How every MP voted on Northern Ireland equal marriage amendment
A rainbow appears over Parliament (LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty)
Find out how your MP voted on an amendment to support equal marriage and legal abortions in Northern Ireland.
The equal rights amendment from Labour backbenchers MPs Stella Creasy and Conor McGinn passed the House of Commons by a vote of 207-117 on Wednesday (October 24), describing Northern Ireland’s ban on same-sex marriage and criminalisation of abortion as a human rights violation.
45 Conservative MPs ultimately voted in favour of the amendment against the government line, alongside 148 Labour MPs, eight Liberal Democrats, four Plaid Cymru MPs, one Green MP and one independent Labour MP.
Although the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley spoke against the amendment and urged Conservatives to vote against, whips declared a free vote on the issue for Tory MPs due to the strength of opinion on both sides.
Unusually, three Cabinet ministers—Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson, Business Secretary Greg Clark and Minister for Women and Equalities Penny Mordaunt—backed the motion.
Labour’s big-hitters Jeremy Corbyn, Emily Thornberry and Diane Abbott also voted in favour.
102 Conservative MPs, nine Democratic Unionist Party MPs and four Labour MPs rejected the amendment.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith and rumoured Tory leadership contender Jacob Rees-Mogg were among the big names to vote against the amendment.
The full vote list is below.
Not all MPs voted on the amendment
Of Parliament’s 650 MPs, only 324 MPs voted in this division.
As the motion was a last-minute amendment to an emergency bill that was submitted to Parliament at short notice, many MPs were unable to attend the vote due to prior engagements. Neither of the major parties laid down a whip that would have required their MPs to attend the vote.
The Scottish National Party abstained on the vote. Northern Ireland’s Sinn Féin supports equal marriage but does not take up the seven seats it holds in the House of Commons.
Does a vote against the motion mean an MP opposes LGBT+ rights?
Not necessarily. Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley had urged MPs who otherwise support equal rights to vote against the amendment, because of the principle of devolved government in Northern Ireland.
In addition, MPs who support equal marriage but have objections to abortion may not have felt comfortable casting votes in favour due to the combined nature of the motion.
If you are a constituent and have questions about the way your MP voted, you can always write to them and ask about their decision.
Does this vote mean LGBT+ people in Northern Ireland can get married now?
No. The vote was largely symbolic, but directs the government to issue advice to civil servants in Northern Ireland in relation to the incompatibility of human rights with the region’s laws on the two issues.
You can read more about the details of the amendment here.
A separate backbench bill also from Labour’s Conor McGinn is heading back to Parliament on Friday that would take steps to directly introduce equal marriage, but is not likely to pass without government support.
Why is the UK Parliament voting on laws for Northern Ireland?
The Northern Ireland executive collapsed in January 2017 due to a breakdown in the power-sharing agreement between the DUP and Sinn Féin. The Northern Ireland Assembly and executive have been suspended ever since.
With no future agreement in sight, LGBT+ campaigners in Northern Ireland say the onus is on the UK government and the Irish government to secure an equal marriage settlement. You can read more about that here.
Votes for Yes
Conservative
Heidi Allen (South Cambridgeshire)
Stuart Andrew (Pudsey)
Victoria Atkins (Louth and Horncastle)
Crispin Blunt (Reigate)
Nick Boles (Grantham and Stamford)
Alistair Burt (North East Bedfordshire)
Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells)
Mr Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe)
Damian Collins (Folkestone and Hythe)
Tracey Crouch (Chatham and Aylesford)
Caroline Dinenage (Gosport)
James Duddridge (Rochford and Southend East)
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield)
George Freeman (Mid Norfolk)
Mike Freer (Finchley and Golders Green)
Zac Goldsmith (Richmond Park)
Luke Graham (Ochil and South Perthshire)
Mrs Helen Grant (Maidstone and The Weald)
Justine Greening (Putney)
Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate)
James Heappey (Wells)
Margot James (Stourbridge)
Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham)
Kit Malthouse (North West Hampshire)
Paul Masterton (East Renfrewshire)
Huw Merriman (Bexhill and Battle)
Nigel Mills (Amber Valley)
Anne Milton (Guildford)
Penny Mordaunt (Portsmouth North)
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire)
Caroline Nokes (Romsey and Southampton North)
John Penrose (Weston-super-Mare)
Dr Dan Poulter (Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Will Quince (Colchester)
Amber Rudd (Hastings and Rye)
Chris Skidmore (Kingswood)
Henry Smith (Crawley)
Anna Soubry (Broxtowe)
Andrew Stephenson (Pendle)
Justin Tomlinson (North Swindon)
Anna Soubry (Broxtowe)
Andrew Stephenson (Pendle)
Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge and Malling)
Mr Edward Vaizey (Wantage)
Helen Whately (Faversham and Mid Kent)
Gavin Williamson (South Staffordshire)
Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes)
Labour
Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting)
Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale)
Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower)
Mr Adrian Bailey (West Bromwich West)
Sir Kevin Barron (Rother Valley)
Hilary Benn (Leeds Central)
Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree)
Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham)
Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central)
Tracy Brabin (Batley and Spen)
Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter)
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West)
Lyn Brown (West Ham)
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Chris Bryant (Rhondda)
Ms Karen Buck (Westminster North)
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield)
Dawn Butler (Brent Central)
Liam Byrne (Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth)
Mr Alan Campbell (Tynemouth)
Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton)
Jenny Chapman (Darlington)
Bambos Charalambous (Enfield, Southgate)
Vernon Coaker (Gedling)
Julie Cooper (Burnley)
Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North)
Neil Coyle (Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Mary Creagh (Wakefield)
Stella Creasy (Walthamstow)
Jon Cruddas (Dagenham and Rainham)
John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead)
Alex Cunningham (Stockton North)
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South)
Janet Daby (Lewisham East)
Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe)
Wayne David (Caerphilly)
Thangam Debbonaire (Bristol West)
Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East)
Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth)
Rosie Duffield (Canterbury)
Maria Eagle (Garston and Halewood)
Ms Angela Eagle (Wallasey)
Clive Efford (Eltham)
Julie Elliott (Sunderland Central)
Dame Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside)
Chris Elmore (Ogmore)
Bill Esterson (Sefton Central)
Paul Farrelly (Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse)
Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford)
Gill Furniss (Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Ruth George (High Peak)
Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland)
Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston)
Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South)
Nia Griffith (Llanelli)
David Hanson (Delyn)
Carolyn Harris (Swansea East)
Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood)
Sue Hayman (Workington)
Sir Mark Hendrick (Preston)
Mike Hill (Hartlepool)
Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West)
Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton)
Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North)
Gerald Jones (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Graham P Jones (Hyndburn)
Mr Kevan Jones (North Durham)
Sarah Jones (Croydon Central)
Liz Kendall (Leicester West)
Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton)
Ged Killen (Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Stephen Kinnock (Aberavon)
Peter Kyle (Hove)
Lesley Laird (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Mr David Lammy (Tottenham)
Karen Lee (Lincoln)
Mr Chris Leslie (Nottingham East)
Tony Lloyd (Rochdale)
Caroline Lucas (Green Party – Brighton, Pavilion)
Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham)
Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Mr Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham, Perry Barr)
Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston)
John Mann (Bassetlaw)
Sandy Martin (Ipswich)
Christian Matheson (City of Chester)
Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East)
Siobhain McDonagh (Mitcham and Morden)
Mr Pat McFadden (Wolverhampton South East)
Conor McGinn (St Helens North)
Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton)
Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton)
Ian Mearns (Gateshead)
Edward Miliband (Doncaster North)
Mrs Madeleine Moon (Bridgend)
Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South)
Grahame Morris (Easington)
Ian Murray (Edinburgh South)
Alex Norris (Nottingham North)
Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby)
Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Albert Owen (Ynys Môn)
Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich)
Jess Phillips (Birmingham, Yardley)
Jo Platt (Leigh)
Luke Pollard (Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Christina Rees (Neath)
Ellie Reeves (Lewisham West and Penge)
Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde)
Matt Rodda (Reading East)
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Brighton, Kemptown)
Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury)
Mr Dennis Skinner (Bolsover)
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith)
Ruth Smeeth (Stoke-on-Trent North)
Angela Smith (Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington)
Laura Smith (Crewe and Nantwich)
Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent)
Owen Smith (Pontypridd)
Karin Smyth (Bristol South)
Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Alex Sobel (Leeds North West)
Keir Starmer (Holborn and St Pancras)
Jo Stevens (Cardiff Central)
Wes Streeting (Ilford North)
Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East)
Mark Tami (Alyn and Deeside)
Gareth Thomas (Harrow West)
Nick Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen)
Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury)
Anna Turley (Redcar)
Derek Twigg (Halton)
Liz Twist (Blaydon)
Chuka Umunna (Streatham)
Valerie Vaz (Walsall South)
