HL Deb 16 October 1995 vol 566 c90WA
Lord Graham of Edmonton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many Government defeats were suffered in Divisions in the House of Lords in each Session since 1970.

Lord Strathclyde

The information requested is given in the table. A government defeat is defined as a Division in which the tellers on the losing side were government whips.

Divisions
Session Number of Government defeats Total number of divisions
1970–712 4 196
1971–72 5 168
1972–73 13 80
1973–741 4 19
19741 13 21
1974–75 103 119
1975–76 126 146
1976–77 25 45
1977–78 78 96
1978–79 11 21
1979–802 15 303
1980–81 18 184
1981–82 7 146
1982–831 5 89
1983–842 20 237
1984–85 17 145
1985–86 22 250
1986–871 3 80
1987–882 17 279
1988–89 12 189
1989–90 20 186
1990–91 17 104
1991–921 6 83
1992–932 19 165
1993–94 16 136
1 This session was shorter than usual: it was terminated by a general election.
2 This session was longer than usual: it followed a general election.