Immigration and Asylum Bill: Second Reading

Parliament voted on 13 July 2026 to give the Immigration and Asylum Bill its Second Reading, passing it by 264 votes to 90. A Second Reading is the stage at which the House of Commons approves the general principles of a bill and allows it to proceed to detailed scrutiny. The result means the bill moves forward to the committee stage. The vote advances a bill concerned with immigration and asylum policy. While the precise provisions of the bill are not fully detailed in the available record, the vote confirms that a majority of MPs support its broad direction. Opposition was spread across several parties, with 90 MPs voting against, but the government's majority was sufficient to carry the reading comfortably. Labour provided almost all the support for the bill, with 232 Labour MPs and 33 Labour and Co-operative MPs voting in favour. Against the bill were 50 Liberal Democrats, 6 SNP MPs, 5 Greens, 4 Plaid Cymru members, 3 Reform UK MPs, 5 independents, 2 Your Party MPs, and 1 Conservative. Notably, 115 Conservative MPs had no vote recorded, as did 115 Labour MPs. On the same day, a Reasoned Amendment to the Second Reading, which would have blocked the bill's progress, was defeated by 358 votes to 97, indicating the government faced a coordinated but ultimately unsuccessful effort to prevent the bill from advancing.