Finance Bill Committee: New Clause 8
167Ayes
329Noes
Defeated · majority 162 · Government won153 did not vote
649 Members · Aye 167 · No 329 · DNV 153 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
MPs voted on 11 December 2024 to reject New Clause 8 to the Finance Bill, a Conservative amendment that would have required the Secretary of State to report to Parliament within six months on the impact of removing the VAT exemption from private school fees. The report would have had to cover pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, small rural schools, and faith schools, with a separate statement due within 18 months on schools in the music and dance scheme. The amendment was defeated by 329 votes to 167 (Division 66). The VAT exemption for private school fees is removed by the Finance Act 2025. Opponents of the new clause argued the government's policy is fair and necessary to fund improvements in state schools. Supporters said the reporting requirement was needed to hold the government to account for potential harm to vulnerable groups, including SEND pupils who do not hold an Education Health and Care Plan, small faith schools charging lower fees, and talented young musicians and dancers dependent on the music and dance scheme. The vote means no formal statutory assessment of these specific impacts will be required. The division followed strict party lines. All 283 Labour MPs and 31 Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted did so against the new clause, alongside all four Plaid Cymru MPs and all four Green MPs. All 98 voting Conservatives and all 60 voting Liberal Democrats supported it, joined by three Reform UK MPs, two Democratic Unionist Party MPs, and a handful of independents. There were no notable cross-party rebels in either direction. The result fits a pattern of sustained Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition to the private school VAT measure, which was also voted on at report stage in March 2025.
Voting Aye meant
Support requiring the government to formally assess and report the impact of the private school VAT on vulnerable groups, including SEND pupils, rural schools, and faith schools — a measure framed as holding the government to account for a damaging policy.
Voting No meant
Oppose the reporting requirement, defending the VAT measure as fair and necessary to fund state school improvements, and rejecting the framing that it causes disproportionate harm to vulnerable groups.
Each row is one party. The stacked bar gives the within-party split of Aye / No / Absent; the columns on the right give the raw counts. The whip column shows the published party position — “Free vote” means the whip was formally removed for this division.
Party
Whip
Aye / No / Abs
Aye
No
Abs
Labour Party
Whipped No
0
283
78
Conservative and Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
98
0
18
Liberal Democrats
Whipped Aye
59
0
12
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped No
0
31
11
Independent
—
5
3
6
Scottish National Party
—
0
0
9
Reform UK
Whipped Aye
3
0
4
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
—
2
0
3
Green Party of England and Wales
Whipped No
0
4
0
Plaid Cymru
Whipped No
0
4
0
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
1
1
Your Party
—
0
1
1
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
—
0
0
1
Restore Britain
—
1
0
0
Speaker
—
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
—
0
0
1
Ulster Unionist Party
—
1
0
0
Source · Hansard · UK Parliament Votes API · whip status from announced positions; “free vote” indicates the whip was formally removed
Defends VAT removal as necessary to raise £1.5bn for state education investment; argues schools can minimise fee increases and that government has compensated SEND pupils with EHCPs and military families via continuity of education allowance.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (4,534 words) →
Opposes VAT on private school fees as a cruel, ideological tax imposed mid-year that will damage education of 37,000 pupils and particularly harm SEND pupils without EHCPs, small rural schools, and faith schools; calls for new clause 8 to review impact.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (4,696 words) →
Opposes the tax on principle; supports new clause 9 requiring impact assessment on SEND pupils without EHCPs, warning 100,000 such pupils will face fee rises and families may seek EHCPs to avoid VAT, straining the already-failed SEND system.Liberal Democrat · Voted aye · Read full speech (2,053 words) →
Supports removal of VAT exemption as fair redistribution from wealthiest to fund state education crisis; notes private school spending per pupil is 90% higher than state sector and fees have risen 55% since 2003.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (905 words) →
Opposes as bad policy that taxes education contrary to global norm; argues Government's 37,000 pupil displacement estimate is mathematically flawed, ignores capital costs, and will disproportionately displace SEND and faith school pupils.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (2,799 words) →
Supports as part of philosophy that those with broadest shoulders carry heaviest load; argues 6% at private schools vs 50% using state education justifies the measure to fund prosperity for all.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (1,027 words) →
Opposes as tax on aspiration that harms ordinary working families (nurses, tradespeople, small business owners) who sacrificed to afford independent schools; criticises lack of proper impact assessment and mid-year implementation.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (674 words) →
Opposes as divisive framing that pits schoolchild against schoolchild; argues Government wrongly suggests not taxing private fees takes money from state schools, when UK spends £1trn+ annually and can choose priorities.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (750 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0