The Majority of MPs voted against giving the new Civil Service Commission jurisdiction over civil servants employed in GCHQ.
They did this by voting against a proposed deletion of the third line in the list to Chapter 1 where it outlines the powers to manage the civil service, which says:[1]
This Chapter does not apply to the following parts of the civil service of the State
-
the Secret Intelligence Service;
-
the Security Service;
-
the Government Communications Headquarters;
-
the Northern Ireland Civil Service;
-
the Northern Ireland Court Service.
The debate was brought because in the original versions of the Bill in 2004 the Government had agreed that GCHQ civil servants would be treated under the same system of accountability.[2]
In the debate Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs pointed out that by not ensuring Chapter One of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill applied to GCHQ the appointments to GCHQ would not, by law, have to be made on merit. It was suggested[3] that this left a loophole open enabling political appointments to GCHQ to be made.
The Conservatives abstained from this vote. Conservative MP Oliver Heald has said: "Conservatives decided to give further consideration to the Minister’s comments and the best way forward. We therefore abstained."
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 |
Hywel Francis | Aberavon | Lab (minister) | no |
Frank Doran | Aberdeen North | Lab (minister) | no |
Anne Begg | Aberdeen South | Lab (minister) | no |
Mark Tami | Alyn and Deeside | Lab (minister) | no |
Judy Mallaber | Amber Valley | Lab (minister) | no |
Geoff Hoon | Ashfield | Lab | no |
Sandra Osborne | Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock | Lab (minister) | no |
Margaret Hodge | Barking | Lab (minister) | no |
Eric Illsley | Barnsley Central | Lab (minister) | no |
Jeff Ennis | Barnsley East and Mexborough | Lab | no |
Michael Clapham | Barnsley West and Penistone | Lab (minister) | no |
Angela Smith | Basildon | Lab (minister) | no |
John Mann | Bassetlaw | Lab (minister) | no |
Don Foster | Bath | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Martin Linton | Battersea | Lab | no |
Patrick Hall | Bedford | Lab (minister) | no |
Peter Robinson | Belfast East | DUP | no |
Nigel Dodds | Belfast North | DUP (front bench) | no |
Alan Beith | Berwick-upon-Tweed | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Gisela Stuart | Birmingham, Edgbaston | Lab (minister) | no |
Siôn Simon | Birmingham, Erdington | Lab (minister) | no |
Steve McCabe | Birmingham, Hall Green | Lab (minister) | no |
Liam Byrne | Birmingham, Hodge Hill | Lab (minister) | no |
Richard Burden | Birmingham, Northfield | Lab (minister) | no |
Lynne Jones | Birmingham, Selly Oak | Lab (minister) | no |
John Hemming | Birmingham, Yardley | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Helen Goodman | Bishop Auckland | Lab (minister) | no |
Jack Straw | Blackburn | Lab (minister) | no |
Joan Humble | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | no |
Gordon Marsden | Blackpool South | Lab (minister) | no |
Dai Davies | Blaenau Gwent | Independent | no |
David Anderson | Blaydon | Lab (minister) | no |
Ronnie Campbell | Blyth Valley | Lab | no |
Dennis Skinner | Bolsover | Lab (minister) | no |
David Crausby | Bolton North East | Lab (minister) | no |
Brian Iddon | Bolton South East | Lab (minister) | no |
Ruth Kelly | Bolton West | Lab | no |
Joe Benton | Bootle | Lab (minister) | no |
Terry Rooney | Bradford North | Lab (minister) | no |
Gerry Sutcliffe | Bradford South | Lab (minister) | no |
Roger Williams | Brecon and Radnorshire | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Sarah Teather | Brent East | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Dawn Butler | Brent South | Lab (minister) | no |
Ann Keen | Brentford and Isleworth | Lab (minister) | no |
Madeleine Moon | Bridgend | Lab (minister) | no |
Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | no |
Desmond Turner | Brighton, Kemptown | Lab (minister) | no |
