English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill Report Stage: New Clause 17

Parliament voted on 25 November 2025 on New Clause 17 to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill during its Report Stage (the stage at which the full House of Commons debates and votes on proposed changes to a bill). The new clause, which would have added enhanced community empowerment provisions beyond what the government had included in its own legislation, was heavily defeated. The vote was 87 in favour and 321 against. The defeat means that the additional community empowerment measures proposed in New Clause 17 will not be incorporated into the Bill. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill covers a wide range of local governance matters, including the structure of combined authorities, community rights to bid for assets, local audit arrangements, taxi and private hire vehicle licensing standards, and the governance models available to councils. Critics of the government's approach, particularly the Liberal Democrats, argued during the debate that the Bill as written concentrates power upwards toward combined authorities and elected mayors rather than genuinely distributing it to parishes, town councils and local communities. The vote on New Clause 17 represents one of several unsuccessful attempts by opposition parties to push the Bill's community empowerment provisions further than the government was willing to go. The division showed a clear party-line split. Labour MPs voted overwhelmingly against the new clause, with 287 Labour members and 29 Labour and Co-operative members in the No lobby. The Liberal Democrats provided the largest bloc of support, with 68 of their MPs voting in favour. Smaller parties and independents broadly supported the new clause: Reform UK contributed 5 Aye votes, the Democratic Unionist Party 4, the Greens 3, and a handful of independents also voted Aye. Only a single Labour MP broke ranks to vote in favour. The same day saw two further related defeats for the opposition, with New Clause 69 lost 189 to 320 and New Clause 80 lost 187 to 320, while the Bill itself passed its Third Reading later that evening by 322 votes to 179, confirming the government's firm control of the legislation's final shape.