Novice question about MPs and voting

[sherby]

I was just looking at my MPs wiki entry and it said this

"He has also courted controversy by rebelling against his party whip to vote against equality in the age of consent and against sexuality equality legislation, but for ID cards and euthanasia"

What does it mean

WTF is a whip and how important is the sexuality equality legislation?

Thanks!

The party whip is when MPs are ordered by their party to vote in a particular way.

Sexual equality legislation is all those things like equal pay, common age of consent for hetrosexual and homosexual relationships, civil partnerships etc.

He sounds like a right charmer

A whip effectively whips votes within a political party to enable bills to pass.

Your local MP has gone against this and voted independently (which can be seen as a very bad thing, depending on the bill) and on the basis of the above he is not someone I would be willing to vote for.

Pro ID Cards.
Against gay rights.

Sexuality equality legislation is very important IMO, it's about ensuring that gay people/couples have the same rights as straight people/couples. I could not in good faith vote for anyone who didn't believe in equality but it might be worth looking at specifics of the bill and exactly what he is opposing as it's not always black and white.

Oh thanks for explaining

yes he sounds lovely

for ID cards and euthenasia - you're sure this isn't Hitler?

I actually think being prepared to vote against your party is often a good thing.

Its worth trying to find out WHY he rebelled though - it very often isn't as simple as disagreeing with the principles of the legislation. Not saying this is definitely the case, btw, he could be awful. But it could have been because he had been petitioned about the way the wording of the legislation was written - like the recent votes on the digital economy bill. Most MPs agree steps need to be taken to ensure artist's work isn't stolen/copied on-line, but they voted against the Bill because it hasn't had proper time for debate and there are concerns about it.

It would be worth writing to him and asking why he voted the way he did for things. So you can find out if he's got views you disagree with or if he had valid reasons for his votes.

"Russell is well known in Westminster circles for supporting unusual causes, such as petitioning the House for the return of Young's bitter (beer) to Parliament's Strangers' Bar."

It sounds crazy tbh, what a waste of government time

If you click through to his profile on theyworkforyou.com it says he voted very strongly against ID cards (he's also clearly against ID cards if you google his name and ID cards).

also on publicwhip.org.uk, which the wiki entry purports to lead to - voted strongly against ID cards here.

ah good wiki must be wrong then?

I think the MPs' profiles get changed quite a bit in the run-up to the elections...

Do not trust wiki for polical info. Political opponents change their rivals info to trick voters into voting against them. It's insanely childish, and the kind of action that gives politics a bad name, but it's what they do.

Try theyworkforyou.com for accurate info.

Who is your MP?

I like my MP

Voted strongly for equal gay rights.

Voted strongly against allowing ministers to intervene in inquests.

Voted very strongly against Labour's anti-terrorism laws.

Voted a mixture of for and against a transparent Parliament.

Voted very strongly against replacing Trident.

Voted for removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords.

Voted moderately for a wholly elected House of Lords.

Voted very strongly against introducing ID cards.

Voted very strongly against greater autonomy for schools.

Voted very strongly for laws to stop climate change.

Voted very strongly for an investigation into the Iraq war.

Voted very strongly for introducing a smoking ban.