Opposition Day: Increase in employers' National Insurance Contributions

Parliament voted on 4 December 2024 on a Conservative opposition day motion (a formal parliamentary debate initiated by the main opposition party) condemning the government's decision to raise employer National Insurance contributions. The motion was defeated by 334 votes to 165. Opposition day motions do not carry legal force, but they place the government's position on the record and signal the political lines of disagreement.

The vote concerns the government's plan, announced in the October 2024 Budget, to increase employer National Insurance contributions from 13.8% to 15%, while also lowering the threshold at which employers begin paying contributions from £9,100 to £5,000 per year. The motion argued this would damage businesses, reduce employment, and harm economic growth. The government's position is that the increase is necessary to fund public services and stabilise the public finances, raising an estimated £25 billion per year.

The division produced a clear partisan split. All 294 Labour MPs and 34 Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted backed the government. Against the motion's defeat, 86 Conservatives, 58 Liberal Democrats, 7 SNP members, 5 Reform UK members, 4 Plaid Cymru members, 2 DUP members, and 1 Traditional Unionist Voice member voted to condemn the rise. The vote foreshadowed subsequent parliamentary contests over the same policy, including related divisions on the Finance Bill in March 2025, where the government again held firm with similar margins.