§ `(l) This Chapter has effect for the purpose of conferring on qualifying tenants of flats contained in premises to which this Chapter applies on the relevant date the right, exercisable subject to and in accordance with this Chapter, to have the freehold of those premises acquired on their behalf—
- (a) by a person or persons appointed by them for the purpose, and
- (b) at a price determined in accordance with this Chapter; and that right is referred to in this Chapter as "the right to collective enfranchisement".
§ (2) This Chapter applies to any premises if—
- (a) they consist of a self-contained building and the freehold of the whole of the building or of that part of the building is owned by the same person;
- (b) they contain two or more flats held by qualifying tenants; and
- (c) the total number of flats held by such tenants exceeds one half of the total number of flats contained in the premises.
§ (3) This Chapter does not apply to premises falling within subsection (2) if—
- (a) any part or part of the premises is occupied, or intended to be occupied, otherwise than for residential purposes: and
- (b) the internal floor area of that part of those parts (taken together) exceeds 50 per cent. of the internal floor area of the premises (taken as a whole); or
- (c) the premises are premises with a resident landlord and do not contain more than three units.
§ (4) Subject to the provisions of section 5, a person is a qualifying tenant of a flat for the purposes of this Chapter if he is the tenant of the flat under a tenancy other than—
- (a) a protected shorthold tenancy as defined in section 52 of the Housing Act 1980;
- (b) a tenancy to which Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (business tenancies) applies;
- (c) a tenancy terminable on the cessation of his employment;
- (d) an assured tenancy or assured agricultural occupancy within the meaning of Part I of the Housing Act 1988.
§ (5) A tenant of a flat who is a landlord of a qualifying tenant of that flat is not to be regarded as being a qualifying tenant of that fiat.'.—[Mr. Battle]
§ Brought up, and read the First time.
§ Mr. BattleI beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. Michael Morris)I understand that it will be convenient to discuss at the same time the following amendments: No. 29, in clause 1, page 2, leave out lines 6 to 14.
§ No. 30, in clause 3, page 4, leave out lines 40 to 46.
§
No. 31, in page 5, line 1, leave out
`For the purposes of this section'.
§ No. 32, in clause 4, page 5, leave out lines 16 to 22.
§ No. 33, in page 5, leave out lines 28 to 37.
§ No. 34, clause 5, in page 5, line 38, leave out from beginning to end of line 7 on page 6.
§ No. 9, leave out lines 10 to 14.
§ No. 36, leave out lines 20 to 37.
§ Mr. BattleAs we said on Second Reading and in Committee, we welcome the thrust of leasehold reforms contained in part I of the Bill, but we are worried that the Government are being pressurised to water them down. We hope that that will not happen, because we remain concerned that many of the exclusions built into the leasehold reform measures before us are too tightly drawn. The last group of clauses tried to lead us in one direction, but we hope to press the House to go the opposite way, and we want to tackle the loopholes that the Government have left in the Bill.
I hope that the House will support new clause 10. It is widely agreed across the Floor of the House that leasehold is a debased and archaic form of tenure, that its reform is long overdue and that the Government are taking a hesitant step with a relatively modest proposal, although they have promised that full-blown commonhold proposals will he put before the House before long.
When put in practice, the qualifying rules and the valuation method will exclude many leaseholders from exercising their right to enfranchisement.
Many of those 750,000 leaseholders who at present may think that they will be enfranchised by this legislation will discover that in practice they will not be. In particular, what needs to be withdrawn from the Bill as at present drafted is the low rent test and the limiting of non-residential floor space threshold.[Interruption.]
§ Mr. Deputy SpeakerOrder. I apologise for interrupting the hon. Member, but I must ask hon. Members to have their meetings elsewhere than in the Chamber.
§ Mr. BattleI am grateful to you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. It is obvious that the dealing is still going on on the last clause. That may or may not affect the debate in the other place. We rather hope that the Government will not be swayed by the argument, even after the debate has taken place, that landlords ought to be compensated even more.
