Scottish Parliament – April 23, 2025 – 3
UK Government Welfare Reforms
Result
✅ Motion passed.
Aye: 73 MSPs
No: 40 MSPs
Absent: 16 MSPs
Parliamentary analysis
Strong conflict: Gov proposesThis vote is most similar to a group of votes where the government is proposing a motion and the opposition is strongly opposing it (few defections, high turnout).
This usually suggests an important point of principle, that even if the government is likely to win, is a significant public signal of opposition.
Motion
Motion type: Other(?)
S6M-17242: That the Parliament calls on the UK Labour administration to immediately scrap its damaging social security reforms, as announced in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper;
highlights the UK Government’s own impact analysis, which shows that 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, will be pushed into poverty under these plans, and notes the Resolution Foundation’s report that lower-income households are set to become £500 a year poorer, following the UK Government’s Spring Statement 2025.
Annotations
No annotations for this decision.
Whip reports
No whip reports for this decision.
Overall counts
| Grouping | MSPs on date | Vote participant count | For motion | Against motion | Absent motion | Turnout | For motion percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All MSPs | 129 | 113 | 73 | 40 | 16 | 87.60% | 64.60% |
Government counts
| Grouping | MSPs on date | Vote participant count | For motion | Against motion | Absent motion | Turnout | For motion percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition | 66 | 52 | 12 | 40 | 14 | 78.79% | 23.08% |
| Government | 63 | 61 | 61 | 0 | 2 | 96.83% | 100.00% |
Party voting counts
| Grouping | MSPs on date | Vote participant count | For motion | Against motion | Absent motion | Party turnout | For motion percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottish National Party | 63 | 61 | 61 | 0 | 2 | 96.83% | 100.00% |
| Labour | 23 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 9 | 60.87% | 0.00% |
| Liberal Democrat | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Conservative | 30 | 26 | 0 | 26 | 4 | 86.67% | 0.00% |
| Green | 8 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 87.50% | 100.00% |
Voting list
| Person | Party | Vote | Party alignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Adam | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Kevin Stewart | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| David Torrance | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jenny Gilruth | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Nicola Sturgeon | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Sandesh Gulhane | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Marie McNair | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Neil Bibby | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Murdo Fraser | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Tess White | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Angus Robertson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Paul Sweeney | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Graham Simpson | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Ross Greer | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Willie Rennie | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Elizabeth Smith | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Sue Webber | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Audrey Nicoll | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Shona Robison | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Annabelle Ewing | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Sharon Dowey | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Graeme Dey | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Colin Beattie | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| James Dornan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Keith Brown | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Richard Leonard | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Monica Lennon | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Annie Wells | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Clare Adamson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Siobhian Brown | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Rachael Hamilton | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Alex Cole-Hamilton | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Gordon MacDonald | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Pam Duncan-Glancy | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Ariane Burgess | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Liam McArthur | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Sarah Boyack | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Paul McLennan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Paul O'Kane | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Mark Ruskell | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jackie Baillie | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Meghan Gallacher | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Stephanie Callaghan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Joe FitzPatrick | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Gillian Martin | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Daniel Johnson | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Emma Roddick | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Kaukab Stewart | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Karen Adam | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jamie Greene | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Kenneth Gibson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Bob Doris | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Brian Whittle | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Finlay Carson | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Mercedes Villalba | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Alison Johnstone | Green | Absent | n/a |
| Pauline McNeill | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Alex Rowley | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Edward Mountain | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Craig Hoy | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Anas Sarwar | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Angela Constance | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Michael Marra | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Alasdair Allan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Collette Stevenson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Ivan McKee | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Shirley-Anne Somerville | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Maree Todd | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Alexander Burnett | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Mairi Gougeon | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Pam Gosal | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Rona Mackay | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Richard Lochhead | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Colin Smyth | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Ben Macpherson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Kate Forbes | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| John Mason | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jackson Carlaw | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Lorna Slater | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jim Fairlie | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Alexander Stewart | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Christine Grahame | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Michelle Thomson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Màiri McAllan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jackie Dunbar | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Ruth Maguire | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Douglas Lumsden | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Humza Yousaf | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Claire Baker | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Douglas Ross | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Fulton MacGregor | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jamie Halcro Johnston | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Davy Russell | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Baroness Clark | Labour | Absent | n/a |
| Oliver Mundell | Conservative | Absent | n/a |
| Bill Kidd | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Elena Whitham | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jenni Minto | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Michael Matheson | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Russell Findlay | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Clare Haughey | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Foysol Choudhury | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Martin Whitfield | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Miles Briggs | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Stuart McMillan | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Mark Griffin | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Ash Denham | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Maggie Chapman | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Rhoda Grant | Labour | No | 100.00% |
| Tim Eagle | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Patrick Harvie | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Beatrice Wishart | Liberal Democrat | Aye | 100.00% |
| Natalie Don | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Tom Arthur | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Evelyn Tweed | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Jeremy Balfour | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Jamie Hepburn | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Willie Coffey | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| John Swinney | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Gillian Mackay | Green | Aye | 100.00% |
| Emma Harper | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Maurice Golden | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Roz McCall | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Neil Gray | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Stephen Kerr | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Liam Kerr | Conservative | No | 100.00% |
| Fiona Hyslop | Scottish National Party | Aye | 100.00% |
| Fergus Ewing | Scottish National Party | Absent | n/a |
| Carol Mochan | Labour | Absent | n/a |