The majority of MPs voted for members of the House of Commons Backbench Business Committee to be elected by members of political parties rather than, as was the case previously, by the whole House of Commons.
MPs were considering a motion[1] on the arrangements for operation of the Backbench Business Committee, including membership of the committee and the election of chair.
The committee is responsible for allocating certain periods of parliamentary time for "backbench business"; MPs can apply to it if they wish to get see particular motion debated in the House of Commons or in Westminster Hall.
The first paragraph of the motion stated:
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(1) this House endorses the principle that parties should elect members of the Backbench Business Committee each Session and thereafter when a vacancy arises in a secret ballot of all Members of that party by whichever transparent and democratic method they choose.
The amendment rejected in this vote was:
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Amendment (d), leave out paragraph (1).
MP Peter Bone explained the intent of his amendment during the debate saying[2]:
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The Government are proposing that future members of the Committee will be elected by party group. There are two distinct disadvantages to that proposal. The first—I suggest that this is the reason for it—is that it will give the Government, as well as the shadow Government, greater influence in deciding who is elected to the Backbench Business Committee. Through their Whips Offices, they will try to engineer more pliable Members to be elected to the Committee. I believe that this will make the Committee much more divided on party lines. In all the time that the current Committee has met, there has been only one vote, and that did not divide it along party lines. The Government’s proposal will reduce the likelihood that independent parliamentarians will be elected to the Committee.
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Secondly, the authority that members of the Committee hold is greatly enhanced by their being chosen by the whole House. Their mandate comes from Back Benchers of all political persuasions, not by a narrow party group.
The Backbench Business committee was previously elected by the whole house subject to constraints[3] that:
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(i)such a number of candidates shall come from each party represented in the House or those of no party as shall be determined and announced in advance by the Speaker, in such a way as to ensure that the committee including the Chair reflects as closely as possible the composition of the House, and
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(ii)at least two women and two men shall be elected.
==
Debate in Parliament | Source |
MPs
for which their vote in this division differed
from the majority vote of their party are marked in red.
Also shows which MPs
were ministers at the time of this vote.
You can also see every eligible MP
including those who did not vote in this division.
| Name | Constituency | Party | Vote |
| Guto Bebb | Aberconwy | Con (front bench) | no |
| Richard Shepherd | Aldridge-Brownhills | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Graham Brady | Altrincham and Sale West | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Nigel Mills | Amber Valley | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Michael Weir | Angus | SNP (front bench) | aye |
| Hywel Williams | Arfon | PC (front bench) | aye |
| Nick Herbert | Arundel and South Downs | Con (front bench) | no |
| Damian Green | Ashford | Con (front bench) | no |
| Eilidh Whiteford | Banff and Buchan | SNP (front bench) | aye |
| John Baron | Basildon and Billericay | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Maria Miller | Basingstoke | Con (front bench) | no |
| Don Foster | Bath | LDem | no |
| Dominic Grieve | Beaconsfield | Con (front bench) | no |
| Bob Stewart | Beckenham | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Simon Hughes | Bermondsey and Old Southwark | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Alan Beith | Berwick-upon-Tweed | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Michael Moore | Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Rushanara Ali | Bethnal Green and Bow | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Graham Stuart | Beverley and Holderness | Con (front bench) | aye |
| David Evennett | Bexleyheath and Crayford | Con | no |
| Frank Field | Birkenhead | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Gisela Stuart | Birmingham, Edgbaston | Lab (minister) | aye |
| John Hemming | Birmingham, Yardley | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Graham Stringer | Blackley and Broughton | Lab (minister) | aye |
| David Anderson | Blaydon | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Nick Gibb | Bognor Regis and Littlehampton | Con (front bench) | no |
| Dennis Skinner | Bolsover | Lab | no |
| Yasmin Qureshi | Bolton South East | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Mark Simmonds | Boston and Skegness | Con | no |
| Tobias Ellwood | Bournemouth East | Con | no |
| Phillip Lee | Bracknell | Con (front bench) | no |
| Brooks Newmark | Braintree | Con (front bench) | no |
| Roger Williams | Brecon and Radnorshire | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Sarah Teather | Brent Central | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Barry Gardiner | Brent North | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Mary Macleod | Brentford and Isleworth | Con | no |