The groups campaigning for wider rights for leaseholders, such as the Leasehold Reform Co-ordinating 880 Committee, believe that the Bill, as it stands, is far too restrictive. That is a view with which the Opposition concur.
Leaseholders in a block of flats where more than one third of the flats are rented will be excluded, as will those who live in blocks where more than 10 per cent. of the floor space is used as a shop or office. There is also the low ground rent test, which is designed to sift out leaseholders from those renting their flats or homes. As landlords are given to increasing ground rents to make their properties unenfranchisable, even now, as these debates go on, I hope that the Minister will concede that the low rent test is inequitable and unnecessary, and ought to go.
At present, some 750,000 long-term—[Interruption.]
§ Mr. Deputy SpeakerOrder. I apologise for interrupting the hon. Gentleman a second time. Hon. Members should know the rules of the House. They really cannot stand up in the Benches and have a conversation with each other. If they want to have a conversation, they should leave the Chamber.
§ Mr. BattleIn theory, about 700,000 long-term leaseholders will be enabled to buy the freeholds of their flats from their landlords, but in practice many leaseholders, including a disproportionate number of elderly people, will find it very hard to raise the necessary cash, and therefore will find that they are excluded.
Many are concerned about the low rent test. We have all had letters I know that the Secretary of State has been written to—from people in leasehold property emphasising the fact that the leasehold enfranchisement provisions in the present Bill exclude all those who have had their ground rent raised beyond the low rent test. One tenant sent the following letter to the Secretary of State:
I am advised that my impending ground rent review in 1996 will increase by thousands and will be well outside my means. This clause also has prevented me from selling my house, which has been on the market for seven years. As a widow over pensionable age I am still struggling to find a little work to keep and to maintain my home.This new clause will give qualifying tenants the right to collective enfranchisement. Subsection (2) will allow enfranchisement where more than half of the flats are occupied by qualifying tenants. In effect, that will widen the scope of the enfranchisement at present allowed for in the Bill, which is that two thirds of the flats must be occupied by qualifying tenants.Our new clause will exclude blocks where more than 50 per cent. of the floor space is in non-residential use. At present, the Bill excludes premises where more than 10 per cent. of the internal floor space is in non-residential use. We believe that that is far too restrictive, and our clause would increase the percentage to 50 per cent. to correspond precisely with the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, under which leaseholders are given the right of first refusal when a landlord decides to dispose of the freehold as a block, provided that 50 per cent. or more of the floor space is in residential use.
Subsection (3) of our new clause would amend the resident landlord exclusion so that premises are included in the enfranchisement provisions unless they have a resident landlord and do not contain more than two units.
Subsection (4) will extend the definition of the qualifying tenant to include all those tenancies other than shorthold and assured tenancies, business tenancies arid service tenancies. Again, the wording of that subsection is taken from the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. We can see 881 no cogent reason why tenants other than those excluded by this subsection should not enjoy the right to collective enfranchisement, just as they enjoy the right to first refusal when the landlord disposes of the freehold.
Our amendment to the definition of a qualifying tenant will have the added advantage of avoiding the need for the low rent test and for the definition of a long lease. At whatever level a low rent or a long lease is eventually defined, there will always be boundary cases, since it is to be expected that landlords seeking to evade the provisions will deliberately choose to grant leases which fall just outside the proposed limits. By taking those two tests out of the legislation, as was done in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, those problems will in practice be avoided.
Subsection (5) is included to cover the possibility that there will be more than one potential qualifying tenant for a given flat—for example, where a leaseholder has let the flat on a tenancy. In this case, it will be proposed to give the right of collective enfranchisement to the lowest level of interest, which makes it most likely that the right will be given to the person occupying the flat, but without the need to introduce a residence qualification, which could cause difficulties, as we all appreciate, with second homes.
In other words, our new clause would give secure tenants rights that they will not get under the present legislation. We will be extending leasehold enfranchisement.
