Opposition Day: Puberty blockers
112Ayes
283Noes
Defeated · majority 171 · Government won252 did not vote
647 Members · Aye 112 · No 283 · DNV 252 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
Parliament voted on 23 June 2026 on a Conservative Opposition Day motion concerning puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria. The motion was defeated by 283 votes to 112. Opposition Day motions are procedural tools that allow the party not in government to set the terms of a debate and call a vote; they carry no binding legislative force but are used to put the government on the record. The vote matters because puberty blockers remain one of the most contested areas of policy on gender-related healthcare for young people. The Conservatives used their opposition day to press the government to take a position, with the aye side broadly associated with backing tighter restrictions or a permanent ban on their use for under-18s with gender dysphoria. The no side either opposed that policy direction or rejected the opposition's right to dictate the legislative agenda, or both. Because the motion is non-binding, the immediate practical effect is limited, but the government's voting position is now clearly recorded. Almost the entire Conservative parliamentary party voted aye, joined by all five Democratic Unionist Party MPs and four independents, with one Liberal Democrat also voting with the motion. Labour MPs overwhelmingly rejected it, with 241 Labour and 31 Labour Co-operative members voting no; only three Labour MPs voted aye. The Greens and Plaid Cymru voted no in their entirety. The Liberal Democrats had 68 members with no vote recorded, with just one voting aye and two voting no. This was a largely partisan division, with the government holding a comfortable majority.
Voting Aye meant
Support the opposition motion on puberty blockers — likely backing tighter restrictions or a permanent ban on their use for under-18s with gender dysphoria
Voting No meant
Oppose the opposition motion, reflecting either the government's resistance to opposition-set agendas or a different policy position on how puberty blocker regulation should be handled
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
3
241
116
Conservative and Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
99
0
17
Liberal Democrats
Whipped No
1
2
68
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped No
0
31
11
Independent
—
4
1
8
Reform UK
—
0
0
8
Scottish National Party
—
0
0
7
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
5
0
0
Green Party of England and Wales
Whipped No
0
5
0
Plaid Cymru
Whipped No
0
4
0
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
0
2
Your Party
—
0
1
1
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
—
0
0
1
Restore Britain
—
0
0
1
Speaker
—
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
—
0
0
1
Ulster Unionist Party
—
0
0
1
Source · Hansard · UK Parliament Votes API · whip status from announced positions; “free vote” indicates the whip was formally removed
Opposes the trial as unnecessary and unethically broad; argues most children with gender incongruence resolve naturally without intervention, and risks permanent harm when clinicians cannot predict who will persist in trans identity.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (3,312 words) →
Supports the trial as clinically necessary, rigorous, and endorsed by Dr Cass; argues it is the only way to build evidence for a small cohort of children who need medical support and to prevent harm from unregulated treatment.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (2,532 words) →
Supports the trial on the basis of expert clinical advice and transparency; emphasises that medical decisions should be led by clinicians, not politics, and welcomes the MHRA's safeguards.Liberal Democrat · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (858 words) →
Supports the trial; argues puberty blockers are already safely used for other conditions, parental consent provides crucial oversight, and stopping the trial would cut off information and options for the 7% of young people who do not resolve their dysphoria naturally.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (1,988 words) →
Opposes the trial; argues a previous UK trial showed no psychological benefit and some worsening of symptoms, and questions why the Government proceeds without first completing the data linkage study on existing patients.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,351 words) →
Opposes the trial; emphasises concern about informed consent for 11-year-olds, future family court battles over parental consent, and calls for engagement with detransitioners and expert clinicians who argue against the trial.Labour · Voted aye · Read full speech (958 words) →
Supports the trial as clinically necessary; argues Conservatives contradictorily oppose a measure they previously endorsed via Baroness Cass, and notes that preventing the trial drives young people to unsafe unregulated hormones.Scottish National Party · Voted no · Read full speech (1,409 words) →
Opposes the trial on grounds of child protection and cognitive development; questions why the data linkage study should not be completed first and whether children can meaningfully consent to lifelong irreversible effects.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (642 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0