Opposition Day Motion: Defence spending and readiness - Prime Minister's Amendment
294Ayes
110Noes
Carried · majority 184 · Government won245 did not vote
649 Members · Aye 294 · No 110 · DNV 245 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
On 23 June 2026, the House of Commons voted to pass the Prime Minister's amendment to an opposition motion on defence spending and readiness. The government's revised wording replaced the original Conservative motion text. MPs backed the amendment by 294 votes to 110. The vote determines which version of a non-binding motion stands as the formal expression of the House's view on defence spending and readiness. Opposition Day motions do not change the law, but they carry political weight as a statement of parliamentary opinion. By passing the counter-amendment, the government ensured its own framing of defence policy prevailed rather than the Conservatives' preferred text. Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted unanimously in favour, delivering 291 of the 294 ayes. All 99 voting Conservatives opposed the amendment, joined by all five Democratic Unionist Party members and one MP each from Restore Britain and the Ulster Unionist Party. Reform UK recorded no votes either way, with all eight of their MPs absent. The result sat within a cluster of defence-related divisions, including the defeat the same day of the original opposition motion by 307 votes to 108, and several Armed Forces Bill amendments defeated the previous day.
Voting Aye meant
Support the government's amended position on defence spending and readiness, replacing the opposition's original motion with the Prime Minister's preferred wording
Voting No meant
Back the original opposition motion on defence spending and readiness, rejecting the government's counter-amendment
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 Aye
258
0
102
Conservative and Unionist Party
Whipped No
0
99
17
Liberal Democrats
—
0
0
71
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped Aye
33
0
9
Independent
—
1
4
8
Reform UK
—
0
0
8
Scottish National Party
—
0
0
7
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
Whipped No
0
5
0
Green Party of England and Wales
—
0
0
5
Plaid Cymru
—
0
0
4
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
0
2
Your Party
—
0
2
0
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
—
0
0
1
Restore Britain
—
0
1
0
Speaker
—
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
—
0
0
1
Ulster Unionist Party
—
0
1
0
Source · Hansard · UK Parliament Votes API · whip status from announced positions; “free vote” indicates the whip was formally removed
Defence spending must reach 3% of GDP or minimum £28 billion immediately; DIP delay is chaos; Defence Secretary and Armed Forces Minister resignations prove Labour prioritises welfare over defence; calls on government to cut welfare to fund defence.Conservative · Voted no · Read full speech (4,996 words) →
Government has delivered biggest defence uplift since Cold War, raised recruitment and retention, signed 1,400 contracts; DIP will be published before NATO summit; previous Conservative governments hollowed out armed forces; Labour is rebuilding capability.Labour · Voted aye · Read full speech (2,204 words) →
Defence investment plan must be published urgently; spending should reach 3% by 2030; £20 billion defence bonds would unlock investment; Britain must lead European defence; Northern Ireland Troubles Bill should be scrapped as incompatible with human rights.Liberal Democrat · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (2,741 words) →
UK is in conflict with Russia and is frontline nation; defence debate must focus on capability not just spending numbers; Government has awarded major contracts and improved pay; Russian cyber and hybrid threats are real and present.Labour · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,931 words) →
Risk has been passed between Governments since Cold War and has crystallised; Britain came 31st of 32 NATO members on rearmament; procurement reform urgent; Ukraine model shows five-day requirement-to-delivery possible.Conservative · Voted no · Read full speech (2,691 words) →
Prime Minister offered only 0.08% GDP increase (£10 billion real terms) for Defence Investment Plan, which prompted Defence Secretary resignation; grossly inadequate for national security.Conservative · Voted no · Read full speech (79 words) →
Uncertainty created by potential new Prime Minister with unknown defence priorities damages defence industry and dual-use companies; need far more certainty on defence policy.Conservative · Voted no · Read full speech (114 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0