7.15 pm
In closing, I want to refer to three other letters, although they are really only two. During the general election campaign, the right hon. Member for Chelsea (Mr. Scott), circulated a leaflet to all leaseholders in the Chelsea constituency, sent from the Conservative campaign headquarters in Chelsea Manor street, which read:
A Conservative Government is committed to changing the basis of extending Leasehold tenure in the following ways:—Introduction of Commonhold for Leasehold flats … Extension of leases … Removal of upper limit of rateable value on houses".I have to say that, although it had a note on the bottom telling people when polling day was, creating the impression that the people would get these rights, many of those who received that leaflet now feel that they were misled and sold short—so much so that one of them wrote direct to the Prime Minister to say that he was disturbed, because at the time of the general election he had been given an assurance by the candidate that the Tory party intended to retain in the forthcoming legislation the low rent disqualification. That was not mentioned at all in the leaflet that went out.The letter goes on:
It is unfortunately becoming clear to me that not only are the Tory Party avoiding their election obligations, not for the first time, but also that they are being heavily influenced by the large donations made to the Tory Party by the London landlords.Some have been very disappointed, because those who wrote direct to the Prime Minister were told in a reply on 7 April 1992, conveniently just before the general election, that they would have promised leasehold in full. I have a letter here from the person who received that reply from the Prime Minister, which says:
If the Prime Minister promises leasehold enfranchisement `in full', he should deliver leasehold enfranchisement in full 882 and not let certain parts of British society hide behind technical provisions cleverly drafted by solicitors which hide the real substance of the lease behind an artificial legal form.That is what people are now discovering to have happened, and without new clause 10, which will open up leasehold reform to qualifying tenants in a wider way than is proposed in this Bill, the loopholes in the Bill will mean offering the rhetoric of rights, but not the legal substance. Landlords will be given scope to frustrate the intentions of the legislation. I believe that we should not be leaving space for Duke of Westminster spokesmen in this place and elsewhere to drive a coach and horses through what ought to be the welcome introduction of leasehold enfranchisement.In a sense, the Government have been coy so far, and have given assurances that they will consider again the measures put to them by their Back Benchers to try to undermine the leasehold proposals. I hope that the Government will say that the leasehold proposals would be improved if they included new clause 10. That would give real rights to the 750,000 leaseholders who would benefit from the legislation.
I commend new clause 10 to the House as a means of improving and enhancing the rights of leaseholders. Having seen off their Back Benchers who tried to undermine the Bill, the Government should have the confidence to go further and give people real rights.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment (Mr. Tony Baldry)The new clause would allow any tenant to qualify for enfranchisement other than assured tenants under the Housing Act 1988 and some minor exceptions, so there would be no requirement for the lease to be long or to be at a low rent. It would extend the right to enfranchise well beyond the category of those who own their flats. For example, regulated tenants who pay a fair rent under the 1977 legislation, or secure tenants of a public sector landlord would be entitled to enfranchise.
Somewhat perversely, given some of the amendments put down by the Opposition in Committee, somebody with a three-week holiday let of a flat would fall within the scope of new clause 7 and would be entitled to enfranchisement.
The Government's proposals are designed to give rights to those who are likely to have the greater financial and personal investment in a building, those with flats on long leases—leases of 21 years or over—at low ground rent who regard themselves as owners of the flats.
By departing from these principles, the Labour party would put at risk any prospect of securing a revival of the rented sector. By allowing regulated tenants a right to enfranchise, the Opposition would send a very clear signal that any landlord is at risk if he dares allow another person to have a tenancy of his property. The hon. Gentleman may try to claim that excluding assured tenancies would reassure landlords, but by including regulated tenancies, or short-term tenancies of flats which fall outside the 1988 Act, they are certainly bringing rented accommodation into the scope of the Bill.
The proposal to allow tenants to buy blocks where up to half the floor area is non-residential would damage the commercial market. Tenants would not just be buying their own flats from their landlords, but would be able to secure the transfer of vastly more valuable commercial 883 assets. That is not what the Bill is about. Managing a portfolio of commercial property is different from managing an owner-occupied block of residential flats.
