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Kali Mountford | Colne Valley | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Edward O'Hara | Knowsley South | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Sandra Osborne | Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Greg Pope | Hyndburn | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Bridget Prentice | Lewisham East | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Bill Rammell | Harlow | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Jamie Reed | Copeland | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
John Reid | Airdrie and Shotts | Lab | absent |
aye |
John Robertson | Glasgow North West | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Martin Salter | Reading West | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Marsha Singh | Bradford West | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Anne Snelgrove | South Swindon | Lab | absent |
aye |
Gavin Strang | Edinburgh East | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Gisela Stuart | Birmingham, Edgbaston | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Paddy Tipping | Sherwood | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Neil Turner | Wigan | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Betty Williams | Conwy | Lab | absent |
aye |
Shaun Woodward | St Helens South | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Anthony D Wright | Great Yarmouth | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Katy Clark | North Ayrshire and Arran | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Frank Cook | Stockton North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Gwyneth Dunwoody | Crewe and Nantwich | Lab | absent |
no |
Paul Flynn | Newport West | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Ian Gibson | Norwich North | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Lynne Jones | Birmingham, Selly Oak | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Austin Mitchell | Great Grimsby | Lab (minister) | absent |
no |
Clare Short | Birmingham, Ladywood | whilst Lab | absent |
no |
Robert Wareing | Liverpool, West Derby | whilst Lab | absent |
no |
Mark Hunter | Cheadle | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Willie Rennie | Dunfermline and West Fife | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | LDem (front bench) | absent |
no |
Sandra Gidley | Romsey | LDem (front bench) | absent |
no |
Mike Hancock | Portsmouth South | LDem (front bench) | absent |
no |
Paul Keetch | Hereford | LDem (front bench) | absent |
no |
Charles Kennedy | Ross, Skye and Lochaber | LDem | absent |
no |
Mark Oaten | Winchester | LDem (front bench) | absent |
no |
Lembit Öpik | Montgomeryshire | LDem (front bench) | absent |
no |
Paul Rowen | Rochdale | LDem (front bench) | absent |
no |
Jo Swinson | East Dunbartonshire | LDem (front bench) | absent |
no |
Roger Williams | Brecon and Radnorshire | LDem (front bench) | absent |
no |
George Galloway | Bethnal Green and Bow | Respect | absent |
no |
Mark Durkan | Foyle | SDLP (front bench) | absent |
no |
Eddie McGrady | South Down | SDLP | absent |
no |
John Mason | Glasgow East | SNP (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Stewart Hosie | Dundee East | SNP (front bench) | absent |
no |
Angus MacNeil | Na h-Eileanan an Iar | SNP (front bench) | absent |
no |
Alex Salmond | Banff and Buchan | SNP (front bench) | 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 15 voted the same way, with 467 voting in opposite ways.
There were 18 MPs who didn't vote in either division,
and 146 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])
=
467
(467 + 15 + 0.2x146)
=
467
511.2
=
0.914
=
91.4 %.