| Eric Pickles | Brentwood and Ongar | Con (front bench) | no |
| Ian Liddell-Grainger | Bridgwater and West Somerset | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Percy | Brigg and Goole | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Simon Kirby | Brighton, Kemptown | Con (front bench) | no |
| Keith Simpson | Broadland | Con | no |
| Bob Neill | Bromley and Chislehurst | Con (front bench) | no |
| Sajid Javid | Bromsgrove | Con | no |
| Anna Soubry | Broxtowe | Con | no |
| Gordon Birtwistle | Burnley | LDem | no |
| Andrew Griffiths | Burton | Con (front bench) | no |
| David Nuttall | Bury North | Con (front bench) | aye |
| David Ruffley | Bury St Edmunds | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Craig Whittaker | Calder Valley | Con (front bench) | no |
| Julian Huppert | Cambridge | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Kevin Brennan | Cardiff West | Lab (minister) | both |
| Simon Hart | Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Tom Brake | Carshalton and Wallington | LDem | aye |
| Rebecca Harris | Castle Point | Con (front bench) | no |
| Brian H Donohoe | Central Ayrshire | Lab | aye |
| Mel Stride | Central Devon | Con | no |
| Mark Williams | Ceredigion | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Mark Hunter | Cheadle | LDem (front bench) | tellno |
| Simon Burns | Chelmsford | Con (front bench) | no |
| Greg Hands | Chelsea and Fulham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Martin Horwood | Cheltenham | LDem | aye |
| Dame Cheryl Gillan | Chesham and Amersham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Tyrie | Chichester | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Iain Duncan Smith | Chingford and Woodford Green | Con (front bench) | no |
| Duncan Hames | Chippenham | LDem | no |
| Theresa Villiers | Chipping Barnet | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mark Field | Cities of London and Westminster | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Stephen Mosley | City of Chester | Con (front bench) | no |
| Douglas Carswell | Clacton | Con | aye |
| David Jones | Clwyd West | Con (front bench) | no |
| Tom Clarke | Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill | Lab (minister) | no |
| Bob Russell | Colchester | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Jason McCartney | Colne Valley | Con | aye |
| Fiona Bruce | Congleton | Con (front bench) | no |
| Geoffrey Robinson | Coventry North West | Lab | aye |
| Jim Cunningham | Coventry South | Lab | aye |
| Edward Timpson | Crewe and Nantwich | Con | no |
| Gavin Barwell | Croydon Central | Con (front bench) | no |
| Richard Ottaway | Croydon South | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Gareth Johnson | Dartford | Con (front bench) | no |
| Chris Williamson | Derby North | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Patrick McLoughlin | Derbyshire Dales | Con (front bench) | no |
| Claire Perry | Devizes | Con | no |
| Charlie Elphicke | Dover | Con (front bench) | no |
| Stewart Hosie | Dundee East | SNP (front bench) | aye |
| Thomas Docherty | Dunfermline and West Fife | Lab (minister) | no |
| Elfyn Llwyd | Dwyfor Meirionnydd | PC (front bench) | aye |
| Angie Bray | Ealing Central and Acton | Con | no |
| Virendra Sharma | Ealing, Southall | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Grahame Morris | Easington | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Hugo Swire | East Devon | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jo Swinson | East Dunbartonshire | LDem | no |
| Stephen Timms | East Ham | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Damian Hinds | East Hampshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Tim Loughton | East Worthing and Shoreham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Greg Knight | East Yorkshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Stephen O'Brien | Eddisbury | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Miller | Ellesmere Port and Neston | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Clive Efford | Eltham | Lab (minister) | aye |
| David Burrowes | Enfield, Southgate | Con | no |
| Eleanor Laing | Epping Forest | Con (front bench) | no |
| Chris Grayling | Epsom and Ewell | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jessica Lee | Erewash | Con | no |
| Ben Bradshaw | Exeter | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Seema Malhotra | Feltham and Heston | Lab (minister) | no |
| Damian Collins | Folkestone and Hythe | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mark Harper | Forest of Dean | Con (front bench) | no |
| Edward Leigh | Gainsborough | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Maria Eagle | Garston and Halewood | Lab (minister) | no |
| Rehman Chishti | Gillingham and Rainham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Richard Graham | Gloucester | Con | no |
| Nicholas Boles | Grantham and Stamford | Con | no |
| Austin Mitchell | Great Grimsby | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Nick Raynsford | Greenwich and Woolwich | Lab (minister) | aye |
| James Morris | Halesowen and Rowley Regis | Con (front bench) | no |
| Linda Riordan | Halifax | Lab (minister) | no |
| David Davis | Haltemprice and Howden | Con | aye |
| Edward Garnier | Harborough | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robert Halfon | Harlow | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Andrew Jones | Harrogate and Knaresborough | Con (front bench) | no |
| Bob Blackman | Harrow East | Con (front bench) | no |
