The majority of MPs voted against requiring a representative of MPs from minority parties on the Backbench Business Committee.
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 (a), at end of paragraph (1), after ‘choose’, insert:
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‘; and that the members of those parties who would not otherwise be represented on the Committee, or of no party, should choose one Member to represent them on the Committee by a secret ballot of those Members’.
MP Natascha Engel who proposed the amendment spoke during the debate to say[2]:
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The Backbench Business Committee is different from other Select Committees, in that it represents all Back Benchers of the House. At the moment, however, we do that very poorly by not having representation from the minority parties.
At the time of the vote section 2(f)(i) of House of Commons Standing Order 122D[3] which set out the rules for the election of the Backbench Business Committee required that:
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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
==
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 |
| Richard Bacon | South Norfolk | Con (front bench) | aye |
| John Baron | Basildon and Billericay | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Peter Bone | Wellingborough | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Graham Brady | Altrincham and Sale West | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Andrew Bridgen | North West Leicestershire | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Douglas Carswell | Clacton | Con | aye |
| Bill Cash | Stone | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Philip Davies | Shipley | Con (front bench) | aye |
| David Davis | Haltemprice and Howden | Con | aye |
| Mark Field | Cities of London and Westminster | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Zac Goldsmith | Richmond Park | Con (front bench) | aye |
| James Gray | North Wiltshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Robert Halfon | Harlow | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Bernard Jenkin | Harwich and North Essex | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Julian Lewis | New Forest East | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Karl McCartney | Lincoln | Con | aye |
| Nigel Mills | Amber Valley | Con (front bench) | aye |
| David Nuttall | Bury North | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Matthew Offord | Hendon | Con | aye |
| Richard Ottaway | Croydon South | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Andrew Percy | Brigg and Goole | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Mark Pritchard | The Wrekin | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Mark Reckless | Rochester and Strood | Con (front bench) | aye |
| John Redwood | Wokingham | Con | aye |
| Jacob Rees-Mogg | North East Somerset | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Andrew Rosindell | Romford | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Richard Shepherd | Aldridge-Brownhills | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Gary Streeter | South West Devon | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Andrew Turner | Isle of Wight | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Andrew Tyrie | Chichester | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Heather Wheeler | South Derbyshire | Con (front bench) | aye |
| John Whittingdale | Maldon | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Sarah Wollaston | Totnes | Con (front bench) | aye |
| Nigel Adams | Selby and Ainsty | Con | no |
| Peter Aldous | Waveney | Con (front bench) | no |
| Stuart Andrew | Pudsey | Con (front bench) | no |
| Tony Baldry | Banbury | Con (front bench) | no |
| Steve Barclay | North East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Gavin Barwell | Croydon Central | Con (front bench) | no |
| Guto Bebb | Aberconwy | Con (front bench) | no |
| Henry Bellingham | North West Norfolk | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jake Berry | Rossendale and Darwen | Con | no |
| Bob Blackman | Harrow East | Con (front bench) | no |
| Nicholas Boles | Grantham and Stamford | Con | no |
| Peter Bottomley | Worthing West | Con (front bench) | no |
| Karen Bradley | Staffordshire Moorlands | Con (front bench) | no |
| Angie Bray | Ealing Central and Acton | Con | no |
| Fiona Bruce | Congleton | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robert Buckland | South Swindon | Con (front bench) | no |
| Simon Burns | Chelmsford | Con (front bench) | no |
| David Burrowes | Enfield, Southgate | Con | no |
| Neil Carmichael | Stroud | Con (front bench) | no |
