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 read more about our process , the kinds of votes we include , how we compare MPs to parties , and why we think this is important .
Below are summaries of how Joan Ryan has voted on key issues, grouped by policy area (randomly ordered).
Voting records for MPs who change parties / have whip withdrawn
This MP has either become an independent MP, changed parties, or had the party whip withdrawn over the course of their time in Parliament.
In the votes below they are compared to their original party (Labour).
How Joan Ryan voted on Home Affairs #
For votes held while they were in office:
Consistently voted for introducing ID cards Show votes
11 votes for, 1 absence, between 2004 and 2006. Comparable Labour MPs almost always voted for.
Consistently voted for allowing ministers to intervene in inquests Show votes
3 votes for, between 2008 and 2009. Comparable Labour MPs almost always voted for.
Almost always voted for a stricter asylum system Show votes
12 votes for, 1 vote against, 3 absences, between 2002 and 2016. Comparable Labour MPs almost always voted for.
Generally voted for requiring the mass retention of information about communications Show votes
1 vote for, 2 absences, between 2009 and 2016. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Consistently voted against stronger laws and enforcement of immigration rules Show votes
7 votes against, 1 absence, between 2015 and 2016. Comparable Labour MPs almost always voted against.
Consistently voted against merging police and fire services under Police and Crime Commissioners Show votes
1 vote against, in 2016. Comparable Labour MPs consistently voted against.
Last updated: 22 May 2024.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
How Joan Ryan voted on Social Issues #
For votes held while they were in office:
Generally voted for smoking bans Show votes
1 vote for, 1 absence, between 1999 and 2006. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Almost always voted for measures that increased LGBT+ rights and social equality. Show votes
8 votes for, 1 vote against, between 1998 and 2019. Comparable Labour MPs almost always voted for.
Generally voted for the hunting ban Show votes
2 votes for, 1 absence, between 2002 and 2004. Comparable Labour MPs consistently voted for.
Consistently voted for allowing marriage between two people of same sex Show votes
1 vote for, between 2004 and 2019. Comparable Labour MPs consistently voted for.
Generally voted for laws to promote equality and human rights Show votes
5 votes for, 1 vote against, between 2009 and 2019. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Generally voted against allowing terminally ill people to be given assistance to end their life Show votes
1 vote against, 1 absence, between 1997 and 2015. Comparable Labour MPs voted a mixture of for and against (alignment score: 42%).
🗳️ This policy contains a free vote (learn more).
Last updated: 20 June 2025.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
How Joan Ryan voted on Taxation and Employment #
For votes held while they were in office:
Consistently voted against increasing the rate of VAT Show votes
1 vote against, between 2008 and 2019. Comparable Labour MPs consistently voted against.
Generally voted against raising the threshold at which people start to pay income tax Show votes
6 votes against, 5 absences, between 2015 and 2018. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted against.
Tended to vote against (alignment score: 33%) higher taxes on alcoholic drinks Show votes
1 vote for, 2 votes against, 1 absence, between 2010 and 2017. Comparable Labour MPs tended to vote against (alignment score: 34%).
Consistently voted against more restrictive regulation of trade union activity Show votes
10 votes against, between 2008 and 2017. Comparable Labour MPs almost always voted against.
Almost always voted for higher taxes on banks Show votes
5 votes for, 2 absences, between 2015 and 2018. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Generally voted for increasing capital gains tax Show votes
3 votes for, 2 absences, in 2016. Comparable Labour MPs consistently voted for.
Last updated: 3 March 2025.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
How Joan Ryan voted on Foreign Policy and Defence #
For votes held while they were in office:
Consistently voted against investigations into the Iraq war Show votes
2 votes against, between 2003 and 2016. Comparable Labour MPs consistently voted against.
Consistently voted for replacing Trident with a new nuclear weapons system Show votes
3 votes for, between 2007 and 2016. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Generally voted for a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU Show votes
1 vote for, 2 absences, between 2008 and 2016. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Consistently voted for the Iraq war Show votes
2 votes for, between 2002 and 2003. Comparable Labour MPs tended to vote for (alignment score: 69%).
Generally voted for more EU integration Show votes
28 votes for, 7 votes against, 16 absences, between 2006 and 2019. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Consistently voted for use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas Show votes
4 votes for, between 2002 and 2015. Comparable Labour MPs voted a mixture of for and against (alignment score: 49%).
Consistently voted for military action against ISIL (Daesh) Show votes
2 votes for, in 2015. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted against.
Tended to vote for (alignment score: 60%) UK membership of the EU Show votes
6 votes for, 4 votes against, 2 absences, between 2016 and 2019. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Tended to vote for (alignment score: 62%) a right to remain for EU nationals already in living in the UK Show votes
8 votes for, 5 votes against, 3 absences, between 2016 and 2019. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Consistently voted for a second referendum on the terms of the UK's withdrawal from the EU Show votes
3 votes for, 1 absence, between 2017 and 2019. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Last updated: 18 May 2022.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
For votes held while they were in office:
Generally voted for a lower voting age Show votes
3 votes for, 3 absences, between 2004 and 2016. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Generally voted against a transparent Parliament Show votes
1 vote against, 1 absence, between 2007 and 2009. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted against.
Consistently voted for removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords Show votes
3 votes for, 1 absence, between 1999 and 2016. Comparable Labour MPs almost always voted for.
Voted against an equal number of electors per parliamentary constituency Show votes
1 vote against, in 2016. Comparable Labour MPs consistently voted against.
Voted against fewer MPs in the House of Commons Show votes
1 vote against, in 2016. Comparable Labour MPs consistently voted against.
Absences for this policy may be affected COVID-19 restrictions .
Consistently voted against reducing central government funding of local government Show votes
3 votes against, 1 absence, between 2016 and 2019. Comparable Labour MPs consistently voted against.
Voted against local councils keeping money raised from taxes on business premises in their areas Show votes
1 vote against, in 2019. Comparable Labour MPs consistently voted against.
Generally voted for more powers for local councils Show votes
5 votes for, 2 votes against, between 2015 and 2018. Comparable Labour MPs tended to vote for (alignment score: 67%).
Generally voted for transferring more powers to the Senedd/Welsh Parliament Show votes
6 votes for, 1 vote against, 7 absences, between 2016 and 2018. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Generally voted for transferring more powers to the Scottish Parliament Show votes
10 votes for, 2 votes against, 16 absences, between 2015 and 2018. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Consistently voted against a veto for MPs from England, Wales and Northern Ireland over laws specifically impacting their part of the UK Show votes
1 vote against, in 2015. Comparable Labour MPs consistently voted against.
Generally voted for more powers for the devolved administration in Northern Ireland Show votes
4 votes for, 1 vote against, 2 absences, between 2017 and 2018. Comparable Labour MPs generally voted for.
Last updated: 12 November 2024.
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
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
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
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.
This data was produced by TheyWorkForYou from a variety of sources.
For an explanation of the vote descriptions please see our page about voting information on TheyWorkForYou .
Profile photo: © Parliament (CC-BY 3.0)