David Lepper | Brighton, Pavilion | Lab (minister) | no |
Kerry McCarthy | Bristol East | Lab (minister) | no |
Doug Naysmith | Bristol North West | Lab (minister) | no |
Dawn Primarolo | Bristol South | Lab (minister) | no |
Nick Palmer | Broxtowe | Lab (minister) | no |
Kitty Ussher | Burnley | Lab | no |
Janet Dean | Burton | Lab (minister) | no |
David Chaytor | Bury North | Lab (minister) | no |
Hywel Williams | Caernarfon | PC (front bench) | aye |
Wayne David | Caerphilly | Lab (minister) | no |
Chris McCafferty | Calder Valley | Lab | no |
David Howarth | Cambridge | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Jennifer Willott | Cardiff Central | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Alun Michael | Cardiff South and Penarth | Lab (minister) | no |
Eric Martlew | Carlisle | Lab (minister) | no |
Nick Ainger | Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire | Lab (minister) | no |
Jonathan R Shaw | Chatham and Aylesford | Lab (minister) | no |
Mark Hunter | Cheadle | LDem (front bench) | tellaye |
Martin Horwood | Cheltenham | LDem (front bench) | tellaye |
Lindsay Hoyle | Chorley | Lab (minister) | no |
Christine Russell | City of Chester | Lab (minister) | no |
Roberta Blackman-Woods | City of Durham | Lab (minister) | no |
Shona McIsaac | Cleethorpes | Lab (minister) | no |
Martyn Jones | Clwyd South | Lab (minister) | no |
Tom Clarke | Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill | Lab (minister) | no |
Bob Russell | Colchester | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Kali Mountford | Colne Valley | Lab (minister) | no |
Betty Williams | Conwy | Lab | no |
Jamie Reed | Copeland | Lab (minister) | no |
Phil Hope | Corby | Lab (minister) | no |
Geoffrey Robinson | Coventry North West | Lab | no |
Jim Cunningham | Coventry South | Lab | no |
Laura Moffatt | Crawley | Lab | no |
Andrew Pelling | Croydon Central | whilst Independent (front bench) | aye |
Malcolm Wicks | Croydon North | Lab | no |
Rosemary McKenna | Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East | Lab (minister) | no |
Ann Clwyd | Cynon Valley | Lab (minister) | no |
Jon Cruddas | Dagenham | Lab | no |
Howard Stoate | Dartford | Lab (minister) | no |
David Hanson | Delyn | Lab (minister) | no |
Andrew Gwynne | Denton and Reddish | Lab (minister) | no |
Bob Laxton | Derby North | Lab (minister) | no |
Margaret Beckett | Derby South | Lab | no |
Shahid Malik | Dewsbury | Lab (minister) | no |
Caroline Flint | Don Valley | Lab | no |
Rosie Winterton | Doncaster Central | Lab (minister) | no |
Ed Miliband | Doncaster North | Lab (minister) | no |
Gwyn Prosser | Dover | Lab (minister) | no |
Ian Austin | Dudley North | Lab (minister) | no |
Ian Pearson | Dudley South | Lab (minister) | no |
Tessa Jowell | Dulwich and West Norwood | Lab (minister) | no |
Russell Brown | Dumfries and Galloway | Lab (minister) | no |
Stewart Hosie | Dundee East | SNP (front bench) | aye |
Jim McGovern | Dundee West | Lab (minister) | no |
Willie Rennie | Dunfermline and West Fife | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Steve Pound | Ealing North | Lab (minister) | no |
Andrew Slaughter | Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush | Lab (minister) | no |
John Cummings | Easington | Lab (minister) | no |
Sammy Wilson | East Antrim | DUP (front bench) | no |
Jo Swinson | East Dunbartonshire | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Stephen Timms | East Ham | Lab (minister) | no |
Gregory Campbell | East Londonderry | DUP (front bench) | no |
Christopher Huhne | Eastleigh | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Ian Stewart | Eccles | Lab (minister) | no |
Mark Lazarowicz | Edinburgh North and Leith | Lab (minister) | no |
Nigel Griffiths | Edinburgh South | Lab (minister) | no |
John Barrett | Edinburgh West | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Andrew Love | Edmonton | Lab (minister) | no |
Andrew Miller | Ellesmere Port and Neston | Lab (minister) | no |
Colin Burgon | Elmet | Lab | no |
Clive Efford | Eltham | Lab | no |
Joan Ryan | Enfield North | Lab | no |