| Rehman Chishti | Gillingham and Rainham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Greg Clark | Tunbridge Wells | Con (front bench) | no |
| Damian Collins | Folkestone and Hythe | Con (front bench) | no |
| Oliver Colvile | Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport | Con (front bench) | no |
| Stephen Crabb | Preseli Pembrokeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Glyn Davies | Montgomeryshire | Con | no |
| Jonathan Djanogly | Huntingdon | Con (front bench) | no |
| James Duddridge | Rochford and Southend East | Con (front bench) | no |
| Iain Duncan Smith | Chingford and Woodford Green | Con (front bench) | no |
| Philip Dunne | Ludlow | Con (front bench) | no |
| Michael Ellis | Northampton North | Con (front bench) | no |
| Tobias Ellwood | Bournemouth East | Con | no |
| Charlie Elphicke | Dover | Con (front bench) | no |
| Graham Evans | Weaver Vale | Con (front bench) | no |
| David Evennett | Bexleyheath and Crayford | Con | no |
| Michael Fabricant | Lichfield | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mark Francois | Rayleigh and Wickford | Con (front bench) | no |
| George Freeman | Mid Norfolk | Con | no |
| Edward Garnier | Harborough | Con (front bench) | no |
| David Gauke | South West Hertfordshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Nick Gibb | Bognor Regis and Littlehampton | Con (front bench) | no |
| Dame Cheryl Gillan | Chesham and Amersham | Con (front bench) | no |
| John Glen | Salisbury | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robert Goodwill | Scarborough and Whitby | Con (front bench) | no |
| Richard Graham | Gloucester | Con | no |
| Chris Grayling | Epsom and Ewell | Con (front bench) | no |
| Damian Green | Ashford | Con (front bench) | no |
| Justine Greening | Putney | Con (front bench) | no |
| Dominic Grieve | Beaconsfield | Con (front bench) | no |
| Stephen Hammond | Wimbledon | Con | no |
| Matthew Hancock | West Suffolk | Con (front bench) | no |
| Greg Hands | Chelsea and Fulham | Con (front bench) | tellno |
| Mark Harper | Forest of Dean | Con (front bench) | no |
| Rebecca Harris | Castle Point | Con (front bench) | no |
| John Hayes | South Holland and The Deepings | Con (front bench) | no |
| Oliver Heald | North East Hertfordshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Nick Herbert | Arundel and South Downs | Con (front bench) | no |
| Damian Hinds | East Hampshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| John Howell | Henley | Con | no |
| Margot James | Stourbridge | Con (front bench) | no |
| Sajid Javid | Bromsgrove | Con | no |
| Gareth Johnson | Dartford | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jo Johnson | Orpington | Con | no |
| Andrew Jones | Harrogate and Knaresborough | Con (front bench) | no |
| David Jones | Clwyd West | Con (front bench) | no |
| Daniel Kawczynski | Shrewsbury and Atcham | Con | no |
| Simon Kirby | Brighton, Kemptown | Con (front bench) | no |
| Eleanor Laing | Epping Forest | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mark Lancaster | Milton Keynes North | Con | no |
| Jessica Lee | Erewash | Con | no |
| Phillip Lee | Bracknell | Con (front bench) | no |
| Oliver Letwin | West Dorset | Con (front bench) | no |
| Ian Liddell-Grainger | Bridgwater and West Somerset | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jonathan Lord | Woking | Con | no |
| Tim Loughton | East Worthing and Shoreham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Peter Luff | Mid Worcestershire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mary Macleod | Brentford and Isleworth | Con | no |
| Francis Maude | Horsham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Jason McCartney | Colne Valley | Con | no |
| Anne McIntosh | Thirsk and Malton | Con (front bench) | no |
| Patrick McLoughlin | Derbyshire Dales | Con (front bench) | no |
| Maria Miller | Basingstoke | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Mitchell | Sutton Coldfield | Con (front bench) | no |
| Nicky Morgan | Loughborough | Con | no |
| David Morris | Morecambe and Lunesdale | Con | no |
| James Morris | Halesowen and Rowley Regis | Con (front bench) | no |
| Stephen Mosley | City of Chester | Con (front bench) | no |
| David Mundell | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Murrison | South West Wiltshire | Con | no |
| Bob Neill | Bromley and Chislehurst | Con (front bench) | no |
| Brooks Newmark | Braintree | Con (front bench) | no |
| Sarah Newton | Truro and Falmouth | Con (front bench) | no |
| Stephen O'Brien | Eddisbury | Con (front bench) | no |
| Eric Ollerenshaw | Lancaster and Fleetwood | Con | no |
| James Paice | South East Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Neil Parish | Tiverton and Honiton | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mike Penning | Hemel Hempstead | Con (front bench) | no |
