Abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board — 24 Apr 2013 at 17:37

The majority of MPs voted in favour of abolishing the Agricultural Wages Board.

The board was an independent statutory body which set minimum wage rates and other minimum employment terms and conditions for agricultural workers in England and Wales.[1]

The motion rejected in this vote was:

  • That this House
  • notes that the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) was set up in 1948 to provide a fair wage and skills structure for agricultural workers;
  • recognises that it is used as a benchmark for other employment in the food industry and that it was the only wages council not to be scrapped in the 1980s;
  • further notes that around a quarter of agricultural workers live in tied accommodation and that casual seasonal workers may move around the country;
  • regrets that the Welsh Government’s wish to retain the AWB has been ignored by the Government;
  • condemns the Government for its abolition of the AWB, which took place after just four weeks consultation and will take £260 million out of the rural economy over the next 10 years, lead to a race to the bottom on wages in rural areas, reduce living standards and impoverish rural workers, exacerbating social deprivation and harming social inclusion;
  • further regrets that hon. Members could not debate that issue as part of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill; and
  • calls on the Government to drop its plans to abolish the AWB.

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Debate in Parliament | Source |

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Party Summary

Votes by party, red entries are votes against the majority for that party.

What is Tell? '+1 tell' means that in addition one member of that party was a teller for that division lobby.

What are Boths? An MP can vote both aye and no in the same division. The boths page explains this.

What is Turnout? This is measured against the total membership of the party at the time of the vote.

PartyMajority (No)Minority (Aye)BothTurnout
Alliance0 10100.0%
Con243 (+1 tell) 0080.0%
DUP2 0025.0%
Green0 10100.0%
Independent0 10100.0%
Lab0 204 (+2 tell)080.2%
LDem38 (+1 tell) 2071.9%
PC0 30100.0%
SDLP0 30100.0%
Total:283 215078.9%

Rebel Voters - sorted by party

MPs for which their vote in this division differed from the majority vote of their party. You can see all votes in this division, or every eligible MP who could have voted in this division

Sort by: Name | Constituency | Party | Vote

NameConstituencyPartyVote
Andrew GeorgeSt IvesLDem (front bench)aye
John ThursoCaithness, Sutherland and Easter RossLDem (front bench)aye

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