Philip Cowley and Mark Stuart are based in the School of Politics and International Relations at Nottingham University.
We’ve
been producing end-of session reports on the behaviour of government MPs at
Westminster for almost a decade. Last year’s was a record-breaker: Coalition
MPs rebelling more often than MPs in any other session since 1945. This
morning we’ve launched the report on the 2012-13 session. It tells a more
nuanced story, but with plenty to concern the party whips:
- There were rebellions by Coalition MPs in
61 divisions in the last session of the Parliament, covering a wide range of
issues and bills, from Europe (on more than one occasion…) to House of Lords
reform, from child benefit to housing benefit, and from the succession to the
Crown to planning regulation.
- As a percentage of divisions, that’s a
rebellion in 27% of divisions, down from the 44% in the last session. But
it’s still relatively high for the post-war period. It tops the
comparable figure for all but nine post-war sessions. Most of these nine
are from periods of Labour government (two under Callaghan, five under Blair
and Brown); the preceding session of 2010-12 aside, only one Conservative Prime
Minister has experienced a session with a higher level of dissent (that is,
Edward Heath), and he only experienced it for one session (between 1971-72).
- If we break down the overall figure of 27%
into its two component parts, Conservative MPs have broken ranks in 19% of
divisions (down from 28% in the 2010-12 session), Lib Dem MPs have done so in
15% (down from 24% in the 2010-12 session). (These two figures sum to
more than 27%, because of some votes in which both parties have seen dissent).
So the decline in rebelliousness has been equal (down nine points for the
Conservatives and nine for the Lib Dems) for both parts of the Coalition.
- The figure of 19% for the Conservatives
alone is still higher than for all but seven sessions of Conservative
government during the post-war era. It is, for example, higher than John
Major faced for all but the 1992-93 session; higher than Margaret Thatcher
faced during her premiership save for the 1981-2 and 1984-5 sessions; and it is
higher than the levels of rebellion faced at any point by Churchill, Eden,
Macmillan or Home (save for the 1962-3 session, when it also ran at 19%).
Edward Heath faced a higher rate of rebellion in three of his four sessions in
government, but overall the rate for the 1970 Parliament was 19%. In other
words, even the figure for the Conservatives alone is relatively high compared
to most periods of previous Conservative government.
- And despite the reduction in the rate of
rebellion from the preceding session, the Parliament still remains on course to
be the most rebellious since 1945. The rate for the Parliament as a whole
(that is, 2010-13) now stands at a rebellion in 39% of divisions, easily topping
the 28% seen in the 2005 Parliament. Even if the rate of rebellion drops
again by half – down to a rate of around 13% – in the remaining two sessions,
we would expect the overall total for the Parliament to be 29%, still (just)
enough to make it the most rebellious in the post-war era. The good news
for the whips, therefore (and right now they probably need some), is that we
can report a gradual reduction in the level of backbench dissent on the
Coalition side. But the rate of rebellion in this session only appears
low when compared to the unprecedentedly high levels seen in the preceding
session.
–
- Why’s it down? Several reasons, but a key
one was the withdrawal – under fire – of House of Lords reform. This had
the effect of removing considerable combustible material from the Government’s
legislative programme. Had (somehow) that Bill gone ahead, past Second
Reading, we would be reporting a considerably higher number of rebellions.
- A total of 185 Coalition MPs have voted
against their whip so far during the Parliament. Most (148) of these are
Conservatives, but this is not surprising, given that there have been more
Conservative rebellions and there are anyway more Conservative MPs. The
most rebellious nine Coalition rebels are Conservatives, headed by Philip
Hollobone, who was also the most rebellious in the last session. He has
now voted against his whip 129 times since the election in 2010.
- Of these 185 MPs, 144 rebelled during the
2012-13 session, and there was a very strong relationship between behaviour in
the two sessions of the Parliament. The correlation between the number of
rebellions in the 2010-12 and 2012-13 sessions was 0.79.
- Of the 148 Conservative rebels, 90 (or six
in ten) are from the 2010 intake. Of those members of the 2010 intake who
have been on the backbenches throughout the Parliament some 85% have now
rebelled. New MPs are normally relatively pliant in their early years in
the Commons. Not this lot. And on the Lib Dem side of the Coalition
once you exclude those Lib Dem MPs who are or were at some point members of the
payroll vote, either as ministers or parliamentary private secretaries, and
thus expected to remain loyal to the government, and there is now not a single
Lib Dem MP who has been on the backbenches throughout the Parliament and who
has remained loyal to the party whip.
- The government still win most votes easily
– the median majority in whipped votes this sesson was 71. But close run
things are becoming slightly more common (in its first 24 months in power the
government’s majority only fell below 50 on 22 occasions; in the last twelve
months it has fallen below 50 on 17 occasions). And, crucially, David
Cameron has now joined the list of Prime Ministers defeated in the House of
Commons as a result of their own MPs rebelling, a line which dates back
unbroken to Edward Heath.
