Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill Committee: New Clause 4

Parliament voted on 9 June 2026 to reject New Clause 4 during the committee stage of the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill. The clause was defeated by 287 votes to 157. Committee stage is the line-by-line scrutiny phase of a bill, where additional clauses can be proposed for inclusion in the legislation. New Clause 4, tabled by Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney, would have introduced a requirement for the Secretary of State to lay detailed information before Parliament prior to providing any financial assistance under the bill. According to Olney's contribution in debate, the clause was aimed at strengthening parliamentary scrutiny of future financial assistance, requiring disclosure of the nature and amount of any assistance, the intended beneficiaries, the purpose and expected effect, and any associated conditions including repayment terms, guarantees, indemnities, or other liabilities. The vote blocks that transparency requirement from being written into the bill. The division produced a clear cross-party opposition to the clause. Labour MPs, including those sitting under the Labour and Co-operative Party designation, voted uniformly against it, providing the 287 no votes that secured its defeat. The Conservatives voted 84 to nil in favour, the Liberal Democrats 62 to nil in favour, and the Democratic Unionist Party 4 to nil in favour. Four Reform UK MPs with a recorded vote opposed the clause, as did the two Green Party MPs and two MPs listed under Your Party. The vote sits within a series of related divisions on the same bill over 8 and 9 June 2026, in which the government similarly defeated opposition amendments seeking greater parliamentary oversight of ministerial powers under the legislation.