King's Speech (Motion for an Address): Amendment (h)

What happened: On 22 July 2024, the House of Commons voted on Amendment (h) to the King's Speech, a Conservative motion criticising the new Labour government's legislative programme and proposing alternative policy priorities. The amendment was defeated by 390 votes to 111, with the government's position prevailing comfortably.

Why it matters: The King's Speech sets out the government's legislative agenda for the parliamentary session, making it the foundational statement of what a government intends to do in office. A successful amendment would have represented a formal parliamentary rebuke of Labour's programme, though in practice such amendments are symbolic rather than legally binding. The vote confirmed that Labour's agenda, covering areas including the constitution and democracy, would proceed without formal parliamentary opposition being recorded on the face of the motion.

The politics: The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 103 Conservative MPs who voted backed the amendment, joined by four Reform UK members, three Democratic Unionist Party MPs, and two independents. Labour, the Labour and Co-operative Party, Plaid Cymru, the Greens, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party all voted against. There were no notable rebels on either side. This was one of several opposition amendments tested across the King's Speech debate, with related divisions on amendments (d), (k), and (l) the following day producing similarly lopsided results, reflecting Labour's substantial Commons majority following the July 2024 general election.