Institutional investors have made it clear that they would be unhappy about leasing commercial space in blocks managed by residential tenants. Moreover, the cost of taking on commercial property on this scale would be vastly more than many tenants could realistically afford. Shops are proportionately much more valuable than flats. So the Opposition risk the confidence of commercial investors in non-residential property and do no favours to tenants by trying to extend the scope of the Bill in this way.
The new clause would reduce from two thirds to one half the proportion of flats required to be held by qualifying tenants before a block can enfranchise. Taken together with the rule that two thirds of the qualifying tenants must wish to participate for enfranchisement to go ahead, that would mean that in some blocks only one third of the tenants would be entitled to buy out the freeholder. In those circumstances, it could hardly be argued that those qualifying tenants held the major interest in the block.
That would extend the scope of enfranchisement beyond what we regard as being reasonable. We believe that it is right that more than a bare majority would qualify.
Taken as a whole, the new clause is deeply unsatisfactory. It would move beyond giving the owners of flats likely to have the greatest interest in the block the right to acquire the freehold to situations where a minority of tenants, or tenants with only a short-term interest in the property, would have the right to dispossess a landlord and to acquire significant amounts of commercial space. I do not believe that that would be right. I do not believe that the House would consider it to be right, and I urge the House to reject the new clause.
§ Mr. BattleI found it surprising that the Minister's reply, compared with the responses that he gave in Committee shows a harshening of tone. In Committee he gave assurances that the Government would introduce measures to tackle the low-rent test and the two thirds rule. That is not what we have just heard from the Minister.
I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman says that our proposals would damage the commercial market when, clearly, that has not been the effect of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. Our proposals would put the Bill within the context of the 1987 Act. That would have been an appropriate way to move forward to ensure that leasehold enfranchisement was a real right and not simply one so hedged with exclusions that many people would find that they were priced out or could not qualify at all.
Therefore, I believe that we should divide on the new clause. I ask hon. Members to support it.
§ Question put, That the clause be read a Second time:—
§ The House divided: Ayes 242, Noes 299.
887| Division No. 145] | [7.25 pm |
| AYES | |
| Abbott, Ms Diane | Banks, Tony (Newham NW) |
| Adams, Mrs Irene | Barnes, Harry |
| Ainger, Nick | Barron, Kevin |
| Ainsworth, Robert (Cov'try NE) | Battle, John |
| Allen, Graham | Bayley, Hugh |
