Budget Responsibility Bill: Committee: Amendment 2

Budget Responsibility Bill: Committee Stage, Amendment 2 Division No. 1837, 4 September 2024

What happened: MPs voted on Amendment 2 to the Budget Responsibility Bill at Committee stage, a proposal put forward by opposition parties that sought to modify the government's approach to fiscal rules and budget oversight arrangements. The amendment was defeated by a large margin, with 73 votes in favour and 375 against.

Why it matters: The Budget Responsibility Bill concerns how the government manages fiscal oversight, including the role of independent scrutiny of public finances. The amendment would have altered the framework governing budget responsibility, potentially imposing tighter constraints on government spending plans or changing how fiscal rules are monitored and enforced. Its defeat means the government's preferred approach to budget oversight remains intact, with implications for how future spending commitments and fiscal policy will be assessed and held to account.

The politics: The vote divided sharply along government-versus-opposition lines, with all 360 Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs present voting against the amendment. Support for the amendment came primarily from the Liberal Democrats, who provided 66 of the 73 aye votes, joined by the Green Party (4), Plaid Cymru (3), one Alliance MP and one independent. Notably, the Scottish National Party did not vote at all, with all 9 of their MPs absent. The Conservatives, as the main opposition party, appear to have been absent entirely from this division, suggesting complex tactical or procedural dynamics around the amendment's sponsorship and the broader legislative context of the Bill.