Passenger Railway Services Bill (Public Ownership) Bill: Committee: Amendment 14
111Ayes
362Noes
Defeated · majority 251 · Government won173 did not vote
646 Members · Aye 111 · No 362 · DNV 173 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
On 3 September 2024, the House of Commons voted on Amendment 14 to the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill during its Committee stage, which allows MPs to scrutinise and amend legislation line by line. The amendment was tabled by the Conservative opposition and was defeated by 362 votes to 111. The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill is the government's flagship legislation to bring passenger rail services back into public ownership, ending the franchising system under which private companies operate rail services. Conservative amendments at Committee stage represent attempts to modify or constrain how that transfer of ownership would operate in practice. The bill's passage would ultimately determine who runs passenger train services across England and on what terms, affecting millions of daily rail passengers and the staff employed by current train operating companies. The vote divided largely along party lines. All 316 Labour MPs and all 37 Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted did so against the amendment, while 103 Conservatives supported it along with 5 Democratic Unionist Party members and 4 Reform UK members. Notably, the Liberal Democrats, who hold 72 seats, were entirely absent from this division, as were all 9 SNP members. The bill had already passed its Second Reading on 29 July 2024 by 351 votes to 84, and further divisions later in November 2024 showed the government successfully resisting Lords amendments, indicating consistent government control of the legislation's passage throughout.
Voting Aye meant
Support amending the Public Ownership Rail Bill, likely to restrict, delay, or add conditions to the renationalisation of passenger rail services
Voting No meant
Oppose the amendment, backing the government's original Bill to bring passenger rail services into public ownership without the proposed modification
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
0
315
46
Conservative and Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
103
0
13
Liberal Democrats
—
0
0
72
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped No
0
37
5
Independent
—
1
8
5
Scottish National Party
—
0
0
9
Reform UK
Whipped Aye
4
0
3
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
5
0
0
Green Party of England and Wales
—
0
0
4
Plaid Cymru
—
0
0
4
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
2
0
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
Your Party
—
0
1
0
Source · Hansard · UK Parliament Votes API · whip status from announced positions; “free vote” indicates the whip was formally removed
Opposes the Bill's ideological approach; demands rigorous impact assessments, independent oversight of DOHL's capacity, financial monitoring of public operators, and independent pay review body to prevent union-driven wage inflation without productivity gains.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (4,878 words) →
Supports the Bill as correcting 30 years of privatisation damage; emphasizes billions in profits transferred abroad and that Labour has thoroughly developed the policy, rejecting claims of haste.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (231 words) →
Strongly supports public ownership but warns that DfT officials may obstruct implementation; urges fast prioritisation of worst-performing franchises first and seeks clarity on removing clause 2(3) loopholes.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (1,468 words) →
Neutral on ownership model; demands independent review of passenger experience impacts, ticketing system overhaul, and mechanisms for devolved local bodies to run services under GBR guidance.Liberal Democrats · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (1,476 words) →
Strongly supportive; defends public ownership against privatisation's dividend payouts to foreign governments; cites improved performance of DOHL-run services (LNER, TransPennine) and urges exploration of not-for-profit rolling stock financing.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (1,579 words) →
Supportive; emphasizes procurement reform and supply chain stability as critical for domestic rail manufacturing (Alstom Derby), requires detailed Government procurement strategy.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (764 words) →
Supportive of principle; proposes amendments to enable elected local bodies (combined authorities, councils) to own and operate companies bidding for franchises under GBR framework.Green Party · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (314 words) →
Defends the Bill and the recent ASLEF pay deal as delivering necessary reform; criticises previous Secretary of State's failed modernisation attempts.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (1,370 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0