Mr Stephen Byers | ProjectParly

Parliamentary History

Independent

North Tyneside

9 Apr 1992 – 6 May 2010 (18 yrs)

Ideology spectrum

31.0

ProgressiveCentreConservative

Progressive — based on 16 coded votes across 1 axes (2% coverage).

Policy axis scores

0 = progressive, 50 = centre, 100 = conservative. Based on coded division votes.

Climate / energy 31

Medium confidence 16 votes

Voting trends (most recent 12 months of activity)

Voting record

November 2009 11 votes

Division	Date	Vote
Division 1	25 Nov 2009	AYE
Division 2	25 Nov 2009	NO
I think that I have made my point. I urge the hon. and learned Gentleman to recognise that I have given him 100 per cent. reassurance about the purpose of paragraph 3. I hope that we can make the rest of this debate very short, and get on to the next issue. That concern has boiled down to the situation before us, where it is accepted that there might be an inquiry-rather than an inquest-and, there...	12 Nov 2009	NO
The paragraph in question is paragraph 3 of schedule 1. The paragraph is about suspensions pending inquiry under the 2005 Act. The hon. and learned Gentleman's point is covered by the drafting in that paragraph, so there is absolutely a belt-and-braces approach. "has indicated approval to the Lord Chancellor, for the purposes of this paragraph". The purposes of that paragraph—paragraph 3 to schedu...	12 Nov 2009	NO
I agree that we cannot run hundreds or thousands of academies from Whitehall or Westminster. Has the Minister any objection to local authorities performance-managing academies? In our discussions, local authorities constantly talk to us about the performance of schools in their areas. As the hon. Gentleman will know, we have said just recently that what he suggests is not acceptable for the academ...	11 Nov 2009	NO
We have introduced the YPLA simply because, as the hon. Member for Yeovil said, it simply is not sustainable for the Department to run academies from the centre and to become, in essence, a national local authority for hundreds and hundreds of them. If there were only a few academies, such an arrangement might be appropriate, but as we expect to have 400 of them in a couple of years' time, it simp...	11 Nov 2009	NO
I am not sure where that leaves aims for a Digital Britain. The Home Office paper, "Protecting the public in a changing communications environment", would better serve the public by enabling roaming than by some of the other activities planned for e-mails and such like. Now, a burden is placed on the consumer to find the ability to access more than one network. Consumers sometimes have to purchase...	11 Nov 2009	AYE
We have had a useful debate, and we have all managed to get on record the importance of the complete discretion and independence of the CAG. Question put and agreed to. Clause 38 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill. I want to ask about the necessity of this clause. The Father of the House might correct me, but I do not remember i...	4 Nov 2009	NO
My problem is that it is very difficult to compare costs. I intervened on the hon. Gentleman and, perhaps rashly, he insisted that he was comparing like with like. I ask him to think again. It is very difficult to make reliable comparisons for exactly the reason that has been given by the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath) . There is no like-for-like comparison that we have been able t...	4 Nov 2009	NO
All I seek to do is point out to the Minister that we are establishing a panoply of corporate governance that could lead to confusion in the NAO, when all that is required is the scrutiny of those two aspects: the longevity of appointment, about which there is no disagreement at all; and, the board's oversight of expenses and NAO organisation, which may be rather more demanding than was intended o...	4 Nov 2009	NO
That takes us back to the debates that we had earlier this afternoon and the reluctance, it would seem, of the Executive entirely to let go of matters that are within their power. I hope that the Minister will be able to tell us that in the long term that is precisely what the Government intend to do. Of course we must get value for money, which is exactly what I said. As I shall describe in a mom...	4 Nov 2009	NO

