I thought it might be useful – and fun – to count how many times the government is defeated in the House of Commons during this parliament, however long it lasts.
For my purposes, I am using a broader definition of defeat than Parliament’s recordkeepers use. They define a defeat as just that, a vote that the government doesn’t win. I will be counting those, but also votes that are pulled or U-Turns in advance of a defeat.
1) Amendment to the Queen’s Speech
Contents: For people in Northern Ireland to have the NHS meet the costs of their abortions in England. As the 1967 Abortion Act never included Northern Ireland, women must travel to the rest of the UK to exercise their reproductive rights. A recent court order found that the NHS does not have to pay the costs of doing so. This amendment overturned that ruling.
In order to head off defeat on an amendment brought by the Labour MP Stella Creasy, the government announced that it will meet the costs of those abortions.
2) Tainted blood
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