Opposition Day: Energy: original words stand part
97
Ayes
—
336
Noes
Defeated · Government won
216 did not vote
Analysis
Commons
Commons
**What happened:** On 12 November 2025, the House of Commons voted on an Opposition Day motion on energy policy. The Conservative opposition put forward alternative energy policy proposals, challenging the government's current energy strategy. The motion was defeated by 336 votes to 97, with the government's position prevailing comfortably. **Why it matters:** The vote concerned the direction of the United Kingdom's energy policy, including the balance between fossil fuels, renewable energy, and the costs associated with the net zero transition. The Conservative motion, had it passed, would have registered parliamentary support for an alternative approach to Labour's energy agenda, potentially including greater emphasis on fossil fuel development and concern about the costs of decarbonisation for consumers and businesses. As a non-binding Opposition Day motion, a victory for the Conservatives would not have changed policy directly, but it would have carried political significance as a statement of parliamentary opinion. **The politics:** The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 289 Labour MPs and 29 Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted did so against the motion, while 94 of the 96 voting Conservatives supported it. Reform UK contributed 3 Aye votes, and the Democratic Unionist Party added 1. The Green Party and Plaid Cymru voted against the motion alongside Labour, reflecting their opposition to any shift toward fossil fuels or weakening of climate commitments. One independent voted with the Conservatives. The scale of the defeat, by a margin of nearly 3.5 to 1, reflects the government's strong Commons majority and the relative isolation of the right-leaning energy position on this occasion.
Voting Aye meant
Support keeping the opposition's original energy motion unamended, backing the opposition's framing of energy policy concerns
Voting No meant
Prefer the government's amended version of the energy motion, replacing the opposition's wording with Labour's own position on energy
433 voting MPs. Each dot is one vote; left-to-right by party. Grey dots in the centre are the 216 who did not vote.
Aye
No
Absent
Labour PartyWhipped No
0
289
73
Conservative and Unionist PartyWhipped Aye
94
0
22
Liberal Democrats
0
0
72
Labour and Co-operative PartyWhipped No
0
29
13
Independent
1
6
6
Scottish National Party
0
0
9
Reform UKWhipped Aye
3
0
5
Sinn Féin
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
1
0
4
Green Party of England and WalesWhipped No
0
4
—
Plaid CymruWhipped No
0
4
—
Social Democratic and Labour Party
0
0
2
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
0
0
1
Speaker
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
0
0
1
Ulster Unionist Party
0
1
—
Your Party
0
1
—
Opposes Labour's clean power plan; advocates cutting carbon taxes, scrapping renewable obligation subsidies, stopping Allocation Round 7 auction, and ending the ban on new oil and gas licences to cut bills 20% and boost North Sea investment.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (3,841 words) →
Defends Labour's clean energy mission as the path to lower bills and energy security; highlights £60bn government investment, nuclear programmes, and job creation in renewables, carbon capture, and hydrogen.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (3,257 words) →
Backs clean energy investment but critiques both Labour's renewable auction costs and Conservative plan as unfunded; proposes windfall taxes on banks, local energy markets, and home retrofits.Liberal Democrat · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (2,374 words) →
Criticises Conservative U-turn on climate commitments; highlights home insulation schemes cutting energy bills (e.g. Tina's bill drop from £140 to £67) and argues clean energy is both cheaper and necessary.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (1,210 words) →
Argues wind and solar are 60% cheaper than gas; warns that expanding North Sea oil/gas repeats failed Conservative mistakes and locks in reliance on volatile global markets.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (1,044 words) →
Questions net zero achievability; raises concerns over rare earth metal sourcing, agricultural land conversion for solar, and off-grid communities; frames energy as national defence priority.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,061 words) →
Endorses Coutinho's cheap power plan; argues Labour's taxes and renewable commitment drive businesses away and harm industrial competitiveness versus China and India.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (709 words) →
Questions why Labour abandoned the Conservative strategic objective of cheapest electricity prices in Europe by 2030s; challenges Liberal Democrat claims on decoupling gas and electricity prices.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (774 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0