Liz Blackman | Erewash | Lab (minister) | no |
Ben Bradshaw | Exeter | Lab (minister) | no |
Eric Joyce | Falkirk | Lab | no |
Alan Keen | Feltham and Heston | Lab (minister) | no |
Sharon Hodgson | Gateshead East and Washington West | Lab (minister) | no |
Vernon Coaker | Gedling | Lab (minister) | no |
Paul Clark | Gillingham | Lab (minister) | no |
Mohammad Sarwar | Glasgow Central | Lab (minister) | no |
John Robertson | Glasgow North West | Lab (minister) | no |
Ian Davidson | Glasgow South West | Lab (minister) | no |
Lindsay Roy | Glenrothes | Lab (minister) | no |
Martin Caton | Gower | Lab (minister) | no |
Quentin Davies | Grantham and Stamford | whilst Lab (front bench) | no |
Anthony D Wright | Great Yarmouth | Lab (minister) | no |
Nick Raynsford | Greenwich and Woolwich | Lab | no |
Diane Abbott | Hackney North and Stoke Newington | Lab | no |
Linda Riordan | Halifax | Lab (minister) | no |
Derek Twigg | Halton | Lab (minister) | no |
Bill Rammell | Harlow | Lab (minister) | no |
Tony McNulty | Harrow East | Lab | no |
Gareth Thomas | Harrow West | Lab (minister) | no |
Michael Jabez Foster | Hastings and Rye | Lab (minister) | no |
John Martin McDonnell | Hayes and Harlington | Lab | aye |
Jon Trickett | Hemsworth | Lab | no |
Andrew Dismore | Hendon | Lab (minister) | no |
Paul Keetch | Hereford | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Jim Dobbin | Heywood and Middleton | Lab (minister) | no |
Tom Levitt | High Peak | Lab (minister) | no |
Frank Dobson | Holborn and St Pancras | Lab | no |
Lynne Featherstone | Hornsey and Wood Green | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Fraser Kemp | Houghton and Washington East | Lab | no |
Celia Barlow | Hove | Lab (minister) | no |
Greg Pope | Hyndburn | Lab (minister) | no |
Mike Gapes | Ilford South | Lab (minister) | no |
David Cairns | Inverclyde | Lab | no |
Danny Alexander | Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Chris Mole | Ipswich | Lab (minister) | no |
Jeremy Corbyn | Islington North | Lab | aye |
Emily Thornberry | Islington South and Finsbury | Lab | no |
Don Touhig | Islwyn | Lab (minister) | no |
Stephen Hepburn | Jarrow | Lab (minister) | no |
Ann Cryer | Keighley | Lab (minister) | no |
Des Browne | Kilmarnock and Loudoun | Lab | no |
Diana R. Johnson | Kingston upon Hull North | Lab (minister) | no |
Roger Berry | Kingswood | Lab (minister) | no |
George Howarth | Knowsley North and Sefton East | Lab (minister) | no |
Edward O'Hara | Knowsley South | Lab (minister) | no |
Jimmy Hood | Lanark and Hamilton East | Lab (minister) | no |
Hilary Benn | Leeds Central | Lab (minister) | no |
George Mudie | Leeds East | Lab (minister) | no |
Fabian Hamilton | Leeds North East | Lab (minister) | no |
Greg Mulholland | Leeds North West | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab (minister) | no |
Peter Soulsby | Leicester South | Lab (minister) | no |
Joan Ruddock | Lewisham, Deptford | Lab (minister) | no |
Gillian Merron | Lincoln | Lab (minister) | no |
Michael Connarty | Linlithgow and East Falkirk | Lab (minister) | no |
Maria Eagle | Liverpool, Garston | Lab (minister) | no |
Louise Ellman | Liverpool, Riverside | Lab (minister) | no |
Peter Kilfoyle | Liverpool, Walton | Lab | no |
Nia Griffith | Llanelli | Lab (minister) | no |
Andy Reed | Loughborough | Lab (minister) | no |
Kelvin Hopkins | Luton North | Lab (minister) | no |
Tony Lloyd | Manchester Central | Lab (minister) | no |
Graham Stringer | Manchester, Blackley | Lab (minister) | no |
Gerald Kaufman | Manchester, Gorton | Lab (minister) | no |
Alan Meale | Mansfield | Lab | no |
Elfyn Llwyd | Meirionnydd Nant Conwy | PC (front bench) | aye |
Dai Havard | Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney | Lab (minister) | no |
Annette Brooke | Mid Dorset and North Poole | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Stuart Bell | Middlesbrough | Lab (minister) | no |
Ashok Kumar | Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland | Lab | no |
David Hamilton | Midlothian | Lab (minister) | no |