| Claire Perry | Devizes | Con | no |
| Stephen Phillips | Sleaford and North Hykeham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Eric Pickles | Brentwood and Ongar | Con (front bench) | no |
| Christopher Pincher | Tamworth | Con (front bench) | no |
| John Randall | Uxbridge and South Ruislip | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Robathan | South Leicestershire | Con (front bench) | no |
| David Rutley | Macclesfield | Con | no |
| Andrew Selous | South West Bedfordshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Grant Shapps | Welwyn Hatfield | Con (front bench) | no |
| Alok Sharma | Reading West | Con | no |
| Mark Simmonds | Boston and Skegness | Con | no |
| Keith Simpson | Broadland | Con | no |
| Chloe Smith | Norwich North | Con (front bench) | no |
| Julian Smith | Skipton and Ripon | Con | no |
| Anna Soubry | Broxtowe | Con | no |
| Caroline Spelman | Meriden | Con (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Stephenson | Pendle | Con | no |
| Bob Stewart | Beckenham | Con (front bench) | no |
| Iain Stewart | Milton Keynes South | Con (front bench) | no |
| Mel Stride | Central Devon | Con | no |
| Graham Stuart | Beverley and Holderness | Con (front bench) | no |
| Julian Sturdy | York Outer | Con (front bench) | no |
| Desmond Swayne | New Forest West | Con | no |
| Hugo Swire | East Devon | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robert Syms | Poole | Con (front bench) | no |
| Edward Timpson | Crewe and Nantwich | Con | no |
| Justin Tomlinson | North Swindon | Con (front bench) | no |
| Ed Vaizey | Wantage | Con (front bench) | no |
| Shailesh Vara | North West Cambridgeshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Theresa Villiers | Chipping Barnet | Con (front bench) | no |
| Robin Walker | Worcester | Con (front bench) | no |
| Ben Wallace | Wyre and Preston North | Con | no |
| Robert Walter | North Dorset | Con | no |
| Angela Watkinson | Hornchurch and Upminster | Con (front bench) | no |
| Craig Whittaker | Calder Valley | Con (front bench) | no |
| Bill Wiggin | North Herefordshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| Gavin Williamson | South Staffordshire | Con | no |
| Jeremy Wright | Kenilworth and Southam | Con (front bench) | no |
| George Young | North West Hampshire | Con (front bench) | no |
| William McCrea | South Antrim | DUP (front bench) | aye |
| David Simpson | Upper Bann | DUP (front bench) | aye |
| David Anderson | Blaydon | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Adrian Bailey | West Bromwich West | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Kevin Barron | Rother Valley | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Luciana Berger | Liverpool, Wavertree | Lab (minister) | aye |
| David Blunkett | Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough | Lab | aye |
| Ben Bradshaw | Exeter | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Kevin Brennan | Cardiff West | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Chris Bryant | Rhondda | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Jenny Chapman | Darlington | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Katy Clark | North Ayrshire and Arran | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Ann Clwyd | Cynon Valley | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Rosie Cooper | West Lancashire | Lab (minister) | aye |
| John Cryer | Leyton and Wanstead | Lab | aye |
| Jim Cunningham | Coventry South | Lab | aye |
| Clive Efford | Eltham | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Natascha Engel | North East Derbyshire | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Bill Esterson | Sefton Central | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Frank Field | Birkenhead | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Barry Gardiner | Brent North | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Pat Glass | North West Durham | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Paul Goggins | Wythenshawe and Sale East | Lab | aye |
| Kate Green | Stretford and Urmston | Lab (minister) | aye |
| David Hamilton | Midlothian | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Sharon Hodgson | Washington and Sunderland West | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Kelvin Hopkins | Luton North | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Kevan Jones | North Durham | Lab (minister) | aye |
| David Lammy | Tottenham | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Denis MacShane | Rotherham | Lab | aye |
| Seema Malhotra | Feltham and Heston | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Michael Meacher | Oldham West and Royton | Lab | aye |