July 2009 13 votes

Division	Date	Vote
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 16 October , and to be printed (Bill 147). Presentation and First Reading ( Standing Order No. 57 ) Mr. Colin Challen presented a Bill to make provision for the introduction of a reward scheme for users of bus and rail services; and to extend the Bus Concessionary Fares Scheme. Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday...	21 Jul 2009	AYE
I do not like to disagree with Mr. Speaker, but I think that you used those terms-or something like them, anyhow. I submit to the House that, whatever was said or not said, it is a point of fact that Mr. Michael Martin, in his last election, did not stand as a Labour candidate. Nor did he stand as a Labour candidate in 2001. He stood as the Speaker seeking re-election and therefore as an independe...	21 Jul 2009	AYE
Motion made, and Question put forthwith ( Standing Order No. 83 (7) A),	21 Jul 2009	AYE
Will the hon. Gentleman add to that list, why was it good enough for the electors of Glasgow, East to have a by-election during the summer last year? The Government are arguing differently from the Dispatch Box this year. You were, Mr. Speaker, kind enough a few minutes ago to say that the point that I made was a point of fact. It is indeed a point of fact— I do not like to disagree with Mr. Speak...	21 Jul 2009	AYE
Again, it is a self-evident truth that trials should not be prejudiced by statements to the media. I very much hope that everyone involved in these issues will examine them. It is important that, as part of the detention procedure, people do not have their trials compromised by statements made outside the situation. I would like to finish the point that I am trying to make in response to my hon. F...	9 Jul 2009	AYE
preliminary Draft budget 2010	8 Jul 2009	AYE
That would be a costly and time-consuming exercise. Schemes are required to keep records for only six years, and finding that information would be either impossible or costly. Our experience of other pension law, such as trivial commutation, is that such record keeping would represent significant administrative burdens. Most schemes do not have complete records and it would be unrealistic to expec...	8 Jul 2009	AYE
My hon. Friend the Member for Taunton was wrong about one thing. He said that online bingo was taxed at 15 per cent., but the truth is that it is rarely taxed at all, because the vast bulk of it is run through offshore websites that pay no tax in this country. Even if they are subject to European Economic Area regulation, or whitelisting, they do not contribute to the process. They certainly do no...	8 Jul 2009	NO
I question the Minister's statement that beer is not a price-sensitive commodity. May I just clarify that that was not my statement? It was a quotation from one of the expert witnesses to the Treasury Committee. Let me start again. I question the so-called expert's statement that beer is not price-sensitive, or the Minister's acceptance of that statement, because if it were as self-evidently true ...	7 Jul 2009	NO
Question accordingly negatived. Amendment proposed: 37, page 2, line 10, leave out '£6,475' and insert '£10,000'.—( Mr. Jeremy Browne. )	7 Jul 2009	NO
Order. The hon. Gentleman's remarks may well be correct, but perhaps we will restrict ourselves a little more to the terms of the new clause. I think that I have made my point. On the other hand, the shadow Chancellor has a history of being enthusiastic about flat-rate taxes. He came into office saying that he would consider their introduction, but it was only when he did so that he realised how f...	7 Jul 2009	NO
Does my hon. Friend agree that there has been some talk in the past 48 hours that if this new clause is passed tonight, the following morning the Government will not be able to collect taxes, the markets will crash and government will grind to a halt? Does he not agree that these are tales to frighten children and that people should decide to vote tonight on the merits of the arguments and not on ...	7 Jul 2009	NO
"This Act and any Statutory Instrument made under this Act shall cease to have effect on the first anniversary of the day on which the Act is passed." Let us say that we get Royal Assent by 31 July , and the body gets going, with staff being transferred, on 1 January . Seven months later, it ceases to have effect. That is an extraordinary idea. I shall give way in a moment. I accept entirely that ...	1 Jul 2009	NO

June 2009 6 votes

Division	Date	Vote
Question accordingly agreed to. Motion made, and Question put forthwith ( Standing Order No.117A(3) ) ,	25 Jun 2009	AYE
Question accordingly agreed to. I have to tell the hon. Gentleman that no such power is vested in the Chair. We must proceed with the business on the Order Paper. If the next motion is moved, the House will come to a decision.	25 Jun 2009	AYE
Question accordingly negatived. Motion made, and Question put forthwith ( Standing Order No.117A(3) ) ,	25 Jun 2009	AYE
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have listened carefully to the concerns expressed by right hon. and hon. Members. Given that we were given no notice of the motions beyond the fact that they would be on the Order Paper today, is there any way for the Chair to consider manuscript amendments, or will we have no debate and no amendments? I regret to inform the hon. Gentleman that it is no...	25 Jun 2009	AYE
I see that time is running out, so I shall draw my remarks to a close. I believe that the proposed Committee will be a valuable addition to the scrutiny of policy affecting London and Londoners. We have the same concerns as others do about the duplication that is taking place. When the London assembly and the Mayor's powers were set up, the expectation was that the Government office for London wou...	25 Jun 2009	AYE
Question accordingly negatived. Question put forthwith ( Standing Order No. 31(2) ), That the proposed words be there added.	24 Jun 2009	AYE

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