| Alton, David | Beckett, Margaret |
| Anderson, Ms Janet (Ros'dale) | Beith, Rt Hon A. J. |
| Armstrong, Hilary | Bell, Stuart |
| Austin-Walker, John | Benn, Rt Hon Tony |
| Bennett, Andrew F. | Griffiths, Win (Bridgend) |
| Benton, Joe | Grocott, Bruce |
| Bermingham, Gerald | Gunnell, John |
| Berry, Dr. Roger | Hain, Peter |
| Betts, Clive | Hall, Mike |
| Blair, Tony | Hanson, David |
| Blunkett, David | Hardy, Peter |
| Boyce, Jimmy | Harman, Ms Harriet |
| Boyes, Roland | Harvey, Nick |
| Bradley, Keith | Henderson, Doug |
| Bray, Dr Jeremy | Heppell, John |
| Brown, Gordon (Dunfermline E) | Hill, Keith (Streatham) |
| Brown, N. (N'c'tle upon Tyne E) | Hinchliffe, David |
| Bruce, Malcolm (Gordon) | Hoey, Kate |
| Burden, Richard | Home Robertson, John |
| Byers, Stephen | Hood, Jimmy |
| Caborn, Richard | Hoon, Geoffrey |
| Campbell, Mrs Anne (C'bridge) | Howarth, George (Knowsley N) |
| Campbell, Menzies (Fife NE) | Howells, Dr. Kim (Pontypridd) |
| Campbell, Ronnie (Blyth V) | Hoyle, Doug |
| Cann, Jamie | Hughes, Kevin (Doncaster N) |
| Chisholm, Malcolm | Hughes, Roy (Newport E) |
| Clapham, Michael | Hutton, John |
| Clark, Dr David (South Shields) | Ingram, Adam |
| Clarke, Tom (Monklands W) | Jackson, Glenda (H'stead) |
| Clelland, David | Jackson, Helen (Shef'ld, H) |
| Clwyd, Mrs Ann | Jamieson, David |
| Coffey, Ann | Janner, Greville |
| Cohen, Harry | Jones, Barry (Alyn and D'side) |
| Connarty, Michael | Jones, Ieuan Wyn (Ynys Môn) |
| Cook, Robin (Livingston) | Jones, Lynne (B'ham S O) |
| Corbett, Robin | Jones, Martyn (Clwyd, SW) |
| Corbyn, Jeremy | Jones, Nigel (Cheltenham) |
| Corston, Ms Jean | Jowell, Tessa |
| Cousins, Jim | Keen, Alan |
| Cox, Tom | Khabra, Piara S. |
| Cryer, Bob | Kilfoyle, Peter |
| Cummings, John | Kirkwood, Archy |
| Cunliffe, Lawrence | Leighton, Ron |
| Cunningham, Jim (Covy SE) | Lestor, Joan (Eccles) |
| Cunningham, Dr John (C'p'l'nd) | Lewis, Terry |
| Dalyell, Tam | Litherland, Robert |
| Darling, Alistair | Lloyd, Tony (Stretford) |
| Davies, Rt Hon Denzil (Llanelli) | Llwyd, Elfyn |
| Davies, Ron (Caerphilly) | Loyden, Eddie |
| Davis, Terry (B'ham, H'dge H'l) | Lynne, Ms Liz |
| Denham, John | McAllion, John |
| Dewar, Donald | McAvoy, Thomas |
| Dixon, Don | McCartney, Ian |
| Dobson, Frank | Macdonald, Calum |
| Donohoe, Brian H. | McFall, John |
| Dowd, Jim | Mackinlay, Andrew |
| Dunnachie, Jimmy | McLeish, Henry |
| Dunwoody, Mrs Gwyneth | McMaster, Gordon |
| Eagle, Ms Angela | McNamara, Kevin |
| Eastham, Ken | Madden, Max |
| Enright, Derek | Mahon, Alice |
| Etherington, Bill | Mandelson, Peter |
| Evans, John (St Helens N) | Marek, Dr John |
| Ewing, Mrs Margaret | Marshall, David (Shettleston) |
| Fatchett, Derek | Marshall, Jim (Leicester, S) |
| Faulds, Andrew | Martlew, Eric |
| Fisher, Mark | Meale, Alan |
| Flynn, Paul | Michael, Alun |
| Foster, Derek (B'p Auckland) | Michie, Bill (Sheffield Heeley) |
| Foster, Don (Bath) | Michie, Mrs Ray (Argyll Bute) |
| Foulkes, George | Milburn, Alan |
