Great British Energy Bill Report Stage: Amendment 6

Parliament voted on Amendment 6 to the Great British Energy Bill during its Report Stage on 29 October 2024. The amendment, put forward by the Conservatives, sought to limit or modify the scope of Great British Energy, the proposed publicly owned clean energy company. The vote was defeated by 361 votes to 124, meaning the amendment did not pass and the Bill continued without the proposed changes.

The Great British Energy Bill is the Government's flagship legislation to create a state-owned energy company intended to accelerate investment in renewable energy, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and support communities and local energy projects. Defeating this amendment means the Bill will proceed in its current form, without the restrictions the Conservatives sought to impose. The legislation affects energy policy across the whole of the United Kingdom, with implications for energy bills, the green energy transition, jobs, and community-level power generation.

The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 316 Labour MPs and all 36 Labour and Co-operative MPs voted against the amendment, alongside the three Green MPs. The 99 Conservative MPs present voted in favour, joined by all nine Scottish National Party members, all six Reform UK members, all five Democratic Unionist Party members, and one Ulster Unionist. Five independents voted on each side. There were no notable cross-party rebellions. The debate took place one day before the 2024 Autumn Budget, with the Conservatives using the occasion to criticise broader Labour economic decisions, while Labour MPs defended the Bill as essential to cleaning up what they described as the previous government's energy failures.