| Bernard Jenkin | Harwich and North Essex | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Andrew Stunell | Hazel Grove | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Mike Penning | Hemel Hempstead | Con (front bench) | no |
| Matthew Offord | Hendon | Con | aye |
| John Howell | Henley | Con | no |
| Andrew Bingham | High Peak | Con (front bench) | no |
| Peter Lilley | Hitchin and Harpenden | Con | no |
| Angela Watkinson | Hornchurch and Upminster | Con (front bench) | no |
| Lynne Featherstone | Hornsey and Wood Green | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Francis Maude | Horsham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Barry Sheerman | Huddersfield | Lab | aye |
| Jonathan Djanogly | Huntingdon | Con (front bench) | no |
| Danny Alexander | Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Turner | Isle of Wight | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Chris Evans | Islwyn | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Jeremy Wright | Kenilworth and Southam | Con (front bench) | no |
| Edward Davey | Kingston and Surbiton | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Eric Ollerenshaw | Lancaster and Fleetwood | Con | no |
| Greg Mulholland | Leeds North West | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Norman Baker | Lewes | LDem (front bench) | no |
| John Cryer | Leyton and Wanstead | Lab | aye |
| Michael Fabricant | Lichfield | Con (front bench) | no |
| Karl McCartney | Lincoln | Con | aye |
| Luciana Berger | Liverpool, Wavertree | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Stephen Twigg | Liverpool, West Derby | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Nicky Morgan | Loughborough | Con | no |
| Philip Dunne | Ludlow | Con (front bench) | tellno |
| Kelvin Hopkins | Luton North | Lab (minister) | aye |
| David Rutley | Macclesfield | Con | no |
| John Whittingdale | Maldon | Con (front bench) | no |
| Tony Lloyd | Manchester Central | Lab | no |
| Alan Meale | Mansfield | Lab (minister) | no |
| Caroline Spelman | Meriden | Con (front bench) | no |
| Nadine Dorries | Mid Bedfordshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
| George Freeman | Mid Norfolk | Con | no |
| Peter Luff | Mid Worcestershire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mark Lancaster | Milton Keynes North | Con | no |
| Iain Stewart | Milton Keynes South | Con (front bench) | no |
| Glyn Davies | Montgomeryshire | Con | no |
| David Morris | Morecambe and Lunesdale | Con | no |
| Julian Lewis | New Forest East | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Desmond Swayne | New Forest West | Con | no |
| Dan Rogerson | North Cornwall | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Nick Harvey | North Devon | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Robert Walter | North Dorset | Con | no |
| Kevan Jones | North Durham | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Steve Barclay | North East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Natascha Engel | North East Derbyshire | Lab (minister) | tellaye |
| James Arbuthnot | North East Hampshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Oliver Heald | North East Hertfordshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jacob Rees-Mogg | North East Somerset | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Bill Wiggin | North Herefordshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Norman Lamb | North Norfolk | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Justin Tomlinson | North Swindon | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Mary Glindon | North Tyneside | Lab (minister) | no |
| Dan Byles | North Warwickshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Shailesh Vara | North West Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Pat Glass | North West Durham | Lab (minister) | aye |
| George Young | North West Hampshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Bridgen | North West Leicestershire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Henry Bellingham | North West Norfolk | Con (front bench) | no |
| James Gray | North Wiltshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Michael Ellis | Northampton North | Con (front bench) | no |
| Brian Binley | Northampton South | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Chloe Smith | Norwich North | Con (front bench) | no |
| Simon Wright | Norwich South | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Graham Allen | Nottingham North | Lab (minister) | no |
| Michael Meacher | Oldham West and Royton | Lab | aye |
| Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Jo Johnson | Orpington | Con | no |
| Andrew Stephenson | Pendle | Con | no |
| Angela Smith | Penistone and Stocksbridge | Lab (minister) | no |
| Pete Wishart | Perth and North Perthshire | SNP (front bench) | aye |
| Stewart Jackson | Peterborough | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Oliver Colvile | Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robert Syms | Poole | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jim Fitzpatrick | Poplar and Limehouse | Lab (minister) | no |
| Stephen Crabb | Preseli Pembrokeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Stuart Andrew | Pudsey | Con (front bench) | no |
| Justine Greening | Putney | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mark Francois | Rayleigh and Wickford | Con (front bench) | no |
| Rob Wilson | Reading East | Con | no |
| Alok Sharma | Reading West | Con | no |
| Ian Swales | Redcar | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Chris Bryant | Rhondda | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Zac Goldsmith | Richmond Park | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Mark Reckless | Rochester and Strood | Con (front bench) | aye |
