Five Buckinghamshire MPs vote down Trade Bill amendment to protect NHS and other health care services after Brexit

The House of Commons ballot concerned an amendment to the government Trade Bill intended to guard the NHS and other publicly funded health care services from influence outside the UK after Brexit.

A handful of MPs in Buckinghamshire voted against it.

They are: Steve Baker (MP for Wycombe), Rob Butler (MP for Aylesbury), Cheryl Gillan (MP for Chesham and Amersham), Joy Morrissey (MP for Beaconsfield), and Greg Smith (MP for Buckingham).

All five are members of the Conservative Party.

The amendment, named ‘New Clause 17’, was put forward by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, and supported by Labour leader Kier Starmer whose party had tried to enshrine the protection in law.

Shadow trade minister Bill Esterson called for a “cast-iron” commitment from government.

New Clause 17 was designed to ensure a “comprehensive and publicly funded health service free at the point of delivery” was not compromised by any future trade deal, while protecting NHS staff wages, health care service quality, drug costs, and patient data.

It was voted down by 340 votes to 251 on Monday.

The MP for Buckingham Mr Smith said the claim the NHS was on the table was Labour and other party “scaremongering” and an attempt to make headlines.

Adding: “The NHS is not on the table in any trade deals. The government has repeated that time and time again.

“Just because Labour and other opposition parties desperately want headlines by repeatedly scaremongering in this way does not make their wild claims true.

“The Trade Bill was not about new trade deals in any case, but ensuring existing trade deals we are part of through the EU roll over into UK operation at the end of the transition period.  Furthermore, the UK’s Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) coverage does not, and will not, apply to the procurement of UK healthcare services.”

Dame Cheryl, MP for Chesham and Amersham, said the “scope” of this amendment – one of more than 50 put forward for consideration – had been “wilfully misinterpreted by some, as is often the case with opposition amendments.”

Adding: “New Clause 17 was in legislative terms inappropriate as it added nothing to existing protections. The government has to ensure that legislation passed is coherent. Amendments such as NC17 are often laid with little other intention than to prompt parliamentary debate on a topic.”

Backing the amendment were 180 Labour MPs, 44 MPs belonging to the SNP (Scottish National Party), ten from the Liberal Democrats, six DUP (Democratic Unionist Party), three belonging to Plaid Cymru, two SDLP (Social Democratic and Labour Party), one Independent MP, and one for the Greens. Some 336 Conservative MPs opposed the amendment.

MPs for whom no vote was recorded include 24 Conservative and 19 Labour.

Since the result, previous campaign slogans like the NHS is “not for sale” and “Protect the NHS”, as seen throughout coronavirus, have been called into question.

Other MPs in neighbouring constituencies who chose not to back the amendment include Adam Afriyie (Conservative MP for Windsor), Theresa May (Conservative MP for Maidenhead), John Redwood (Conservative MP for Wokingham), and James Sunderland (Conservative MP for Bracknell).

“The government has made a clear and absolute commitment that the NHS will not be on the table in any future trade agreements to which the UK is party,” said the MP for Chesham and Amersham.

The MP for Wycombe Mr Baker also rejected the claim, saying "the NHS is already protected by specific carve outs, exceptions and reservations in these trade agreements."

Which MPs voted against New Clause 17?

Nigel Adams (Conservative – Selby and Ainsty)

Adam Afriyie (Conservative – Windsor)

Imran Ahmad Khan (Conservative – Wakefield)

Nickie Aiken (Conservative – Cities of London and Westminster)

Peter Aldous (Conservative – Waveney)

Lucy Allan (Conservative – Telford)

David Amess (Conservative – Southend West)

Lee Anderson (Conservative – Ashfield)

Stuart Anderson (Conservative – Wolverhampton South West)

Caroline Ansell (Conservative – Eastbourne)

Edward Argar (Conservative – Charnwood)

Sarah Atherton (Conservative – Wrexham)

Victoria Atkins (Conservative – Louth and Horncastle)

Gareth Bacon (Conservative – Orpington)

Richard Bacon (Conservative – South Norfolk)

Kemi Badenoch (Conservative – Saffron Walden)

Shaun Bailey (Conservative – West Bromwich West)

