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David Laws
Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil
- Entered Parliament on 7 June 2001 — General election
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- Voting record
- Topics of interest
- Most recent appearances
- Numerology
- Register of Members’ Interests
- Expenses
Voting record (from PublicWhip)
How David Laws voted on key issues since 2001:
- Voted strongly against introducing foundation hospitals. votes
- Voted very strongly against a stricter asylum system. votes
- Voted moderately for increasing the rate of VAT. votes
- Voted moderately against university tuition fees. votes
- Voted for raising England’s undergraduate tuition fee cap to £9,000 per year. votes
- Voted strongly against introducing ID cards. votes
- Voted very strongly against the Iraq war. votes
- Voted very strongly for an investigation into the Iraq war. votes
- Voted moderately against a more proportional system for electing MPs. votes
- Voted a mixture of for and against a transparent Parliament. votes
- Voted strongly for the hunting ban. votes
- Voted moderately for laws to stop climate change. votes
- Voted for removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords. votes
- Voted moderately for a wholly elected House of Lords. votes
- Voted moderately against allowing ministers to intervene in inquests. votes
- Voted strongly against Labour's anti-terrorism laws. votes
- Voted strongly for equal gay rights. votes
- Voted a mixture of for and against greater autonomy for schools. votes
- Voted moderately against a smoking ban. votes
- Voted moderately against replacing Trident. votes
- Voted a mixture of for and against automatic enrolment in occupational pensions. votes
- Voted moderately for encouraging occupational pensions. votes
- Voted moderately for more EU integration. votes
Read about how the voting record is decided.
More on well-known issues (from the Guardian) & their full record
- Hardly ever rebels against their party in this parliament.
Topics of interest
Asks most questions about
- Departments: Children, Schools and Families, Treasury, Work and Pensions, Health, Education and Skills
- Subjects (based on headings added by Hansard): Tax Credits, Pensions, Child Support Agency, Parliamentary Questions, Euro
(based on written questions asked by David Laws and answered by departments)
Public Bill Committees (sittings attended)
- Children, Schools and Families Bill Committee (11 out of 12)
- Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill Committee (14 out of 18)
- Education and Skills Bill Committee (18 out of 20)
- Welfare Reform Bill Committee (0 out of 3)
- Pensions Bill Committee (12 out of 12)
- Welfare Reform Bill Committee (2 out of 12)
- Rights of Savers Bill Committee (1 out of 2)
- Child Trust Funds Bill Committee (7 out of 7)
- Finance Bill Committee (14 out of 21)
- Finance Bill Committee (13 out of 16)
- Education Bill Committee (10 out of 20)
Most recent appearances
- Written Answers — Work and Pensions: Jobseeker's Allowance: Young People (17 May 2012)
“To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) 18 to 24 and (b) 18 to 21 year-olds claimed jobseeker's allowance in England in the latest period for which figures are available; what proportion ceased claiming after (i) three, (ii) six, (iii) nine and (iv) 12 months; and how many of those who ceased claiming after each such period (A) found a full-time job, (B) found a...”
- Written Answers — Treasury: Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands (26 Mar 2012)
“To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of people resident in Yeovil constituency who will no longer pay income tax consequent (a) on the proposed increase in the personal income tax allowance from April 2012 and (b) on the proposed increase in the personal income tax allowance to £10,000 by April 2015.”
- Written Answers — Work and Pensions: Social Security Benefits (20 Mar 2012)
“To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged (a) 18 to 21 and (b) 22 to 24 years claimed (i) employment and support allowance and (ii) incapacity benefit in England in the last year for which figures are available.”
More of David Laws's recent appearances
Numerology
Please note that numbers do not measure quality. Also, representatives may do other things not currently covered by this site. (More about this)
- Has spoken in 1 debate in the last year — well below average amongst MPs.
- Has received answers to 49 written questions in the last year — above average amongst MPs.
- Replied within 2 or 3 weeks to a high number of messages sent via WriteToThem.com during 2008, according to constituents.
- Has voted in 64.42% of votes in this Parliament with this affiliation — below average amongst MPs. (From Public Whip)
- People have made 4 annotations on this MP’s speeches — average amongst MPs.
- This MP's speeches, in Hansard, are readable by an average 19–20 year old, going by the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score.
- 103 people are tracking this MP — email me updates on David Laws’s activity.
- Has used three-word alliterative phrases (e.g. "she sells seashells") 397 times in debates — above average amongst MPs. (Why is this here?)
Register of Members’ Interests
Register last updated: 30 Apr 2012. More about the Register
View the history of this MP's entries in the Register
Expenses
Figures in brackets are ranks.Data from parliament.uk (source). Read 2004/05 – 2008/09 and 1st quarter 2009/10 receipts.
| Type | 2008/09 (ranking out of 647) | 2007/08 (ranking out of 645) | 2006/07 (ranking out of 645) | 2005/06 | 2004/05 (ranking out of 659) | 2003/04 (ranking out of 658) | 2002/03 (ranking out of 657) | 2001/02 (ranking out of 657) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staying away from main home | £15,962 (411th) | £19,251 (414th) | £21,065 (344th) | £18,887 | £16,870 (435th) | £13,321 (512th) | £18,459 (396th) | £16,449 (123rd) |
| London costs | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Office running costs | £22,001 (124th) | £21,425 (131st) | £25,795 (79th) | £23,999 | £19,273 (joint 167th with 2 others) | £18,784 (joint 262nd with 1 other) | £18,228 (joint 213th with 2 others) | £20,282 (158th) |
| Staffing costs | £100,397 (147th) | £90,287 (212th) | £81,920 (401st) | £80,068 | £70,378 (321st) | £68,023 (joint 228th with 71 others) | £65,591 (233rd) | £52,721 (107th) |
| Communications Allowance | £10,162 (223rd) | £9,907 (168th) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Members' Travel | £9,822 (207th)1 | £8,012 (joint 296th with 1 other)2 | £6,859 (350th)3 | £7,585 | £13,308 (204th) | £10,929 (289th) | £12,811 (207th) | £7,467 (349th) |
| Members' Staff Travel | £205 (278th) | £124 (362nd) | £230 (joint 313th with 1 other) | £150 | £347 (314th) | £158 (383rd) | £242 (joint 359th with 1 other) | £395 (276th) |
| Members' Spouse Travel | £0 | £0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Members' Family Travel | £0 | £0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Centrally Purchased Stationery | £6,557 (80th) | £987 (227th) | £1,451 (170th) | £1,334 | £1,235 (joint 221st with 1 other) | £2,068 (58th) | £1,835 (107th) | £2,080 (65th) |
| Stationery: Associated Postage Costs | £5,186 (48th) | £8,325 (53rd) | £6,887 | £6,415 (91st) | £13,694 (10th) | N/A | N/A | |
| Centrally Provided Computer Equipment | £1,332 (joint 147th with 2 others) | £1,125 (joint 205th with 11 others) | £0 | £1,945 (joint 204th with 5 others) | £1,945 (joint 199th with 6 others) | £1,945 (joint 196th with 6 others) | £1,945 (joint 186th with 5 others) | |
| Other Costs | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Total | £165,106 (128th) | £156,511 (156th) | £146,770 (141st) | £138,910 | £129,771 (198th) | £128,922 (136th) | £119,111 (191st) | £101,339 (75th) |
1 Regular journeys between home/constituency/Westminster: Mileage £7,550 (11th). Rail £2,207 (335th). Misc £15 (239th). Other: Rail £50 (132nd).
2 Regular journeys between home/constituency/Westminster: Mileage £6,430 (39th). Rail £1,056 (432nd). Other: Rail £526 (42nd).