Lords division · 15 Sep 2003 · No. 1

Northern Ireland (Monitoring Commission etc.) Bill [HL]

It was moved by the Lord Maginnis of Drumglass, in Clause 5, page 4, line 4, to leave out from beginning to end of page 5, line 5, and insert: “(1) The Secretary of State may, having regard to any report of the Monitoring Commission, any relevant proceedings in the Assembly and any other relevant matter, if he is satisfied that a Minister or a junior Minister is not committed to non-violence and exclusively peaceful and democratic means; or has failed to observe any other terms of th pledge of office, by direction, exclude the Minister or junior Minister from holding office as a Minister or junior Minister for such period of not less than three months and not more than twelve months beginning with the date of the direction, or as the direction may provide. (2) The Secretary of State may, having regard to any report of the Monitoring Commission, any relevant proceedings in the Assembly and any other relevant matter, if he is satisfied that a political party is not committed to non-violence and exclusively peaceful and democratic means; or is not committed to such of its members as are or might become Ministers or junior Ministers observing the other terms of the pledge of office, by direction exclude members of the political party concerned from holding office as a Minister or junior Minister for such period of not less than six months and not more than twelve months beginning with the date of the direction, or any as the direction may provide. (3) The Secretary of State may, having regard to any relevant proceedings in the Assembly, before any period of exclusion comes to an end extend it for a further period, in the case of an exclusion under section 30(1) or subsection (1) of this section of not less than three months and not more than twelve months, or in the case of an exclusion under section 30(2) or subsection (2) of this section for a further period of not less than six months and not more than twelve months, if he is satisfied that the Minister, junior Minister, or political party as the case may be, is not committed to non-violence and exclusively peaceful and democratic means; or is not committed to observance of the terms of the pledge of office.”; which being objected to, the question was put thereupon, and the Committee divided:

The Not Contents have it

Majority 69

Contents: 89 Not Contents: 158

At a glance The Not Contents won by a margin of 69 votes. The Government's position was Not Content, and it won.

How the parties voted

Contents

Conservative	76
Crossbench	6
Non-affiliated	3
Conservative Independent	1
Independent Ulster Unionist	1
Labour	1
Independent Socialist	1

Not Contents

Labour	106
Liberal Democrat	34
Crossbench	13
Non-affiliated	5

The party breakdowns are our own analysis of the official voting records (recorded votes only; they do not describe the formal whip). How we work this out.

Peers attend divisions ad hoc, so there is no did-not-vote list. Tellers are counted in the Content and Not Content totals, unlike in the Commons.

Tellers: Lord Cope of Berkeley (Content), Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Content), Lord Davies of Oldham (Not Content), Lord Grocott (Not Content).