King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (l)

Parliament voted on 20 May 2026 to reject amendment (l) to the King's Speech address, the motion that endorses the government's legislative programme for the parliamentary session. The amendment was tabled by Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, and was defeated heavily by 408 votes to 78. It was one of several opposition amendments considered during the King's Speech debate, alongside a Conservative amendment (o) and a Reform UK amendment (p), both of which were also defeated on the same day. The King's Speech debate is the occasion on which MPs formally respond to the monarch's address setting out the government's planned legislation. An amendment to the address is a standard parliamentary mechanism for expressing dissatisfaction with that programme. Because no verbatim text of amendment (l) is available in the debate record, its precise wording cannot be confirmed, but the vote reflects a Liberal Democrat-led challenge to some aspect of the government's stated agenda. The defeat means the government's programme proceeds without modification, and the particular concerns the Liberal Democrats sought to register carry no formal legislative weight. The debate surrounding this day's votes focused heavily on defence readiness, spending commitments, Northern Ireland legacy legislation, and the absence of a dedicated Defence Readiness Bill from the King's Speech. The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 61 Liberal Democrat MPs who voted supported the amendment, as did all 7 Scottish National Party MPs, all 5 Green MPs, all 4 Plaid Cymru MPs, and 2 independents, producing the total of 78 ayes. Labour, Labour and Co-operative, Conservative, Reform UK, and the Democratic Unionist Party all voted against, combining for the 408 noes. There were no rebels on either side. The Conservatives' decision to vote no alongside the government is notable: it meant the official opposition rejected both its own separate amendment and the Liberal Democrat one, voting to uphold the unamended King's Speech address once its own amendment had been disposed of.