Universal Credit.
Universal Credit system and reform
Each row is one party. The bar shows how its MPs voted relative to a neutral midpoint — to the right = on-side with the majority position, to the left = opposed. The percentage figure is the share of that party’s MPs who took the same side: higher = more whip-disciplined, closer to 50% = a freer vote.
| Party | Stance vs neutral midpoint | Net % | Discipline | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | Lab | -12 | 38% on-whip · 360 MPs | |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | Con | -25 | 25% on-whip · 114 MPs | |
| Liberal Democrats | LD | +21 | 71% on-whip · 71 MPs | |
| Labour and Co-operative Party | Lab | -13 | 37% on-whip · 42 MPs | |
| Independent | Ind | +3 | 53% on-whip · 13 MPs | |
| Scottish National Party | SNP | +14 | 64% on-whip · 9 MPs | |
| Reform UK | Ref | -8 | 42% on-whip · 8 MPs | |
| Democratic Unionist Party | DUP | +11 | 61% on-whip · 5 MPs |
Source · Hansard · alignment is the share of party MPs who voted with the party majority on tagged divisions
| Date | Motion | Aye | No | Carried |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Feb 2026 | Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill: Third Reading Aye: Support removing the two-child limit on Universal Credit, lifting benefit support for larger families and reducing child poverty · No: Oppose removing the two-child limit, citing the £3 billion annual cost or concerns about the policy's design and impact | 364 | 86 | Yes |
| 23 Feb 2026 | Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill Committee: New Clause 3 Aye: Support requiring a formal government assessment of the Bill's effects, including on the estimated 150,000 children in households that remain trapped by the overall benefit cap and gain nothing from removing the two-child limit. · No: Oppose the new clause, arguing the government is already committed to a comprehensive impact assessment as part of its wider child poverty strategy, making a separate statutory requirement unnecessary. | 75 | 290 | No |
| 3 Feb 2026 | Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill: Second Reading Aye: Support removing the two-child limit on Universal Credit, lifting around 300,000 children out of poverty at an estimated cost of £3 billion a year by 2029/30. · No: Oppose removing the two-child limit, arguing the state should not subsidise larger families and that individuals should take financial responsibility for decisions about family size. | 459 | 106 | Yes |
| 9 Jul 2025 | Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill Committee: Amendment 39 Aye: Support Amendment 39 to the Universal Credit and PIP Bill, the specific content of which is not available from the division record alone · No: Oppose Amendment 39 to the Universal Credit and PIP Bill, with the overwhelming majority — almost certainly including the Labour government — voting it down | 38 | 466 | No |
| 9 Jul 2025 | Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill Committee: Amendment 38 Aye: Support extending welfare protections to disabled people with fluctuating conditions, arguing the Bill's severe conditions criteria unjustly excludes them from the higher rate of the universal credit health element. · No: Oppose the amendment, backing the Government's position that the existing severe conditions criteria as drafted is sufficient, or that changes should await the Timms review rather than be legislated now. | 152 | 335 | No |
All 13 divisions on this issue →
By party, the MPs whose voting record on universal credit is most closely tracking the party majority. A fuller “most active by speech volume + written questions” ranking is pending — needs per-issue speech aggregation.
LabLabour Party
| MP | Constituency | % on-whip |
|---|---|---|
| David Lammy | Tottenham | 67% |
| Sharon Hodgson | Washington and Gateshead South | 67% |
| Emily Thornberry | Islington South and Finsbury | 67% |
ConConservative and Unionist Party
| MP | Constituency | % on-whip |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Mitchell | Sutton Coldfield | 40% |
| Mark Pritchard | The Wrekin | 40% |
| Simon Hoare | North Dorset | 38% |
LDLiberal Democrats
| MP | Constituency | % on-whip |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Wrigley | Newton Abbot | 80% |
| Danny Chambers | Winchester | 80% |
| Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | 80% |
LabLabour and Co-operative Party
| MP | Constituency | % on-whip |
|---|---|---|
| Kirsteen Sullivan | Bathgate and Linlithgow | 45% |
| Florence Eshalomi | Vauxhall and Camberwell Green | 44% |
| Stella Creasy | Walthamstow | 44% |
IndIndependent
| MP | Constituency | % on-whip |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Easton | North Down | 69% |
| Adnan Hussain | Blackburn | 64% |
| Cameron Thomas | Tewkesbury | 64% |
SNPScottish National Party
| MP | Constituency | % on-whip |
|---|---|---|
| Pete Wishart | Perth and Kinross-shire | 67% |
| Kirsty Blackman | Aberdeen North | 67% |
| Brendan O'Hara | Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber | 67% |
Mapping each Westminster issue to the equivalent council service bucket (so “Universal Credit” → the matching service line on council finance, with the ranked-spend table this section wants) is its own taxonomy job. Council service spend lives on the council pages today; cross-cut by issue here in a follow-on pass.
The primary material behind this topic, assembled for anyone writing about it: House of Commons Library briefings (Open Parliament Licence), the divisions tagged to it, and recent committee evidence. Every item links to its source. Want it worked into a question you actually have? Commission a research briefing.
Loading sources…
What the parliamentary record shows on this topic, in date order — each vote, Library briefing and evidence session, linked to the primary item. A record of what happened, not a commentary on it.
Loading the record…