| Fraser, John | Miller, Andrew |
| Galloway, George | Mitchell, Austin (Gt Grimsby) |
| Gapes, Mike | Moonie, Dr Lewis |
| Garrett, John | Morgan, Rhodri |
| George, Bruce | Morley, Elliot |
| Gerrard, Neil | Morris, Rt Hon A. (Wy'nshawe) |
| Gilbert, Rt Hon Dr John | Morris, Estelle (B'ham Yardley) |
| Godman, Dr Norman A. | Morris, Rt Hon J. (Aberavon) |
| Godsiff, Roger | Mowlam, Marjorie |
| Golding, Mrs Llin | Mudie, George |
| Gordon, Mildred | Mullin, Chris |
| Gould, Bryan | Murphy, Paul |
| Griffiths, Nigel (Edinburgh S) | Oakes, Rt Hon Gordon |
| O'Brien, Michael (N W'kshiro) | Smith, Llew (Blaenau Gwent) |
| O'Brien, William (Normanton) | Snape, Peter |
| Olner, William | Soley, Clive |
| O'Neill, Martin | Spearing, Nigel |
| Orme, Rt Hon Stanley | Spellar, John |
| Parry, Robert | Squire, Rachel (Dunfermline W) |
| Pickthall, Colin | Steinberg, Gerry |
| Pike, Peter L. | Stevenson, George |
| Pope, Greg | Stott, Roger |
| Powell, Ray (Ogmore) | Strang, Dr. Gavin |
| Prentice, Ms Bridget (Lew'm E) | Straw, Jack |
| Prentice, Gordon (Pendle) | Taylor, Mrs Ann (Dewsbury) |
| Primarolo, Dawn | Taylor, Matthew (Truro) |
| Purchase, Ken | Thompson, Jack (Wansbeck) |
| Radice, Giles | Turner, Dennis |
| Raynsford, Nick | Vaz, Keith |
| Redmond, Martin | Walker, Rt Hon Sir Harold |
| Reid, Dr John | Walley, Joan |
| Robertson, George (Hamilton) | Wardell, Gareth (Gower) |
| Robinson, Geoffrey (Co'try NW) | Watson, Mike |
| Roche, Mrs. Barbara | Wicks, Malcolm |
| Rogers, Allan | Williams, Rt Hon Alan (Sw'n W) |
| Rooney, Terry | Williams, Alan W (Carmarthen) |
| Ross, Ernie (Dundee W) | Wilson, Brian |
| Ruddock, Joan | Winnick, David |
| Salmond, Alex | Wise, Audrey |
| Sedgemore, Brian | Worthington, Tony |
| Sheerman, Barry | Wray, Jimmy |
| Sheldon, Rt Hon Robert | Wright, Dr Tony |
| Shore, Rt Hon Peter | Young, David (Bolton SE) |
| Simpson, Alan | |
| Skinner, Dennis | Tellers for the Ayes: |
| Smith, Andrew (Oxford E) | Mr. Jon Owen Jones and |
| Smith, C. (Isl'ton S & F'sbury) | Mr. Eric Illsley. |
| NOES | |
| Adley, Robert | Butterfill, John |
| Ainsworth, Peter (East Surrey) | Carlisle, John (Luton North) |
| Aitken, Jonathan | Carlisle, Kenneth (Lincoln) |
| Alexander, Richard | Carrington, Matthew |
| Alison, Rt Hon Michael (Selby) | Carttiss, Michael |
| Allason, Rupert (Torbay) | Cash, William |
| Amess, David | Channon, Rt Hon Paul |
| Ancram, Michael | Chaplin, Mrs Judith |
| Arbuthnot, James | Chapman, Sydney |
| Arnold, Jacques (Gravesham) | Churchill, Mr |
| Arnold, Sir Thomas (Hazel Grv) | Clappison, James |
| Ashby, David | Clark, Dr Michael (Rochford) |
| Aspinwall, Jack | Clarke, Rt Hon Kenneth (Ruclif) |
| Atkinson, David (Bour'mouth E) | Clifton-Brown, Geoffrey |
| Baker, Rt Hon K. (Mole Valley) | Coe, Sebastian |
| Baker, Nicholas (Dorset North) | Colvin, Michael |
| Baldry, Tony | Congdon, David |
| Banks, Matthew (Southport) | Conway, Derek |
| Banks, Robert (Harrogate) | Coombs, Anthony (Wyre For'st) |
| Bates, Michael | Coombs, Simon (Swindon) |
