Voting summaries
MPs have many roles, but one of the most important is that they make decisions. These decisions shape the laws that govern us, and can affect every aspect of how we live our lives.
One of the ways MPs make decisions is by voting.
On TheyWorkForYou, we create voting summaries that group a set of decisions together, show how an MP has generally voted on a set of related votes, and if they differ from their party.
You can see these groups, randomly ordered, below.
You can read more about how this works, the kinds of votes we include, how we compare MPs to parties, and why we think this is important.
If you want to support and help us improve this work, please consider donating.
How Paula Sherriff voted on Home Affairs #
For votes held while they were in office:
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Generally voted against a stricter asylum system Show votes
0 votes for, 1 vote against, 2 absences, between 2015–2016. Comparable Labour MPs consistently voted for.
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Consistently voted against stronger laws and enforcement of immigration rules Show votes
0 votes for, 8 votes against, between 2015–2016. Comparable Labour MPs almost always voted against.
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Consistently voted against merging police and fire services under Police and Crime Commissioners Show votes
0 votes for, 1 vote against, in 2016. Comparable Labour MPs almost always voted against.
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Voted for mass surveillance of people’s communications and activities Show votes
1 vote for, 0 votes against, 2 absences, in 2016. Comparable Labour MPs almost always voted against.
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Voted for requiring the mass retention of information about communications Show votes
1 vote for, 0 votes against, 1 absence, in 2016. Comparable Labour MPs almost always voted against.
Last updated: 17 January 2024.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
How Paula Sherriff voted on Environmental Issues #
For votes held while they were in office:
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Generally voted for the preservation of environmental protections after withdrawal from the EU Show votes
5 votes for, 1 vote against, between 2017–2019. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Voted for new high speed rail infrastructure Show votes
1 vote for, 0 votes against, 2 absences, between 2016–2019. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Consistently voted for measures to prevent climate change Show votes
6 votes for, 0 votes against, 1 agreement for, 1 absence, between 2015–2016. Comparable Labour MPs almost always voted for.
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Has never voted on greater regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract shale gas Details
0 votes for, 0 votes against, 1 absence, in 2015.
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Voted for financial incentives for low carbon emission electricity generation methods Show votes
1 vote for, 0 votes against, in 2018.
Last updated: 4 December 2023.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
For votes held while they were in office:
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Has never voted on a more proportional system for electing MPs Details
0 votes for, 0 votes against, 2 absences, between 2015–2016.
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Generally voted for more powers for local councils Show votes
5 votes for, 2 votes against, between 2015–2016. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Almost always voted for transferring more powers to the Senedd/Welsh Parliament Show votes
9 votes for, 1 vote against, 4 absences, between 2016–2018. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Consistently voted against a veto for MPs from England, Wales and Northern Ireland over laws specifically impacting their part of the UK Show votes
0 votes for, 1 vote against, in 2015. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Consistently voted against reducing central government funding of local government Show votes
0 votes for, 4 votes against, between 2016–2019. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Consistently voted against fewer MPs in the House of Commons Show votes
0 votes for, 1 vote against, in 2016. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Absences for this policy may be affected COVID-19 restrictions.
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Consistently voted for a lower voting age Show votes
4 votes for, 0 votes against, 1 absence, between 2015–2016. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Generally voted for more powers for the devolved administration in Northern Ireland Show votes
4 votes for, 1 vote against, 2 absences, between 2017–2018. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Generally voted for transferring more powers to the Scottish Parliament Show votes
14 votes for, 5 votes against, 9 absences, between 2015–2018. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Voted against local councils keeping money raised from taxes on business premises in their areas Show votes
0 votes for, 1 vote against, in 2019. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Voted against an equal number of electors per parliamentary constituency Show votes
0 votes for, 1 vote against, in 2016. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Last updated: 17 October 2023.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
How Paula Sherriff voted on Taxation and Employment #
For votes held while they were in office:
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Consistently voted against reducing capital gains tax Show votes
0 votes for, 5 votes against, 1 absence, in 2016. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Generally voted against higher taxes on alcoholic drinks Show votes
0 votes for, 2 votes against, 1 absence, in 2017. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Consistently voted against more restrictive regulation of trade union activity Show votes
0 votes for, 10 votes against, between 2015–2017. Comparable Labour MPs almost always voted against.
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Generally voted against raising the threshold at which people start to pay income tax Show votes
0 votes for, 7 votes against, 4 absences, between 2015–2018. Comparable Labour MPs almost always voted against.
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Almost always voted for higher taxes on banks Show votes
5 votes for, 0 votes against, 2 absences, between 2015–2017. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Last updated: 29 November 2023.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
How Paula Sherriff voted on Foreign Policy and Defence #
For votes held while they were in office:
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Generally voted for UK membership of the EU Show votes
7 votes for, 4 votes against, 1 absence, between 2017–2019. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Generally voted for more EU integration Show votes
27 votes for, 8 votes against, 8 absences, between 2017–2019. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Generally voted for a right to remain for EU nationals already in living in the UK Show votes
10 votes for, 5 votes against, 1 absence, between 2017–2019. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
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Consistently voted against military action against ISIL (Daesh) Show votes
0 votes for, 2 votes against, in 2015. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted against.
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Has never voted in a major vote about replacing Trident with a new nuclear weapons system Show votes
0 votes for, 0 votes against, 1 absence, in 2016.
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Consistently voted against use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas Show votes
0 votes for, 2 votes against, in 2015. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted against.
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We don’t have enough information to calculate Paula Sherriff’s position on a second referendum on the terms of the UK's withdrawal from the EU. Show votes
0 votes for, 0 votes against, 4 absences, between 2017–2019.
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Generally voted for a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU Show votes
1 vote for, 0 votes against, 2 absences, in 2015.
Last updated: 18 May 2022.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
As a result of COVID-19, some MPs were less able to vote in Parliament in certain periods, and this will be reflected by absences in their voting record.
- 11th May to 2nd June 2020
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All MPs could vote remotely through an online voting tool. Votes cast remotely are shown as normal on the TheyWorkForYou voting record.
- 2nd to 9th June 2020
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The option of online voting was removed, and a number of MPs may have been unable to vote because they were not physically able to attend.
- 10th June 2020 onwards
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The requirements on proxy voting were relaxed, allowing MPs to designate another MP to cast a vote on their behalf.
If an MP votes by proxy, it is effectively exactly the same as if they cast the vote in person and it shows up on their TheyWorkForYou voting record.
MPs are not required to designate a proxy, and may instead pair with an opposing MP to miss a vote. Parliament does not record when two MPs have come to a pairing arrangement, so on TheyWorkForYou, they will both appear to have been absent for the vote.
See more detail on votes during the COVID-19 period here.
Note for journalists and researchers: The data on this page may be used freely, on condition that TheyWorkForYou.com is cited as the source.
For an explanation of the vote descriptions please see our page about voting information on TheyWorkForYou.