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