Why Did They Do It? Voting On Homosexuality And Capital Punishment In The House Of Commons

A quantitative analysis of the way the United Kingdom's Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons voted on the issues of homosexuality and capital punishment suggests that individual conscious and public opinion influence voting decisions to a certain extent. The party line is the main determining factor for the way an MP votes, however. A social ideology index based upon MPs' voting records was a successful predictor of how they would vote on certain issues. It appears that younger MPs are more liberal, suggesting that the long-term conservative influence of the Margaret Thatcher regime has been overstated.