| Batiste, Spencer | Cope, Rt Hon Sir John |
| Bellingham, Henry | Couchman, James |
| Bendall, Vivian | Cran, James |
| Beresford, Sir Paul | Currie, Mrs Edwina (S D'by'ire) |
| Biffen, Rt Hon John | Davies, Quentin (Stamford) |
| Body, Sir Richard | Davis, David (Boothferry) |
| Bonsor, Sir Nicholas | Day, Stephen |
| Booth, Hartley | Deva, Nirj Joseph |
| Boswell, Tim | Devlin, Tim |
| Bottomley, Peter (Eltham) | Dickens, Geoffrey |
| Bottomley, Rt Hon Virginia | Dicks, Terry |
| Bowden, Andrew | Dorrell, Stephen |
| Bowis, John | Douglas-Hamilton, Lord James |
| Boyson, Rt Hon Sir Rhodes | Dover, Den |
| Brazier, Julian | Duncan, Alan |
| Bright, Graham | Duncan-Smith, Iain |
| Brooke, Rt Hon Peter | Dunn, Bob |
| Brown, M. (Brigg & Cl'thorpes) | Durant, Sir Anthony |
| Browning, Mrs. Angela | Dykes, Hugh |
| Bruce, Ian (S Dorset) | Eggar, Tim |
| Burns, Simon | Elletson, Harold |
| Burt, Alistair | Emery, Rt Hon Sir Peter |
| Butcher, John | Evans, David (Welwyn Hatfield) |
| Butler, Peter | Evans, Jonathan (Brecon) |
| Evans, Nigel (Ribble Valley) | Lidington, David |
| Evans, Roger (Monmouth) | Lightbown, David |
| Evennett, David | Lilley, Rt Hon Peter |
| Faber, David | Lloyd, Peter (Fareham) |
| Fabricant, Michael | Lord, Michael |
| Fairbairn, Sir Nicholas | Luff, Peter |
| Fenner, Dame Peggy | Lyell, Rt Hon Sir Nicholas |
| Field, Barry (Isle of Wight) | MacGregor, Rt Hon John |
| Fishburn, Dudley | Maclean, David |
| Forman, Nigel | McLoughlin, Patrick |
| Forsyth, Michael (Stirling) | McNair-Wilson, Sir Patrick |
| Forth, Eric | Madel, David |
| Fowler, Rt Hon Sir Norman | Maitland, Lady Olga |
| Fox, Dr Liam (Woodspring) | Malone, Gerald |
| Fox, Sir Marcus (Shipley) | Mans, Keith |
| Freeman, Roger | Marland, Paul |
| French, Douglas | Marlow, Tony |
| Fry, Peter | Marshall, John (Hendon S) |
| Gale, Roger | Martin, David (Portsmouth S) |
| Gardiner, Sir George | Mawhinney, Dr Brian |
| Garel-Jones, Rt Hon Tristan | Mellor, Rt Hon David |
| Garnier, Edward | Merchant, Piers |
| Gill, Christopher | Milligan, Stephen |
| Gillan, Cheryl | Mills, Iain |
| Goodlad, Rt Hon Alastair | Mitchell, Sir David (Hants NW) |
| Goodson-Wickes, Dr Charles | Moate, Sir Roger |
| Gorman, Mrs Teresa | Molyneaux, Rt Hon James |
| Grant, Sir Anthony (Cambs SW) | Monro, Sir Hector |
| Greenway, Harry (Ealing N) | Montgomery, Sir Fergus |
| Greenway, John (Ryedale) | Moss, Malcolm |
| Griffiths, Peter (Portsmouth, N) | Needham, Richard |
| Grylls, Sir Michael | Nelson, Anthony |
| Hague, William | Neubert, Sir Michael |
| Hamilton, Rt Hon Archie (Epsom) | Newton, Rt Hon Tony |
| Hamilton, Neil (Tatton) | Nicholls, Patrick |
| Hampson, Dr Keith | Nicholson, David (Taunton) |
| Hanley, Jeremy | Nicholson, Emma (Devon West) |
| Hannam, Sir John | Norris, Steve |
| Hargreaves, Andrew | Onslow, Rt Hon Sir Cranley |
| Hawkins, Nick | Oppenheim, Phillip |
| Hawksley, Warren | Ottaway, Richard |
| Hayes, Jerry | Page, Richard |
| Heald, Oliver | Paice, James |
| Heathcoat-Amory, David | Patnick, Irvine |