Thelma Walker (Colne Valley)
Tom Watson (West Bromwich East)
Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green)
Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test)
Martin Whitfield (East Lothian)
Dr Paul Williams (Stockton South)
Phil Wilson (Sedgefield)
Mohammad Yasin (Bedford)
Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge)
Liberal Democrats
Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington)
Sir Vince Cable (Twickenham)
Sir Edward Davey (Kingston and Surbiton)
Wera Hobhouse (Bath)
Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West)
Stephen Lloyd (Eastbourne)
Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon)
Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Plaid Cymru
Ben Lake (Ceredigion)
Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Hywel Williams (Arfon)
Green
Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion)
Independent
John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness)
Votes for No
Conservative
Peter Aldous (Waveney)
Sir David Amess (Southend West)
Mr Richard Bacon (South Norfolk)
Mr Steve Baker (Wycombe)
Sir Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk)
Bob Blackman (Harrow East)
Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough)
Sir Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale West)
Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire)
Steve Brine (Winchester)
Fiona Bruce (Congleton)
James Cartlidge (South Suffolk)
Sir William Cash (Stone)
Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham)
Colin Clark (Gordon)
Mr Simon Clarke (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds)
Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal)
Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire)
Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire)
Philip Davies (Shipley)
Michelle Donelan (Chippenham)
Steve Double (St Austell and Newquay)
Oliver Dowden (Hertsmere)
Richard Drax (South Dorset)
Mr Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green)
Mr Philip Dunne (Ludlow)
George Eustice (Camborne and Redruth)
Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley)
Kevin Foster (Torbay)
Mr Mark Francois (Rayleigh and Wickford)
Sir Roger Gale (North Thanet)
John Glen (Salisbury)
Mr Robert Goodwill (Scarborough and Whitby)
Bill Grant (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Chris Grayling (Epsom and Ewell)
Chris Green (Bolton West)
Damian Green (Ashford)
Kirstene Hair (Angus)
Greg Hands (Chelsea and Fulham)
Trudy Harrison (Copeland)
Sir Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire)
Simon Hoare (North Dorset)
Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton)
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering)
Adam Holloway (Gravesham)
John Howell (Henley)
Eddie Hughes (Walsall North)
Mr Alister Jack (Dumfries and Galloway)
Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove)
Robert Jenrick (Newark)
Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Mr David Jones (Clwyd West)
Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton)
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Stephen Kerr (Stirling)
John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford)
Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough)
Sir Oliver Letwin (West Dorset)
Andrew Lewer (Northampton South)
Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater and West Somerset)
Mr Jonathan Lord (Woking)
Mrs Anne Main (St Albans)
Scott Mann (North Cornwall)
Paul Maynard (Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Nigel Mills (Amber Valley)
James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis)
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire)
Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon)
Mr Owen Paterson (North Shropshire)
Sir Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead)
Victoria Prentis (Banbury)
Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin)
Tom Pursglove (Corby)
John Redwood (Wokingham)
Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg (North East Somerset)
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury)
Mary Robinson (Cheadle)
Andrew Rosindell (Romford)
Douglas Ross (Moray)
David Rutley (Macclesfield)
Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire)
Dame Caroline Spelman (Meriden)
John Stevenson (Carlisle)
Bob Stewart (Beckenham)
Rory Stewart (Penrith and The Border)
Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon)
Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness)
Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West)
Sir Hugo Swire (East Devon)
Sir Robert Syms (Poole)
Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Derek Thomas (St Ives)
Ross Thomson (Aberdeen South)
Maggie Throup (Erewash)
Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes)
Mr Charles Walker (Broxbourne)
Mr Ben Wallace (Wyre and Preston North)
Mrs Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire)
Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley)
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon)
Bill Wiggin (North Herefordshire)
Labour
Mary Glindon (North Tyneside)
Sir Mark Hendrick (Preston)
Rachael Maskell (York Central)
Fiona Onasanya (Peterborough)
Democratic Unionist Party
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry)
Nigel Dodds (Belfast North)
Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson (Lagan Valley)
Paul Girvan (South Antrim)
Emma Little Pengelly (Belfast South)
Gavin Robinson (Belfast East)
Jim Shannon (Strangford)
David Simpson (Upper Bann)
Sammy Wilson (East Antrim)
