Passenger Railway Services Bill (Public Ownership) Bill: Committee: Amendment 17

What happened: Parliament voted on Amendment 17 to the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill during its Committee Stage on 3 September 2024. The amendment, tabled by the Conservatives, sought to modify the government's plans to bring passenger rail services into public ownership. It was defeated by 372 votes to 113, with the government's position prevailing comfortably.

Why it matters: The Bill forms the centrepiece of the government's plan to transfer passenger rail franchises from private operators into public hands as existing contracts expire, creating a publicly owned operator. Amendment 17 was one of several Conservative attempts during Committee Stage to alter or constrain this plan. Its defeat clears the way for the Bill to proceed in its original form, keeping the government's nationalisation approach intact and affecting millions of rail passengers across England.

The politics: The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 317 Labour MPs and 38 Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted opposed the amendment, while 104 Conservative MPs and 5 Democratic Unionist Party MPs supported it. Four Reform UK MPs also voted with the Conservatives. A handful of independents split in both directions. This vote sat within a broader pattern of Committee Stage resistance from the Conservatives, who tabled multiple amendments on the same day, all of which were defeated by similar margins. The Bill had already passed its Second Reading on 29 July 2024 by 351 votes to 84, and would later survive Lords amendments in November 2024.