| Hendry, Charles | Patten, Rt Hon John |
| Heseltine, Rt Hon Michael | Pattie, Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey |
| Higgins, Rt Hon Sir Terence L. | Pawsey, James |
| Hill, James (Southampton Test) | Peacock, Mrs Elizabeth |
| Hogg, Rt Hon Douglas (G'tham) | Pickles, Eric |
| Horam, John | Porter, Barry (Wirral S) |
| Hordern, Rt Hon Sir Peter | Porter, David (Waveney) |
| Howard, Rt Hon Michael | Portillo, Rt Hon Michael |
| Hughes Robert G. (Harrow W) | Powell, William (Corby) |
| Hunt, Rt Hon David (Wirral W) | Rathbone, Tim |
| Hunt, Sir John (Ravensbourne) | Redwood, John |
| Hunter, Andrew | Richards, Rod |
| Hurd, Rt Hon Douglas | Riddick, Graham |
| Jack, Michael | Rifkind, Rt Hon. Malcolm |
| Jackson, Robert (Wantage) | Robathan, Andrew |
| Jenkin, Bernard | Roberts, Rt Hon Sir Wyn |
| Johnson Smith, Sir Geoffrey | Robertson, Raymond (Ab'd'n S) |
| Jones, Gwilym (Cardiff N) | Robinson, Mark (Somerton) |
| Jones, Robert B. (W Hertfdshr) | Roe, Mrs Marion (Broxbourne) |
| Jopling, Rt Hon Michael | Rowe, Andrew (Mid Kent) |
| Kellett-Bowman, Dame Elaine | Rumbold, Rt Hon Dame Angela |
| Key, Robert | Ryder, Rt Hon Richard |
| Kilfedder, Sir James | Sackville, Tom |
| Kirkhope, Timothy | Sainsbury, Rt Hon Tim |
| Knapman, Roger | Scott, Rt Hon Nicholas |
| Knight, Mrs Angela (Erewash) | Shaw, David (Dover) |
| Knight, Greg (Derby N) | Shaw, Sir Giles (Pudsey) |
| Knight, Dame Jill (Bir'm E'st'n) | Shephard, Rt Hon Gillian |
| Knox, David | Shersby, Michael |
| Lait, Mrs Jacqui | Sims, Roger |
| Lamont, Rt Hon Norman | Skeet, Sir Trevor |
| Lang, Rt Hon Ian | Smith, Sir Dudley (Warwick) |
| Lawrence, Sir Ivan | Smith, Tim (Beaconsfield) |
| Legg, Barry | Soames, Nicholas |
| Leigh, Edward | Speed, Sir Keith |
| Lennox-Boyd, Mark | Spencer, Sir Derek |
| Spicer, Sir James (W Dorset) | Twinn, Dr Ian |
| Spicer, Michael (S Worcs) | Viggers, Peter |
| Spink, Dr Robert | Waldegrave, Rt Hon William |
| Spring, Richard | Walden, George |
| Sproat, Iain | Walker, Bill (N Tayside) |
| Squire, Robin (Hornchurch) | Waller, Gary |
| Steen, Anthony | Ward, John |
| Stephen, Michael | Wardle, Charles (Bexhill) |
| Stern, Michael | Waterson, Nigel |
| Stewart, Allan | Watts, John |
| Streeter, Gary | Wells, Bowen |
| Sumberg, David | Wheeler, Rt Hon Sir John |
| Sweeney, Walter | Whitney, Ray |
| Sykes, John | Whittingdale, John |
| Tapsell, Sir Peter | Widdecombe, Ann |
| Taylor, Ian (Esher) | Wiggin, Sir Jerry |
| Taylor, John M. (Solihull) | Willetts, David |
| Temple-Morris, Peter | Wilshire, David |
| Thompson, Sir Donald (C'er V) | Winterton, Mrs Ann (Congleton) |
| Thompson, Patrick (Norwich N) | Wolfson, Mark |
| Thornton, Sir Malcolm | Wood, Timothy |
| Thurnham, Peter | Yeo, Tim |
| Townend, John (Bridlington) | Young, Sir George (Acton) |
| Townsend, Cyril D. (Bexl'yh'th) | |
| Tracey, Richard | Tellers for the Noes: |
| Tredinnick, David | Mr. Andrew MacKay and |
| Trend, Michael | Mr. Andrew Mitchell. |
| Trotter, Neville |
§ Question accordingly negatived.