Phyllis Starkey | Milton Keynes South West | Lab (minister) | no |
Siobhain McDonagh | Mitcham and Morden | Lab | no |
Lembit Öpik | Montgomeryshire | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Angus Robertson | Moray | SNP (front bench) | aye |
Geraldine Smith | Morecambe and Lunesdale | Lab (minister) | no |
Colin Challen | Morley and Rothwell | Lab (minister) | no |
Angus MacNeil | Na h-Eileanan an Iar | SNP (front bench) | aye |
Peter Hain | Neath | Lab (minister) | no |
Jim Cousins | Newcastle upon Tyne Central | Lab (minister) | no |
Nick Brown | Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend | Lab (minister) | no |
Paul Farrelly | Newcastle-under-Lyme | Lab (minister) | no |
Jessica Morden | Newport East | Lab (minister) | no |
Paul Flynn | Newport West | Lab (minister) | no |
Katy Clark | North Ayrshire and Arran | Lab (minister) | no |
Nick Harvey | North Devon | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Sylvia Hermon | North Down | UUP (front bench) | no |
Kevan Jones | North Durham | Lab (minister) | no |
Natascha Engel | North East Derbyshire | Lab (minister) | no |
Menzies Campbell | North East Fife | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Norman Lamb | North Norfolk | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Simon Hughes | North Southwark and Bermondsey | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Michael Wills | North Swindon | Lab (minister) | no |
Hilary Armstrong | North West Durham | Lab | no |
David Taylor | North West Leicestershire | Lab (minister) | no |
Sally Keeble | Northampton North | Lab (minister) | no |
Steve Webb | Northavon | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Charles Clarke | Norwich South | Lab (minister) | no |
John Heppell | Nottingham East | Lab (minister) | tellno |
Graham Allen | Nottingham North | Lab (minister) | no |
Alan Simpson | Nottingham South | Lab | aye |
Bill Olner | Nuneaton | Lab (minister) | no |
Gordon Banks | Ochil and South Perthshire | Lab (minister) | no |
Huw Irranca-Davies | Ogmore | Lab (minister) | no |
Phil Woolas | Oldham East and Saddleworth | Lab (minister) | no |
Michael Meacher | Oldham West and Royton | Lab | no |
Andrew Smith | Oxford East | Lab | no |
Evan Harris | Oxford West and Abingdon | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Jim Sheridan | Paisley and Renfrewshire North | Lab (minister) | no |
Douglas Alexander | Paisley and Renfrewshire South | Lab (minister) | no |
Gordon Prentice | Pendle | Lab (minister) | aye |
Pete Wishart | Perth and North Perthshire | SNP (front bench) | aye |
Alison Seabeck | Plymouth, Devonport | Lab (minister) | no |
Linda Gilroy | Plymouth, Sutton | Lab (minister) | no |
Yvette Cooper | Pontefract and Castleford | Lab (minister) | no |
Kim Howells | Pontypridd | Lab | no |
Jim Fitzpatrick | Poplar and Canning Town | Lab (minister) | no |
Sarah McCarthy-Fry | Portsmouth North | Lab (minister) | no |
Paul Truswell | Pudsey | Lab | no |
Martin Salter | Reading West | Lab (minister) | no |
Jacqui Smith | Redditch | Lab | no |
Karen Buck | Regent's Park and Kensington North | Lab (minister) | no |
Chris Bryant | Rhondda | Lab (minister) | no |
Susan Kramer | Richmond Park | LDem | aye |
Paul Rowen | Rochdale | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Sandra Gidley | Romsey | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Kevin Barron | Rother Valley | Lab (minister) | no |
Thomas McAvoy | Rutherglen and Hamilton West | Lab (minister) | no |
Hazel Blears | Salford | Lab (minister) | no |
Elliot Morley | Scunthorpe | Lab (minister) | no |
Phil Wilson | Sedgefield | Lab (minister) | no |
John Grogan | Selby | Lab (minister) | no |
Richard Caborn | Sheffield Central | Lab | no |
Clive Betts | Sheffield, Attercliffe | Lab (minister) | no |
Meg Munn | Sheffield, Heeley | Lab | no |
Angela Smith | Sheffield, Hillsborough | Lab (minister) | no |
Paddy Tipping | Sherwood | Lab (minister) | no |
Fiona Mactaggart | Slough | Lab (minister) | no |
Lorely Burt | Solihull | LDem (front bench) | aye |
David Heath | Somerton and Frome | LDem (front bench) | aye |
