Passenger Railway Services Bill (Public Ownership) Bill: Committee: Amendment 17
113Ayes
372Noes
Defeated · majority 259 · Government won162 did not vote
647 Members · Aye 113 · No 372 · DNV 162 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
Parliament voted on 3 September 2024 on Amendment 17 to the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill during its Committee stage. The amendment was defeated by 372 votes to 113. The bill, which transfers passenger rail franchises back into public ownership, passed its Second Reading in July 2024 with government support. The bill as a whole would end the system of private rail franchises and bring passenger services under a public operator. Amendment 17 sought to modify the bill in some way, though the specific content of the amendment is not available in the provided record. The government opposed the amendment and supported the bill as drafted, meaning its defeat keeps the legislation on the path ministers intended. The vote divided largely along party lines. All 316 Labour MPs and 38 Labour and Co-operative MPs voted against the amendment. Support for it came primarily from the 104 Conservative MPs who voted aye, joined by 5 Democratic Unionist Party members, 4 Reform UK members, and 1 independent. The Greens, Plaid Cymru, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and smaller groupings all voted with the government against the amendment.
Voting Aye meant
Support Amendment 17 to the public ownership rail bill, likely seeking to modify the terms or scope of rail nationalisation
Voting No meant
Oppose Amendment 17, backing the bill as drafted by the Labour government 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
316
45
Conservative and Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
104
0
12
Liberal Democrats
—
0
0
71
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped No
0
38
4
Independent
—
1
7
6
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
Whipped No
0
4
0
Plaid Cymru
Whipped No
0
4
0
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
2
0
Your 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
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 · 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