| James Duddridge | Rochford and Southend East | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Rosindell | Romford | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Jake Berry | Rossendale and Darwen | Con | no |
| Kevin Barron | Rother Valley | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Denis MacShane | Rotherham | Lab | aye |
| Nick Hurd | Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner | Con (front bench) | no |
| John Glen | Salisbury | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robert Goodwill | Scarborough and Whitby | Con (front bench) | no |
| Bill Esterson | Sefton Central | Lab (minister) | no |
| Nigel Adams | Selby and Ainsty | Con | no |
| David Blunkett | Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough | Lab | aye |
| Nick Clegg | Sheffield, Hallam | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Meg Munn | Sheffield, Heeley | Lab | no |
| Philip Davies | Shipley | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Daniel Kawczynski | Shrewsbury and Atcham | Con | no |
| Julian Smith | Skipton and Ripon | Con | no |
| Stephen Phillips | Sleaford and North Hykeham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Fiona Mactaggart | Slough | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Lorely Burt | Solihull | LDem (front bench) | no |
| David Heath | Somerton and Frome | LDem (front bench) | no |
| William McCrea | South Antrim | DUP (front bench) | aye |
| Heather Wheeler | South Derbyshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
| James Paice | South East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| John Hayes | South Holland and The Deepings | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Robathan | South Leicestershire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Richard Bacon | South Norfolk | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Gavin Williamson | South Staffordshire | Con | no |
| Robert Buckland | South Swindon | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Laura Sandys | South Thanet | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Selous | South West Bedfordshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Gary Streeter | South West Devon | Con (front bench) | aye |
| David Gauke | South West Hertfordshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Murrison | South West Wiltshire | Con | no |
| John Pugh | Southport | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Dave Watts | St Helens North | Lab (minister) | no |
| Andrew George | St Ives | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Karen Bradley | Staffordshire Moorlands | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jonathan Reynolds | Stalybridge and Hyde | Lab (minister) | aye |
| James Wharton | Stockton South | Con (front bench) | no |
| Bill Cash | Stone | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Margot James | Stourbridge | Con (front bench) | no |
| Neil Carmichael | Stroud | Con (front bench) | no |
| Paul Burstow | Sutton and Cheam | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Mitchell | Sutton Coldfield | Con (front bench) | no |
| Christopher Pincher | Tamworth | Con (front bench) | no |
| David Wright | Telford | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Mark Pritchard | The Wrekin | Con (front bench) | no |
| Anne McIntosh | Thirsk and Malton | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Steve Webb | Thornbury and Yate | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Neil Parish | Tiverton and Honiton | Con (front bench) | no |
| Adrian Sanders | Torbay | LDem | aye |
| Sarah Wollaston | Totnes | Con (front bench) | aye |
| David Lammy | Tottenham | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Sarah Newton | Truro and Falmouth | Con (front bench) | no |
| Greg Clark | Tunbridge Wells | Con (front bench) | no |
| Vincent Cable | Twickenham | LDem (front bench) | both |
| David Simpson | Upper Bann | DUP (front bench) | aye |
| John Randall | Uxbridge and South Ruislip | Con (front bench) | no |
| Angela Eagle | Wallasey | Lab (minister) | no |
| David Winnick | Walsall North | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Ed Vaizey | Wantage | Con (front bench) | no |
| John Spellar | Warley | Lab (minister) | no |
| Chris White | Warwick and Leamington | Con (front bench) | no |
| Peter Aldous | Waveney | Con (front bench) | no |
| Graham Evans | Weaver Vale | Con (front bench) | no |
| Peter Bone | Wellingborough | Con (front bench) | tellaye |
| Tessa Munt | Wells | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Grant Shapps | Welwyn Hatfield | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robert Smith | West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Adrian Bailey | West Bromwich West | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Oliver Letwin | West Dorset | Con (front bench) | no |
| Rosie Cooper | West Lancashire | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Matthew Hancock | West Suffolk | Con (front bench) | no |
| Karen Buck | Westminster North | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Tim Farron | Westmorland and Lonsdale | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| John Penrose | Weston-Super-Mare | Con (front bench) | no |
| Stephen Hammond | Wimbledon | Con | no |
| Jonathan Lord | Woking | Con | no |
| John Redwood | Wokingham | Con | aye |
| Robin Walker | Worcester | Con (front bench) | no |
| Peter Bottomley | Worthing West | Con (front bench) | no |
| Ben Wallace | Wyre and Preston North | Con | no |
| Paul Goggins | Wythenshawe and Sale East | Lab | aye |
| Julian Sturdy | York Outer | Con (front bench) | no |
