Voting summaries

For period: All time

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.

These summaries are created by the team at TheyWorkForYou. We are independent of Parliament and receive no public funding for this work.

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Alex Salmond’s voting in Parliament

Alex Salmond was previously a Scottish National Party MP, and on the vast majority of issues would have followed instructions from their party and voted the same way as Scottish National Party MPs.

How Alex Salmond voted on Home Affairs #

For votes held while they were in office:

• Consistently voted against introducing ID cards Show votes 12 votes against, between 2004 and 2006. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs almost always voted against.
• Almost always voted against a stricter asylum system Show votes 1 vote for, 12 votes against, 3 absences, between 2002 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs almost always voted against.
• Generally voted against requiring the mass retention of information about communications Show votes 2 votes against, 1 absence, between 2009 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.
• Consistently voted against stronger laws and enforcement of immigration rules Show votes 7 votes against, 1 absence, between 2015 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.
• Generally voted against mass surveillance of people’s communications and activities Show votes 2 votes against, 1 absence, in 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs generally voted against.
• Consistently voted against restricting the right to protest Show votes 2 votes against, between 1998 and 2005. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.

Last updated: 22 May 2024. Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.

How Alex Salmond voted on Social Issues #

For votes held while they were in office:

• Generally voted for equal gay rights Show votes 2 votes for, 4 absences, between 1998 and 2008. Comparable Scottish National Party 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 Scottish National Party MPs generally voted against.

Last updated: 29 November 2024. Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.

How Alex Salmond voted on Constitutional Reform #

For votes held while they were in office:

• Voted a mixture of for and against a wholly elected House of Lords Show votes 1 vote for, 1 vote against, between 2003 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs voted a mixture of for and against.
• Generally voted for a lower voting age Show votes 2 votes for, 4 absences, between 2004 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs generally voted for.
• Consistently voted against more powers for government ministers Show votes 1 vote against, in 2006. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs generally voted against.
• Generally voted for removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords Show votes 1 vote for, 3 absences, between 1999 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs generally voted for.
• Generally voted for a more proportional system for electing MPs Show votes 1 vote for, 1 absence, between 2010 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs generally voted for.
• Consistently voted against an equal number of electors per parliamentary constituency Show votes 1 vote against, in 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs generally voted against.
• Consistently voted against fewer MPs in the House of Commons Show votes 1 vote against, in 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs generally voted against. Absences for this policy may be affected COVID-19 restrictions.
• Voted a mixture of for and against more powers for local councils Show votes 1 vote for, 1 vote against, 5 absences, between 2015 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs voted a mixture of for and against.
• Consistently voted for transferring more powers to the Scottish Parliament Show votes 18 votes for, 1 absence, in 2015. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs almost always 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 Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.

Last updated: 3 December 2024. Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.

How Alex Salmond voted on Foreign Policy and Defence #

For votes held while they were in office:

• Consistently voted for investigations into the Iraq war Show votes 2 votes for, between 2003 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted for.
• Consistently voted against replacing Trident with a new nuclear weapons system Show votes 3 votes against, between 2007 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.
• Consistently voted against a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU Show votes 3 votes against, between 2008 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.
• Consistently voted against the Iraq war Show votes 2 votes against, between 2002 and 2003. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.
• Generally voted for more EU integration Show votes 10 votes for, 2 votes against, 8 absences, between 2006 and 2017. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs generally voted for.
• Consistently voted against use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas Show votes 4 votes against, between 2002 and 2015. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.
• Consistently voted against military action against ISIL (Daesh) Show votes 2 votes against, in 2015. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.
• Consistently voted for UK membership of the EU Show votes 6 votes for, between 2016 and 2017. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted for.
• Consistently voted for a right to remain for EU nationals already in living in the UK Show votes 8 votes for, between 2016 and 2017. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted for.

Last updated: 18 May 2022. Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.

How Alex Salmond voted on Business and the Economy #

For votes held while they were in office:

• Generally voted against reducing the rate of corporation tax Show votes 6 votes against, 3 absences, between 2015 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.
• Generally voted for measures to reduce tax avoidance Show votes 1 vote for, 3 absences, between 2016 and 2017. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs voted a mixture of for and against.
• Almost always voted for measures to allow free trade Show votes 8 votes for, 1 vote against, between 2016 and 2017. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs almost always voted for.

Last updated: 6 September 2022. Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.

How Alex Salmond voted on Taxation and Employment #

For votes held while they were in office:

• Consistently voted against raising the threshold at which people start to pay income tax Show votes 6 votes against, 1 absence, between 2015 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.
• Generally voted against higher taxes on alcoholic drinks Show votes 2 votes against, 2 absences, between 2010 and 2017. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.
• Generally voted against more restrictive regulation of trade union activity Show votes 4 votes against, 6 absences, between 2008 and 2017. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.
• Consistently voted for higher taxes on banks Show votes 3 votes for, in 2015. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted for.
• Generally voted against reducing capital gains tax Show votes 3 votes against, 3 absences, in 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.
• Generally voted for increasing capital gains tax Show votes 3 votes for, 2 absences, in 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted for.

Last updated: 6 November 2024. Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.

How Alex Salmond voted on Health #

For votes held while they were in office:

• Generally voted against introducing foundation hospitals Show votes 3 votes against, 2 absences, in 2003. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs generally voted against.
• 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 Scottish National Party MPs generally voted against.
• Generally voted against restricting the sale and advertising of tobacco and other nicotine products Show votes 1 vote for, 2 votes against, 6 absences, between 2001 and 2017. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs generally voted against.
• Voted a mixture of for and against fewer obstacles for access to abortion Show votes 2 votes for, 2 votes against, 3 absences, between 2007 and 2017. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs generally voted for.

Last updated: 29 November 2024. Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.

How Alex Salmond voted on Environmental Issues #

For votes held while they were in office:

• Consistently voted against new nuclear power Show votes 1 vote against, between 2002 and 2006. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.
• Generally voted for measures to prevent climate change Show votes 3 votes for, 6 absences, between 2000 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs almost always voted for.

Last updated: 20 February 2024. Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.

How Alex Salmond voted on Welfare, Benefits and Pensions #

For votes held while they were in office:

• Almost always voted against a reduction in spending on welfare benefits Show votes 9 votes against, 3 absences, between 2015 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs almost always voted against.
• Consistently voted for paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to illness or disability Show votes 6 votes for, between 2015 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted for.

Last updated: 18 May 2022. Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.

How Alex Salmond voted on Education #

For votes held while they were in office:

• Consistently voted against university tuition fees Show votes 2 votes against, between 1997 and 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.
• Consistently voted against academy schools Show votes 1 vote against, in 2016. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs consistently voted against.

Last updated: 29 June 2017. Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.

How Alex Salmond voted on Miscellaneous Topics #

For votes held while they were in office:

• Generally voted against Labour's anti-terrorism laws Show votes 6 votes against, 4 absences, between 2001 and 2010. Comparable Scottish National Party MPs almost always voted against.

Last updated: 14 July 2010. Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.