| Alan Meale | Mansfield | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Andrew Miller | Ellesmere Port and Neston | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Madeleine Moon | Bridgend | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Grahame Morris | Easington | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Meg Munn | Sheffield, Heeley | Lab | aye |
| Chi Onwurah | Newcastle upon Tyne Central | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Geoffrey Robinson | Coventry North West | Lab | aye |
| Barry Sheerman | Huddersfield | Lab | aye |
| Dennis Skinner | Bolsover | Lab | aye |
| Andrew Slaughter | Hammersmith | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Andrew Smith | Oxford East | Lab | aye |
| Nick Smith | Blaenau Gwent | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Jack Straw | Blackburn | Lab | aye |
| Graham Stringer | Blackley and Broughton | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Gisela Stuart | Birmingham, Edgbaston | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Stephen Twigg | Liverpool, West Derby | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Alan Whitehead | Southampton, Test | Lab (minister) | aye |
| David Winnick | Walsall North | Lab (minister) | aye |
| David Wright | Telford | Lab (minister) | aye |
| Rushanara Ali | Bethnal Green and Bow | Lab (minister) | no |
| Graham Allen | Nottingham North | Lab (minister) | no |
| Clive Betts | Sheffield South East | Lab (minister) | no |
| Mary Creagh | Wakefield | Lab (minister) | no |
| Thomas Docherty | Dunfermline and West Fife | Lab (minister) | no |
| Brian H Donohoe | Central Ayrshire | Lab | no |
| Angela Eagle | Wallasey | Lab (minister) | no |
| Jim Fitzpatrick | Poplar and Limehouse | Lab (minister) | no |
| David Hanson | Delyn | Lab (minister) | no |
| Chris Leslie | Nottingham East | Lab (minister) | no |
| Jonathan Reynolds | Stalybridge and Hyde | Lab (minister) | no |
| Angela Smith | Penistone and Stocksbridge | Lab (minister) | no |
| Alan Beith | Berwick-upon-Tweed | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Tim Farron | Westmorland and Lonsdale | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Andrew George | St Ives | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| John Hemming | Birmingham, Yardley | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Martin Horwood | Cheltenham | LDem | aye |
| Simon Hughes | Bermondsey and Old Southwark | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Greg Mulholland | Leeds North West | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Tessa Munt | Wells | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Adrian Sanders | Torbay | LDem | aye |
| Robert Smith | West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Ian Swales | Redcar | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Mark Williams | Ceredigion | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Roger Williams | Brecon and Radnorshire | LDem (front bench) | aye |
| Norman Baker | Lewes | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Gordon Birtwistle | Burnley | LDem | no |
| Paul Burstow | Sutton and Cheam | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Lorely Burt | Solihull | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Edward Davey | Kingston and Surbiton | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Lynne Featherstone | Hornsey and Wood Green | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Duncan Hames | Chippenham | LDem | no |
| Nick Harvey | North Devon | LDem (front bench) | no |
| David Heath | Somerton and Frome | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Mark Hunter | Cheadle | LDem (front bench) | tellno |
| Norman Lamb | North Norfolk | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Michael Moore | Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk | LDem (front bench) | no |
| John Pugh | Southport | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Dan Rogerson | North Cornwall | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Bob Russell | Colchester | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Andrew Stunell | Hazel Grove | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Jo Swinson | East Dunbartonshire | LDem | no |
| Sarah Teather | Brent Central | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Steve Webb | Thornbury and Yate | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Simon Wright | Norwich South | LDem (front bench) | no |
| Elfyn Llwyd | Dwyfor Meirionnydd | PC (front bench) | aye |
| Hywel Williams | Arfon | PC (front bench) | aye |
| Stewart Hosie | Dundee East | SNP (front bench) | aye |
| Michael Weir | Angus | SNP (front bench) | aye |
| Eilidh Whiteford | Banff and Buchan | SNP (front bench) | tellaye |
| Pete Wishart | Perth and North Perthshire | SNP (front bench) | tellaye |
