Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill Report Stage: New Clause 18

Parliament rejected a Conservative proposal to introduce a statutory annual cap on the number of non-visitor visas issued each year. The vote, held on 12 May 2025 during the Report Stage of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, was defeated by 315 votes to 94. New Clause 18 would have given Parliament a binding role in setting an upper limit on non-visitor visas each year, making immigration numbers subject to a parliamentary vote rather than solely executive discretion. The government opposed it, publishing an immigration White Paper on the same day and arguing that targeted policy measures offered a better route to reducing net migration than a fixed ceiling. The proposal was defeated, so no statutory cap mechanism entered the bill. The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 85 Conservative MPs who voted supported the new clause, joined by all 8 Reform UK MPs who voted and 2 Democratic Unionist Party MPs, alongside one independent. Every Labour, Labour and Co-operative, SNP, Plaid Cymru, Green, and Your Party MP who voted opposed it. There were no notable cross-party rebels on either side. The result sat within a broader pattern of Conservative amendments being defeated at Report Stage on the same day, including New Clause 14 (98 to 402), New Clause 21 (87 to 404), and New Clause 3 (90 to 318).