Siobhan Baillie (Conservative – Stroud)

Duncan Baker (Conservative – North Norfolk)

Steve Baker (Conservative – Wycombe)

Harriett Baldwin (Conservative – West Worcestershire)

John Baron (Conservative – Basildon and Billericay)

Simon Baynes (Conservative – Clwyd South)

Aaron Bell (Conservative – Newcastle-under-Lyme)

Scott Benton (Conservative – Blackpool South)

Paul Beresford (Conservative – Mole Valley)

Jake Berry (Conservative – Rossendale and Darwen)

Saqib Bhatti (Conservative – Meriden)

Bob Blackman (Conservative – Harrow East)

Crispin Blunt (Conservative – Reigate)

Peter Bone (Conservative – Wellingborough)

Andrew Bowie (Conservative – West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)

Ben Bradley (Conservative – Mansfield)

Karen Bradley (Conservative – Staffordshire Moorlands)

Suella Braverman (Conservative – Fareham)

Jack Brereton (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent South)

Andrew Bridgen (Conservative – North West Leicestershire)

Steve Brine (Conservative – Winchester)

Paul Bristow (Conservative – Peterborough)

Sara Britcliffe (Conservative – Hyndburn)

James Brokenshire (Conservative – Old Bexley and Sidcup)

Anthony Browne (Conservative – South Cambridgeshire)

Fiona Bruce (Conservative – Congleton)

Felicity Buchan (Conservative – Kensington)

Robert Buckland (Conservative – South Swindon)

Alex Burghart (Conservative – Brentwood and Ongar)

Conor Burns (Conservative – Bournemouth West)

Rob Butler (Conservative – Aylesbury)

Alun Cairns (Conservative – Vale of Glamorgan)

Andy Carter (Conservative – Warrington South)

James Cartlidge (Conservative – South Suffolk)

William Cash (Conservative – Stone)

Miriam Cates (Conservative – Penistone and Stocksbridge)

Maria Caulfield (Conservative – Lewes)

Alex Chalk (Conservative – Cheltenham)

Rehman Chishti (Conservative – Gillingham and Rainham)

Jo Churchill (Conservative – Bury St Edmunds)

Greg Clark (Conservative – Tunbridge Wells)

Simon Clarke (Conservative – Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)

Theo Clarke (Conservative – Stafford)

Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative – Bassetlaw)

Chris Clarkson (Conservative – Heywood and Middleton)

James Cleverly (Conservative – Braintree)

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative – The Cotswolds)

Thérèse Coffey (Conservative – Suffolk Coastal)

Elliot Colburn (Conservative – Carshalton and Wallington)

Damian Collins (Conservative – Folkestone and Hythe)

Alberto Costa (Conservative – South Leicestershire)

Robert Courts (Conservative – Witney)

Claire Coutinho (Conservative – East Surrey)

Geoffrey Cox (Conservative – Torridge and West Devon)

Stephen Crabb (Conservative – Preseli Pembrokeshire)

Virginia Crosbie (Conservative – Ynys Môn)

Tracey Crouch (Conservative – Chatham and Aylesford)

James Daly (Conservative – Bury North)

David T C Davies (Conservative – Monmouth)

James Davies (Conservative – Vale of Clwyd)

Gareth Davies (Conservative – Grantham and Stamford)

Mims Davies (Conservative – Mid Sussex)

David Davis (Conservative – Haltemprice and Howden)

Dehenna Davison (Conservative – Bishop Auckland)

Caroline Dinenage (Conservative – Gosport)

Sarah Dines (Conservative – Derbyshire Dales)

Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative – Huntingdon)

Leo Docherty (Conservative – Aldershot)

Michelle Donelan (Conservative – Chippenham)

Nadine Dorries (Conservative – Mid Bedfordshire)

Steve Double (Conservative – St Austell and Newquay)

Oliver Dowden (Conservative – Hertsmere)

Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative – Thurrock)

Richard Drax (Conservative – South Dorset)

Flick Drummond (Conservative – Meon Valley)

James Duddridge (Conservative – Rochford and Southend East)

David Duguid (Conservative – Banff and Buchan)

Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative – Chingford and Woodford Green)

Philip Dunne (Conservative – Ludlow)