William McCrea | South Antrim | DUP (front bench) | no |
Mark Todd | South Derbyshire | Lab (minister) | no |
Jim Knight | South Dorset | Lab (minister) | no |
Eddie McGrady | South Down | SDLP | no |
Colin Breed | South East Cornwall | LDem (front bench) | aye |
David Borrow | South Ribble | Lab (minister) | no |
Anne Snelgrove | South Swindon | Lab | no |
Stephen Ladyman | South Thanet | Lab | no |
John Denham | Southampton, Itchen | Lab (minister) | no |
Alan Whitehead | Southampton, Test | Lab (minister) | no |
John Pugh | Southport | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Dave Watts | St Helens North | Lab (minister) | no |
Shaun Woodward | St Helens South | Lab (minister) | no |
Andrew George | St Ives | LDem (front bench) | aye |
David Kidney | Stafford | Lab (minister) | no |
Charlotte Atkins | Staffordshire Moorlands | Lab (minister) | no |
Barbara Follett | Stevenage | Lab (minister) | no |
Anne McGuire | Stirling | Lab | no |
Ann Coffey | Stockport | Lab (minister) | no |
Frank Cook | Stockton North | Lab (minister) | no |
Dari Taylor | Stockton South | Lab (minister) | no |
Mark Fisher | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Lab | no |
Joan Walley | Stoke-on-Trent North | Lab (minister) | no |
Rob Flello | Stoke-on-Trent South | Lab | no |
Lynda Waltho | Stourbridge | Lab (minister) | no |
Iris Robinson | Strangford | DUP (front bench) | no |
Keith Hill | Streatham | Lab (minister) | no |
Bill Etherington | Sunderland North | Lab | no |
Chris Mullin | Sunderland South | Lab (minister) | no |
Paul Burstow | Sutton and Cheam | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Siân James | Swansea East | Lab (minister) | no |
Alan Williams | Swansea West | Lab (minister) | no |
Brian Jenkins | Tamworth | Lab (minister) | no |
Jeremy Browne | Taunton | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Richard Younger-Ross | Teignbridge | LDem (front bench) | aye |
David Wright | Telford | Lab (minister) | no |
Andrew MacKinlay | Thurrock | Lab (minister) | no |
Sadiq Khan | Tooting | Lab (minister) | no |
Adrian Sanders | Torbay | LDem (front bench) | aye |
David Clelland | Tyne Bridge | Lab (minister) | no |
Alan Campbell | Tynemouth | Lab (minister) | no |
Chris Ruane | Vale of Clwyd | Lab | no |
Angela Eagle | Wallasey | Lab (minister) | no |
David Winnick | Walsall North | Lab (minister) | no |
Bruce George | Walsall South | Lab | no |
Neil Gerrard | Walthamstow | Lab (minister) | no |
Dan Norris | Wansdyke | Lab (minister) | no |
John Spellar | Warley | Lab (minister) | no |
Helen Jones | Warrington North | Lab (minister) | no |
Helen Southworth | Warrington South | Lab (minister) | no |
James Plaskitt | Warwick and Leamington | Lab (minister) | no |
Claire Ward | Watford | Lab (minister) | no |
Bob Blizzard | Waveney | Lab (minister) | tellno |
Mike Hall | Weaver Vale | Lab (minister) | no |
John Healey | Wentworth | Lab (minister) | no |
Tom Watson | West Bromwich East | Lab (minister) | no |
Adrian Bailey | West Bromwich West | Lab (minister) | no |
John McFall | West Dunbartonshire | Lab (minister) | no |
Lyn Brown | West Ham | Lab (minister) | no |
Rosie Cooper | West Lancashire | Lab (minister) | no |
Tim Farron | Westmorland and Lonsdale | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Neil Turner | Wigan | Lab (minister) | no |
Mark Oaten | Winchester | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Ben Chapman | Wirral South | Lab (minister) | no |
Stephen Hesford | Wirral West | Lab (minister) | no |
Ken Purchase | Wolverhampton North East | Lab (minister) | no |
Pat McFadden | Wolverhampton South East | Lab (minister) | no |
Rob Marris | Wolverhampton South West | Lab | no |
Michael Foster | Worcester | Lab (minister) | no |
Tony Cunningham | Workington | Lab (minister) | no |
Barbara Keeley | Worsley | Lab (minister) | no |
Ian Lucas | Wrexham | Lab (minister) | no |
Richard Taylor | Wyre Forest | Independent (front bench) | aye |
David Laws | Yeovil | LDem (front bench) | aye |
Albert Owen | Ynys Môn | Lab (minister) | no |