A final
fact: David Cameron has had three government Chief Whips in the Common. Two –
Patrick McLoughlin and Sir George Young – have been defeated. Andrew
Mitchell is his only undefeated Chief Whip. We doubt that makes Mr
Mitchell feel much better.
Philip Cowley and Mark Stuart are based in the School of Politics and International Relations at Nottingham University.
We’ve
been producing end-of session reports on the behaviour of government MPs at
Westminster for almost a decade. Last year’s was a record-breaker: Coalition
MPs rebelling more often than MPs in any other session since 1945. This
morning we’ve launched the report on the 2012-13 session. It tells a more
nuanced story, but with plenty to concern the party whips:
61 divisions in the last session of the Parliament, covering a wide range of
issues and bills, from Europe (on more than one occasion…) to House of Lords
reform, from child benefit to housing benefit, and from the succession to the
Crown to planning regulation.
rebellion in 27% of divisions, down from the 44% in the last session. But
it’s still relatively high for the post-war period. It tops the
comparable figure for all but nine post-war sessions. Most of these nine
are from periods of Labour government (two under Callaghan, five under Blair
and Brown); the preceding session of 2010-12 aside, only one Conservative Prime
Minister has experienced a session with a higher level of dissent (that is,
Edward Heath), and he only experienced it for one session (between 1971-72).
into its two component parts, Conservative MPs have broken ranks in 19% of
divisions (down from 28% in the 2010-12 session), Lib Dem MPs have done so in
15% (down from 24% in the 2010-12 session). (These two figures sum to
more than 27%, because of some votes in which both parties have seen dissent).
So the decline in rebelliousness has been equal (down nine points for the
Conservatives and nine for the Lib Dems) for both parts of the Coalition.
alone is still higher than for all but seven sessions of Conservative
government during the post-war era. It is, for example, higher than John
Major faced for all but the 1992-93 session; higher than Margaret Thatcher
faced during her premiership save for the 1981-2 and 1984-5 sessions; and it is
higher than the levels of rebellion faced at any point by Churchill, Eden,
Macmillan or Home (save for the 1962-3 session, when it also ran at 19%).
Edward Heath faced a higher rate of rebellion in three of his four sessions in
government, but overall the rate for the 1970 Parliament was 19%. In other
words, even the figure for the Conservatives alone is relatively high compared
to most periods of previous Conservative government.
rebellion from the preceding session, the Parliament still remains on course to
be the most rebellious since 1945. The rate for the Parliament as a whole
(that is, 2010-13) now stands at a rebellion in 39% of divisions, easily topping
the 28% seen in the 2005 Parliament. Even if the rate of rebellion drops
again by half – down to a rate of around 13% – in the remaining two sessions,
we would expect the overall total for the Parliament to be 29%, still (just)
enough to make it the most rebellious in the post-war era. The good news
for the whips, therefore (and right now they probably need some), is that we
can report a gradual reduction in the level of backbench dissent on the
Coalition side. But the rate of rebellion in this session only appears
low when compared to the unprecedentedly high levels seen in the preceding
session.
–
one was the withdrawal – under fire – of House of Lords reform. This had
the effect of removing considerable combustible material from the Government’s
legislative programme. Had (somehow) that Bill gone ahead, past Second
Reading, we would be reporting a considerably higher number of rebellions.
against their whip so far during the Parliament. Most (148) of these are
Conservatives, but this is not surprising, given that there have been more
Conservative rebellions and there are anyway more Conservative MPs. The
most rebellious nine Coalition rebels are Conservatives, headed by Philip
Hollobone, who was also the most rebellious in the last session. He has
now voted against his whip 129 times since the election in 2010.
2012-13 session, and there was a very strong relationship between behaviour in
the two sessions of the Parliament. The correlation between the number of
rebellions in the 2010-12 and 2012-13 sessions was 0.79.
in ten) are from the 2010 intake. Of those members of the 2010 intake who
have been on the backbenches throughout the Parliament some 85% have now
rebelled. New MPs are normally relatively pliant in their early years in
the Commons. Not this lot. And on the Lib Dem side of the Coalition
once you exclude those Lib Dem MPs who are or were at some point members of the
payroll vote, either as ministers or parliamentary private secretaries, and
thus expected to remain loyal to the government, and there is now not a single
Lib Dem MP who has been on the backbenches throughout the Parliament and who
has remained loyal to the party whip.
– the median majority in whipped votes this sesson was 71. But close run
things are becoming slightly more common (in its first 24 months in power the
government’s majority only fell below 50 on 22 occasions; in the last twelve
months it has fallen below 50 on 17 occasions). And, crucially, David
Cameron has now joined the list of Prime Ministers defeated in the House of
Commons as a result of their own MPs rebelling, a line which dates back
unbroken to Edward Heath.
A final
fact: David Cameron has had three government Chief Whips in the Common. Two –
Patrick McLoughlin and Sir George Young – have been defeated. Andrew
Mitchell is his only undefeated Chief Whip. We doubt that makes Mr
Mitchell feel much better.