Mark Eastwood (Conservative – Dewsbury)

Ruth Edwards (Conservative – Rushcliffe)

Michael Ellis (Conservative – Northampton North)

Tobias Ellwood (Conservative – Bournemouth East)

George Eustice (Conservative – Camborne and Redruth)

Luke Evans (Conservative – Bosworth)

David Evennett (Conservative – Bexleyheath and Crayford)

Ben Everitt (Conservative – Milton Keynes North)

Michael Fabricant (Conservative – Lichfield)

Laura Farris (Conservative – Newbury)

Simon Fell (Conservative – Barrow and Furness)

Katherine Fletcher (Conservative – South Ribble)

Mark Fletcher (Conservative – Bolsover)

Nick Fletcher (Conservative – Don Valley)

Vicky Ford (Conservative – Chelmsford)

Kevin Foster (Conservative – Torbay)

Mark Francois (Conservative – Rayleigh and Wickford)

Lucy Frazer (Conservative – South East Cambridgeshire)

George Freeman (Conservative – Mid Norfolk)

Mike Freer (Conservative – Finchley and Golders Green)

Richard Fuller (Conservative – North East Bedfordshire)

Marcus Fysh (Conservative – Yeovil)

Roger Gale (Conservative – North Thanet)

Mark Garnier (Conservative – Wyre Forest)

Nusrat Ghani (Conservative – Wealden)

Nick Gibb (Conservative – Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)

Jo Gideon (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent Central)

Cheryl Gillan (Conservative – Chesham and Amersham)

John Glen (Conservative – Salisbury)

Robert Goodwill (Conservative – Scarborough and Whitby)

Michael Gove (Conservative – Surrey Heath)

Richard Graham (Conservative – Gloucester)

Helen Grant (Conservative – Maidstone and The Weald)

Chris Grayling (Conservative – Epsom and Ewell)

Chris Green (Conservative – Bolton West)

Damian Green (Conservative – Ashford)

Andrew Griffith (Conservative – Arundel and South Downs)

Kate Griffiths (Conservative – Burton)

James Grundy (Conservative – Leigh)

Jonathan Gullis (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent North)

Robert Halfon (Conservative – Harlow)

Luke Hall (Conservative – Thornbury and Yate)

Stephen Hammond (Conservative – Wimbledon)

Matt Hancock (Conservative – West Suffolk)

Greg Hands (Conservative – Chelsea and Fulham)

Mark Harper (Conservative – Forest of Dean)

Rebecca Harris (Conservative – Castle Point)

Trudy Harrison (Conservative – Copeland)

Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative – Hastings and Rye)

Simon Hart (Conservative – Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)

John Hayes (Conservative – South Holland and The Deepings)

Oliver Heald (Conservative – North East Hertfordshire)

James Heappey (Conservative – Wells)

Chris Heaton-Harris (Conservative – Daventry)

Gordon Henderson (Conservative – Sittingbourne and Sheppey)

Darren Henry (Conservative – Broxtowe)

Antony Higginbotham (Conservative – Burnley)

Damian Hinds (Conservative – East Hampshire)

Simon Hoare (Conservative – North Dorset)

Richard Holden (Conservative – North West Durham)

Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative – Thirsk and Malton)

Philip Hollobone (Conservative – Kettering)

Adam Holloway (Conservative – Gravesham)

Paul Holmes (Conservative – Eastleigh)

John Howell (Conservative – Henley)

Paul Howell (Conservative – Sedgefield)

Nigel Huddleston (Conservative – Mid Worcestershire)

Neil Hudson (Conservative – Penrith and The Border)

Jane Hunt (Conservative – Loughborough)

Jeremy Hunt (Conservative – South West Surrey)

Tom Hunt (Conservative – Ipswich)

Alister Jack (Conservative – Dumfries and Galloway)

Sajid Javid (Conservative – Bromsgrove)

Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative – North East Hampshire)

Bernard Jenkin (Conservative – Harwich and North Essex)

Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative – Morley and Outwood)

Robert Jenrick (Conservative – Newark)

Boris Johnson (Conservative – Uxbridge and South Ruislip)

Caroline Johnson (Conservative – Sleaford and North Hykeham)

Gareth Johnson (Conservative – Dartford)

