Are Lib Dem MPs getting ‘undisciplined’ over NHS vote?

One Lib Dem minister tells me yesterday’s vote on the NHS and the meeting with Nick Clegg on Monday showed his colleagues were “getting undisciplined.”



“They seem to forget we’re in the coalition because we deliver a certain number of votes,” he went on. Well last night, on the 3rd Reading of the Health and Social Care (Re-committed) Bill the Lib Dem leadership managed to keep some sort of lid on things.

There were only 4 of their MPs voting against:
Andrew George
Julian Huppert
Greg Mulholland
Adrian Sanders

These appear to be the deliberate abstentions (apologies if I’ve misinterpreted someone’s “no show” at the vote as a deliberate abstention):
Annette Brooke
Tim Farron
Stephen Gilbert
Martin Horwod
Charles Kennedy
John Pugh
Dan Rogerson

Others given permission to skip the vote were Mike Hancock, Malcolm Bruce, Sir Robert Smith and ministers Jeremy Browne and Lynne Featherstone.

Earlier in the week it looked like that rebellion could’ve been a lot worse. Anyway, a crisis averted but a mixed message to Lib Dem Lords thinking of rebelling, particularly with the Party’s elected president, Tim Farron, abstaining.

Former MP and main leader of the NHS revolt, Dr Evan Harris, has looked at the two votes on amendments last night as well as the third reading and tallied 16 Lib Dem MPs at one point or another last night failed to support the government in at least one of the three main votes on the Bill. Eleven of them voted against the government in at least one of the votes. He’s demanding an emergency debate on the NHS reforms at Lib Dem Conference and looks likely to get his way.

Follow @GaryGibbonBlog on Twitter.