Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill Committee: New Clause 2
156
Ayes
—
273
Noes
Defeated · Government won
215 did not vote
Analysis
Commons
Commons
**What happened**: On 23 February 2026, MPs voted on New Clause 2 to the Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill during its Committee stage on the floor of the House. The new clause, which would have added conditions or oversight requirements to the government's power to provide financial assistance to businesses and for exports, was defeated by 273 votes to 156. **Why it matters**: The Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill seeks to raise the upper limit on government financial assistance available under section 8(1) of the Industry Act from £12 billion to £20 billion, and to expand export finance powers. New Clause 2 would have placed additional restrictions or transparency requirements on how that money could be deployed. Its defeat means the government retains greater flexibility in how it disburses financial support to industry and for export finance, without the extra conditions the opposition was seeking to impose. **The politics**: The vote divided sharply along government versus opposition lines. All 273 No votes came from Labour and Labour and Co-operative Party MPs, with only one Labour MP breaking ranks to vote Aye. The Aye side was an unusually broad opposition coalition spanning Conservatives (78), Liberal Democrats (52), the SNP (6), Reform UK (5), the DUP (5), Plaid Cymru (4), and several independents -- a cross-party grouping united in wanting tighter conditions on the expanded spending powers, though for varying reasons. A companion amendment voted on the same day, Amendment 1, was also defeated by a similar margin of 272 to 161.
Voting Aye meant
Support restricting public export finance where goods risk being re-exported to Russia or sanctioned countries, and where exports are linked to modern slavery or human trafficking
Voting No meant
Oppose these restrictions, preferring the government retain flexibility in how UK Export Finance is used without these additional conditions
429 voting MPs. Each dot is one vote; left-to-right by party. Grey dots in the centre are the 215 who did not vote.
Aye
No
Absent
Labour PartyWhipped No
1
247
114
Conservative and Unionist PartyWhipped Aye
78
0
38
Liberal DemocratsWhipped Aye
52
0
20
Labour and Co-operative PartyWhipped No
0
26
16
Independent
4
3
6
Scottish National PartyWhipped Aye
6
0
3
Reform UKWhipped Aye
5
0
3
Sinn Féin
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist PartyWhipped Aye
5
0
—
Green Party of England and Wales
0
0
4
Plaid CymruWhipped Aye
4
0
—
Social Democratic and Labour Party
0
0
2
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
0
0
1
Speaker
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
1
0
—
Ulster Unionist Party
1
0
—
Your Party
1
0
—
Supports the Bill to increase financial assistance limits and backs UK Export Finance's existing human rights and environmental oversight; rejects amendments as duplicative of current safeguards but commits to ongoing responsible business conduct review.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (2,569 words) →
Supports the Bill's principles but proposes amendments to prevent export finance where goods may be re-exported to sanctioned destinations and to require annual steel industry impact reporting for transparency and accountability.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,692 words) →
Strongly advocates for amendments to prohibit UKEF support for businesses with modern slavery or human trafficking in supply chains, citing past failures where UKEF funded sanctioned Chinese entities and calling for zero-tolerance legislative approach.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,344 words) →
Argues Northern Ireland faces unequal treatment under Windsor Framework EU state aid rules and proposes new clause for annual transparency reporting showing how financial assistance is distributed across UK nations.DUP · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,468 words) →
Supports the Bill but advocates for amendments on annual reporting of impact on GDP, SMEs and EU trade; expresses concern that UKEF's eligibility criteria lock out first-time exporters and that structural barriers to EU trade remain unaddressed.Liberal Democrat · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,477 words) →
Supports the Bill but raises practical concerns about SME access to trade finance, downstream steel processors being overlooked, and defence exporters' access to finance amid ESG-related restrictions.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (280 words) →
Supports new clause 1 for transparency, arguing Northern Ireland faces economic disadvantage due to Windsor Framework constraints and Irish Sea border, requiring equal access to state aid as rest of UK.DUP · Voted aye · Read full speech (932 words) →
Supports amendments on modern slavery safeguards, noting inconsistency with protections already established in health and energy sectors; calls for alignment across government.Labour · Voted aye · Read full speech (298 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0