Comparison of Divisions: Gurkha Settlement Rights — Government defeat — 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49 with Division No. 119 on 5 Mar 2008 at 18:30
(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 majority Aye voters passed a motion[1] that clause 8 ('Commencement') of the European Union (Amendment) Bill should remain in the Bill.
This vote took place after two votes on whether there should be a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Consequently, the House of Commons confirmed when the Lisbon Treaty would come into force in the UK.
The European Union (Amendment) Bill implements the Lisbon Treaty into UK law. The main aims of the Lisbon Treaty were to[2]:
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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) |
David Curry | Skipton and Ripon | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Gummer | Suffolk Coastal | Con | aye |
absent |
John Howell | Henley | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Ian Taylor | Esher and Walton | Con | aye |
absent |
Edward Timpson | Crewe and Nantwich | Con (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Kenneth Clarke | Rushcliffe | Con (front bench) | absent |
aye |
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 |
David Davis | Haltemprice and Howden | Con | absent |
no |
Nigel Evans | Ribble Valley | 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 |
David Heathcoat-Amory | Wells | 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 |
Michael Mates | East Hampshire | 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 |
Bob Spink | Castle Point | whilst Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
John Stanley | Tonbridge and Malling | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Robert Walter | North Dorset | Con | absent |
no |
David Wilshire | Spelthorne | Con (front bench) | absent |
no |
Jeffrey M. Donaldson | Lagan Valley | DUP (front bench) | aye |
absent |
David Simpson | Upper Bann | DUP (front bench) | absent |
no |
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 |
Derek Conway | Old Bexley and Sidcup | whilst Independent (front bench) | absent |
no |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
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 |
Robert Marshall-Andrews | Medway | 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 |
Linda Riordan | Halifax | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Andrew Smith | Oxford East | Lab | aye |
aye |
Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab (minister) | aye |
aye |
Diane Abbott | Hackney North and Stoke Newington | Lab | aye |
absent |
Jeremy Corbyn | Islington North | Lab | aye |
absent |
Mark Fisher | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Lab | aye |
absent |
Neil Gerrard | Walthamstow | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Kate Hoey | Vauxhall | Lab (minister) | aye |
absent |
Glenda Jackson | Hampstead and Highgate | Lab | aye |
absent |
John Martin McDonnell | Hayes and Harlington | Lab | aye |
absent |
Alan Simpson | Nottingham South | Lab | aye |
absent |
Paul Truswell | Pudsey | Lab | aye |
absent |
Mike Wood | Batley and Spen | Lab | aye |
absent |
Ian Davidson | Glasgow South West | Lab (minister) | no |
no |
David Drew | Stroud | Lab (minister) | no |
no |
George Mudie | Leeds East | Lab (minister) | no |
no |
Ann Cryer | Keighley | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
John Cummings | Easington | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Ian McCartney | Makerfield | Lab | no |
absent |
Denis Murphy | Wansbeck | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Lindsay Roy | Glenrothes | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Ian Stewart | Eccles | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Graham Stringer | Manchester, Blackley | Lab (minister) | no |
absent |
Claire Ward | Watford | Lab (minister) | tellno |
absent |
Tony Wright | Cannock Chase | 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 |
Hilary Benn | Leeds Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Karen Buck | Regent's Park and Kensington North | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Richard Burden | Birmingham, Northfield | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Stephen Byers | North Tyneside | Lab | absent |
aye |
Richard Caborn | Sheffield Central | Lab | absent |
aye |
Martin Caton | Gower | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Michael Clapham | Barnsley West and Penistone | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Katy Clark | North Ayrshire and Arran | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Charles Clarke | Norwich South | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Jon Cruddas | Dagenham | Lab | absent |
aye |
Jim Dobbin | Heywood and Middleton | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Bill Etherington | Sunderland North | Lab | absent |
aye |
Mike Gapes | Ilford South | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Ian Gibson | Norwich North | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Mike Hall | Weaver Vale | 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 |
Eric Illsley | Barnsley Central | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Siân James | Swansea East | Lab (minister) | absent |
aye |
Martyn Jones | Clwyd South | Lab (minister) | 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 |
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 |
Chris McCafferty | Calder Valley | Lab | absent |
aye |
Anne McGuire | Stirling | Lab | absent |
aye |
Michael Meacher | Oldham West and Royton | 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 |
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 |
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 |
Ronnie Campbell | Blyth Valley | Lab | absent |
no |
Alan Beith | Berwick-upon-Tweed | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Tom Brake | Carshalton and Wallington | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Colin Breed | South East Cornwall | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Jeremy Browne | Taunton | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Malcolm Bruce | Gordon | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Paul Burstow | Sutton and Cheam | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Lorely Burt | Solihull | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Vincent Cable | Twickenham | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Edward Davey | Kingston and Surbiton | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Tim Farron | Westmorland and Lonsdale | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Don Foster | Bath | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Andrew George | St Ives | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Julia Goldsworthy | Falmouth and Camborne | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Evan Harris | Oxford West and Abingdon | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
David Heath | Somerton and Frome | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Martin Horwood | Cheltenham | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
David Howarth | Cambridge | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Simon Hughes | North Southwark and Bermondsey | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Christopher Huhne | Eastleigh | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Mark Hunter | Cheadle | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Susan Kramer | Richmond Park | LDem | aye |
aye |
Norman Lamb | North Norfolk | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
David Laws | Yeovil | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
John Leech | Manchester, Withington | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Michael Moore | Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Greg Mulholland | Leeds North West | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Alan Reid | Argyll and Bute | LDem (front bench) | tellaye |
aye |
Willie Rennie | Dunfermline and West Fife | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Bob Russell | Colchester | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Adrian Sanders | Torbay | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Robert Smith | West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Andrew Stunell | Hazel Grove | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Sarah Teather | Brent East | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
John Thurso | Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Steve Webb | Northavon | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Mark Williams | Ceredigion | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Stephen Williams | Bristol West | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Phil Willis | Harrogate and Knaresborough | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Jennifer Willott | Cardiff Central | LDem (front bench) | aye |
aye |
Danny Alexander | Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Norman Baker | Lewes | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
John Barrett | Edinburgh West | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Menzies Campbell | North East Fife | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Nick Clegg | Sheffield, Hallam | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Lynne Featherstone | Hornsey and Wood Green | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Nick Harvey | North Devon | LDem (front bench) | aye |
absent |
Dan Rogerson | North Cornwall | LDem (front bench) | tellaye |
absent |
Matthew Taylor | Truro and St Austell | LDem | aye |
absent |
Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Paul Keetch | Hereford | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Mark Oaten | Winchester | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Lembit Öpik | Montgomeryshire | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Paul Rowen | Rochdale | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Jo Swinson | East Dunbartonshire | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Roger Williams | Brecon and Radnorshire | LDem (front bench) | absent |
aye |
Sandra Gidley | Romsey | LDem (front bench) | absent |
no |
Mike Hancock | Portsmouth South | LDem (front bench) | absent |
no |
Alasdair McDonnell | Belfast South | SDLP (front bench) | aye |
absent |
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 58 voted the same way, with 419 voting in opposite ways.
There were 32 MPs who didn't vote in either division,
and 137 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])
=
419
(419 + 58 + 0.2x137)
=
419
504.4
=
0.831
=
83.1 %.