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Robert Syms
Conservative MP for Poole
- Entered Parliament on 1 May 1997 — General election
- Majority: 5,988 votes. — 382nd out of 643 MPs.
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- Voting record
- Committees and topics of interest
- Most recent appearances
- Numerology
- Register of Members’ Interests
- Expenses
Voting record (from PublicWhip)
How Robert Syms voted on key issues since 2001:
- Voted a mixture of for and against a transparent Parliament. votes, speeches
- Voted a mixture of for and against introducing a smoking ban. votes, speeches
- Voted strongly against introducing ID cards. votes, speeches
- Voted strongly against introducing foundation hospitals. votes, speeches
- Voted strongly against introducing student top-up fees. votes, speeches
- Voted moderately against Labour's anti-terrorism laws. votes, speeches
- Voted very strongly for the Iraq war. votes, speeches
- Voted strongly for an investigation into the Iraq war. votes, speeches
- Voted very strongly for replacing Trident. votes, speeches
- Voted very strongly against the hunting ban. votes, speeches
- Voted moderately against equal gay rights. votes, speeches
- Voted very strongly for laws to stop climate change. votes, speeches
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.
Committees and topics of interest
Select Committee membership
- Member, Health Committee (since 20 Aug 2008)
Asks most questions about
- Departments: Health, Transport, Local Government and the Regions, Deputy Prime Minister, Home Department, Environment Food and Rural Affairs
- Subjects (based on headings added by Hansard): Building Regulations, Fluoride, Patient Records, Concessionary Travel Schemes, Departmental Underspend
(based on written questions asked by Robert Syms and answered by departments)
Public Bill Committees (sittings attended)
- Finance Bill Committee (15 out of n/a)
- Housing and Regeneration Bill Committee (17 out of n/a)
- Health and Safety (Offences) Bill Committee (1 out of n/a)
- Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill Committee (17 out of n/a)
- Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill Committee (2 out of n/a)
- Civil Aviation Bill Committee (2 out of n/a)
- Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill Committee (1 out of n/a)
- Housing Bill Committee (15 out of n/a)
- Local Government Bill Committee (13 out of n/a)
- Crime (International Co-operation) Bill Committee (8 out of n/a)
Most recent appearances
- Terrorist Asset-Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Bill (Allocation of Time): Terrorist Asset-Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Bill (8 Feb 2010)
“The challenge to strike a balance between fighting against terrorism, which we all know to be a major threat, and preserving our freedoms is one of the most difficult that the House faces. Some years ago, I was on a delegation to Russia. We were guests of the Duma, and we talked to a number of its members a short while after the Beslan outrage in which a number of children were taken hostage....”
- Terrorist Asset-Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Bill (Allocation of Time): Terrorist Asset-Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Bill (8 Feb 2010)
“Of course that would be very difficult. One suspects that some of these individuals are not necessarily wealthy or well-connected people. If the Treasury set up a regime in which these people had only a limited amount of money to live on and they were not allowed economic assistance, going to the courts would not be a realistic option in many cases, even allowing for what the Chief Secretary...”
- Terrorist Asset-Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Bill (Allocation of Time): Terrorist Asset-Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Bill (8 Feb 2010)
“Clearly, if some of the orders are centred on certain communities, that could be the effect. People could feel that they were being picked on. The important point to note is that it is very difficult to deny that you are a terrorist, if someone else has reasonable suspicion of that. How do you prove you are not a terrorist? A judicial review would look at the process that the Minister went...”
More of Robert Syms'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 26 debates in the last year — average amongst MPs.
- Has received answers to 2 written questions in the last year — below average amongst MPs.
- Is a member of 1 select committee (0 as chair).
- Replied within 2 or 3 weeks to a high number of messages sent via WriteToThem.com during 2008, according to constituents.
- Has voted in 74% of votes in parliament with this affiliation — above average amongst MPs. (From Public Whip)
- People have made 3 annotations on this MP’s speeches — below average amongst MPs.
- This MP's speeches, in Hansard, are readable by an average 16–17 year old, going by the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score.
- 81 people are tracking whenever this MP speaks — email me whenever Robert Syms speaks.
- Has used three-word alliterative phrases (e.g. "she sells seashells") 338 times in debates — average amongst MPs. (Why is this here?)
Register of Members’ Interests
Register last updated: 6 Jan 2010. 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 | £24,000 (joint 50th with 2 others) | £23,083 (joint 1st with 142 others) | £22,110 (joint 1st with 183 others) | £21,634 | £20,902 (joint 1st with 187 others) | £20,333 (joint 3rd with 149 others) | £19,722 (joint 1st with 230 others) | £15,738 (joint 236th with 8 others) |
| London costs | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Office running costs | £19,922 (220th) | £18,630 (313th) | £20,417 (309th) | £19,488 | £19,325 (joint 11th with 77 others) | £15,160 (570th) | £17,645 (430th) | £10,856 (496th) |
| Staffing costs | £82,869 (544th) | £81,739 (502nd) | £76,915 (524th) | £70,187 | £63,788 (568th) | £61,769 (568th) | £59,430 (537th) | £43,965 (403rd) |
| Communications Allowance | £5,861 (453rd) | £8,759 (292nd) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Members' Travel | £5,682 (404th)3 | £5,784 (415th)2 | £5,631 (425th)1 | £5,365 | £8,415 (404th) | £7,789 (406th) | £8,875 (382nd) | £8,042 (318th) |
| Members' Staff Travel | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £444 (joint 273rd with 1 other) | £876 (155th) |
| 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 | £1,347 (589th) | £0 | £449 (549th) | £146 | £350 (574th) | £156 (633rd) | £219 (633rd) | £371 (598th) |
| Stationery: Associated Postage Costs | £0 | £2,805 (305th) | £1,253 | £1,419 (507th) | £597 (615th) | N/A | N/A | |
| Centrally Provided Computer Equipment | £922 (608th) | £707 (621st) | £812 | £812 (647th) | £812 (644th) | £812 (637th) | £0 | |
| Other Costs | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Total | £139,681 (459th) | £138,917 (422nd) | £129,034 (470th) | £118,885 | £115,011 (486th) | £106,616 (550th) | £107,147 (459th) | £79,848 (489th) |
2 Regular journeys between home/constituency/Westminster: Mileage £5,784 (61st).
3 Regular journeys between home/constituency/Westminster: Mileage £5,682 (51st).