King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (p)
104Ayes
316Noes
Defeated · majority 212 · Government won230 did not vote
650 Members · Aye 104 · No 316 · DNV 230 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
Parliament voted on 20 May 2026 on amendment (p) to the motion on the King's Speech, a formal address in which the Commons responds to the monarch's outline of the government's legislative programme. The amendment, tabled by Nigel Farage, the MP for Clacton, was defeated by 316 votes to 104. The Speaker had selected it alongside two other amendments, one from the Conservative opposition and one from the Liberal Democrats, for debate on the day's defence readiness theme. The King's Speech debate provided the occasion for opposition parties to press formal objections to the government's legislative agenda. Although the precise wording of amendment (p) is not recorded in the available debate extracts, the pattern of the day's proceedings, and Farage's tabling of it, places it as a Reform UK-aligned challenge to some aspect of the government's stated programme. The broader debate centred on defence spending, military readiness, the absence of a Defence Readiness Bill from the King's Speech, and the government's approach to Northern Ireland Troubles legacy legislation affecting veterans. Labour MPs voted unanimously against the amendment, with 271 Labour members and 34 Labour and Co-operative members in the No lobby. The 89 Aye votes came almost entirely from the Conservatives, joined by five Reform UK members, five independents, one Restore Britain member, and one Democratic Unionist Party member. The Greens voted No. The vote followed the same day's defeat of amendment (o), the main Conservative amendment, which fell 317 to 104, and amendment (l) from the Liberal Democrats, which fell 408 to 78. The main King's Speech motion itself passed 307 to 171 on the same day.
Voting Aye meant
Support amendment (p) to the King's Speech address, likely expressing dissatisfaction with some aspect of the government's stated legislative programme
Voting No meant
Reject amendment (p) and back the government's King's Speech and legislative agenda as presented
Each row is one party. The stacked bar gives the within-party split of Aye / No / Absent; the columns on the right give the raw counts. The whip column shows the published party position — “Free vote” means the whip was formally removed for this division.
Party
Whip
Aye / No / Abs
Aye
No
Abs
Labour Party
Whipped No
0
271
89
Conservative and Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
89
0
27
Liberal Democrats
—
0
0
72
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped No
0
34
8
Independent
—
5
2
6
Reform UK
Whipped Aye
5
0
3
Scottish National Party
—
0
0
7
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
—
1
0
4
Green Party of England and Wales
Whipped No
0
5
0
Plaid Cymru
—
0
0
4
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
1
1
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
—
0
0
1
Restore Britain
—
1
0
0
Speaker
—
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
—
1
0
0
Ulster Unionist Party
—
1
0
0
Your Party
—
0
1
0
Source · Hansard · UK Parliament Votes API · whip status from announced positions; “free vote” indicates the whip was formally removed
The Government must urgently publish the Defence Readiness Bill and Defence Investment Plan, commit to 3% GDP defence spending, and scrap the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill to protect veteran morale and recruitment.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (3,304 words) →
The Government is investing record sums in defence (£270bn this Parliament), has signed over 1,200 defence contracts, and will deliver both the Defence Investment Plan and Defence Readiness Bill later in the Parliament as part of an ambitious reform agenda.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (2,799 words) →
The Government is moving too slowly on defence; it must publish the Defence Investment Plan and Bill urgently, commit to 3% GDP spending by 2030, and launch defence bonds to mobilise investment at the scale required.Liberal Democrat · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (1,900 words) →
The Defence Investment Plan delay is damaging domestic industry and UK credibility with NATO allies; the Government must publish it before summer recess and provide a timeline for reaching 3.5% NATO target to allow industry to plan capacity expansion.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (1,512 words) →
Defence spending has been allowed to fall under successive governments; Britain now faces its greatest threat since the 1930s from totalitarian states (China, Russia, Iran), requiring commitment to 5% GDP spending and urgent publication of the Defence Investment Plan and Defence Readiness Bill.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (2,009 words) →
The Government must invest rapidly in defence, but national strength also depends on rebuilding the social contract for young people through jobs, housing, and opportunity; without addressing economic insecurity and inequality, recruitment and patriotism will suffer.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (3,386 words) →
The absence of the Defence Investment Plan and Defence Readiness Bill from the King's Speech represents a concerning vacuum in defence planning and industrial strategy at a time of acute threat.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (2,112 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0