David Johnston (Conservative – Wantage)

Andrew Jones (Conservative – Harrogate and Knaresborough)

Fay Jones (Conservative – Brecon and Radnorshire)

David Jones (Conservative – Clwyd West)

Marcus Jones (Conservative – Nuneaton)

Simon Jupp (Conservative – East Devon)

Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative – Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Alicia Kearns (Conservative – Rutland and Melton)

Gillian Keegan (Conservative – Chichester)

Julian Knight (Conservative – Solihull)

Greg Knight (Conservative – East Yorkshire)

Danny Kruger (Conservative – Devizes)

Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative – Spelthorne)

John Lamont (Conservative – Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)

Robert Largan (Conservative – High Peak)

Pauline Latham (Conservative – Mid Derbyshire)

Andrea Leadsom (Conservative – South Northamptonshire)

Ian Levy (Conservative – Blyth Valley)

Andrew Lewer (Conservative – Northampton South)

Julian Lewis (Independent – New Forest East)

Ian Liddell-Grainger (Conservative – Bridgwater and West Somerset)

Chris Loder (Conservative – West Dorset)

Mark Logan (Conservative – Bolton North East)

Marco Longhi (Conservative – Dudley North)

Julia Lopez (Conservative – Hornchurch and Upminster)

Jack Lopresti (Conservative – Filton and Bradley Stoke)

Jonathan Lord (Conservative – Woking)

Tim Loughton (Conservative – East Worthing and Shoreham)

Craig Mackinlay (Conservative – South Thanet)

Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative – Truro and Falmouth)

Rachel Maclean (Conservative – Redditch)

Alan Mak (Conservative – Havant)

Kit Malthouse (Conservative – North West Hampshire)

Anthony Mangnall (Conservative – Totnes)

Scott Mann (Conservative – North Cornwall)

Julie Marson (Conservative – Hertford and Stortford)

Theresa May (Conservative – Maidenhead)

Jerome Mayhew (Conservative – Broadland)

Paul Maynard (Conservative – Blackpool North and Cleveleys)

Karl McCartney (Conservative – Lincoln)

Stephen McPartland (Conservative – Stevenage)

Mark Menzies (Conservative – Fylde)

Johnny Mercer (Conservative – Plymouth, Moor View)

Huw Merriman (Conservative – Bexhill and Battle)

Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative – South Basildon and East Thurrock)

Robin Millar (Conservative – Aberconwy)

Maria Miller (Conservative – Basingstoke)

Amanda Milling (Conservative – Cannock Chase)

Nigel Mills (Conservative – Amber Valley)

Andrew Mitchell (Conservative – Sutton Coldfield)

Gagan Mohindra (Conservative – South West Hertfordshire)

Damien Moore (Conservative – Southport)

Robbie Moore (Conservative – Keighley)

Penny Mordaunt (Conservative – Portsmouth North)

Anne Marie Morris (Conservative – Newton Abbot)

David Morris (Conservative – Morecambe and Lunesdale)

James Morris (Conservative – Halesowen and Rowley Regis)

Joy Morrissey (Conservative – Beaconsfield)

Wendy Morton (Conservative – Aldridge-Brownhills)

Kieran Mullan (Conservative – Crewe and Nantwich)

Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative – Scunthorpe)

David Mundell (Conservative – Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)

Sheryll Murray (Conservative – South East Cornwall)

Andrew Murrison (Conservative – South West Wiltshire)

Robert Neill (Conservative – Bromley and Chislehurst)

Lia Nici (Conservative – Great Grimsby)

Caroline Nokes (Conservative – Romsey and Southampton North)

Jesse Norman (Conservative – Hereford and South Herefordshire)

Neil O’Brien (Conservative – Harborough)

Matthew Offord (Conservative – Hendon)

Guy Opperman (Conservative – Hexham)

Neil Parish (Conservative – Tiverton and Honiton)

Priti Patel (Conservative – Witham)

Mark Pawsey (Conservative – Rugby)

Mike Penning (Conservative – Hemel Hempstead)

John Penrose (Conservative – Weston-super-Mare)

Chris Philp (Conservative – Croydon South)

Christopher Pincher (Conservative – Tamworth)

Dan Poulter (Conservative – Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)

Victoria Prentis (Conservative – Banbury)

Tom Pursglove (Conservative – Corby)

Jeremy Quin (Conservative – Horsham)

Will Quince (Conservative – Colchester)

Dominic Raab (Conservative – Esher and Walton)

Tom Randall (Conservative – Gedling)

John Redwood (Conservative – Wokingham)

Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative – North East Somerset)

Nicola Richards (Conservative – West Bromwich East)

Angela Richardson (Conservative – Guildford)

Rob Roberts (Conservative – Delyn)

Laurence Robertson (Conservative – Tewkesbury)

Mary Robinson (Conservative – Cheadle)

Andrew Rosindell (Conservative – Romford)

Douglas Ross (Conservative – Moray)

Lee Rowley (Conservative – North East Derbyshire)

Dean Russell (Conservative – Watford)

David Rutley (Conservative – Macclesfield)

Gary Sambrook (Conservative – Birmingham, Northfield)

Selaine Saxby (Conservative – North Devon)

Paul Scully (Conservative – Sutton and Cheam)

Bob Seely (Conservative – Isle of Wight)

Andrew Selous (Conservative – South West Bedfordshire)

Grant Shapps (Conservative – Welwyn Hatfield)

Alok Sharma (Conservative – Reading West)

Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative – Elmet and Rothwell)

David Simmonds (Conservative – Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)

Chris Skidmore (Conservative – Kingswood)

Chloe Smith (Conservative – Norwich North)

Greg Smith (Conservative – Buckingham)

Henry Smith (Conservative – Crawley)

Julian Smith (Conservative – Skipton and Ripon)

Royston Smith (Conservative – Southampton, Itchen)

Amanda Solloway (Conservative – Derby North)

Ben Spencer (Conservative – Runnymede and Weybridge)

Mark Spencer (Conservative – Sherwood)

Alexander Stafford (Conservative – Rother Valley)

Andrew Stephenson (Conservative – Pendle)

Jane Stevenson (Conservative – Wolverhampton North East)

John Stevenson (Conservative – Carlisle)

Bob Stewart (Conservative – Beckenham)

Iain Stewart (Conservative – Milton Keynes South)

Gary Streeter (Conservative – South West Devon)

Graham Stuart (Conservative – Beverley and Holderness)

Julian Sturdy (Conservative – York Outer)

Rishi Sunak (Conservative – Richmond (Yorks))

James Sunderland (Conservative – Bracknell)

Desmond Swayne (Conservative – New Forest West)

Robert Syms (Conservative – Poole)

Derek Thomas (Conservative – St Ives)

Maggie Throup (Conservative – Erewash)

Edward Timpson (Conservative – Eddisbury)

Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative – Rochester and Strood)

Justin Tomlinson (Conservative – North Swindon)

Craig Tracey (Conservative – North Warwickshire)

Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Conservative – Berwick-upon-Tweed)

Elizabeth Truss (Conservative – South West Norfolk)

Tom Tugendhat (Conservative – Tonbridge and Malling)

Martin Vickers (Conservative – Cleethorpes)

Matt Vickers (Conservative – Stockton South)

Theresa Villiers (Conservative – Chipping Barnet)

Christian Wakeford (Conservative – Bury South)

Robin Walker (Conservative – Worcester)

Charles Walker (Conservative – Broxbourne)

Ben Wallace (Conservative – Wyre and Preston North)

Jamie Wallis (Conservative – Bridgend)

David Warburton (Conservative – Somerton and Frome)

Matt Warman (Conservative – Boston and Skegness)

Giles Watling (Conservative – Clacton)

Suzanne Webb (Conservative – Stourbridge)

Helen Whately (Conservative – Faversham and Mid Kent)

Craig Whittaker (Conservative – Calder Valley)

John Whittingdale (Conservative – Maldon)

Bill Wiggin (Conservative – North Herefordshire)

James Wild (Conservative – North West Norfolk)

Craig Williams (Conservative – Montgomeryshire)

Gavin Williamson (Conservative – South Staffordshire)

Mike Wood (Conservative – Dudley South)

William Wragg (Conservative – Hazel Grove)

Jeremy Wright (Conservative – Kenilworth and Southam)

Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative – Stratford-on-Avon)