Employment Rights Bill Report Stage: Amendment 291

Parliament voted on 12 March 2025 to reject Amendment 291 to the Employment Rights Bill, a Conservative amendment that would have removed Clause 52 from the Bill. The result was 164 votes in favour and 324 against, a defeat for the amendment. Clause 52 changes the rules on trade union political funds, switching the default for members from opt-out to opt-in for contributions to those funds. The change matters because trade union political funds are used to donate to and support political parties, including the Labour Party. Under the existing opt-out system, union members are enrolled automatically and must take action to stop contributing. Clause 52, which the amendment sought to remove, preserves that opt-out arrangement rather than requiring members to give active consent. The Conservatives argued this amounts to a subscription trap, drawing workers' money into political causes without explicit agreement. The Government rejected that argument and voted to keep the clause. The vote divided sharply along party lines. All 279 Labour MPs and 29 Labour and Co-operative MPs present voted against the amendment, blocking it comfortably. All 94 Conservatives present supported it, joined by all 62 Liberal Democrats who voted, 5 Reform UK members, 3 Democratic Unionists, and 1 independent. The Liberal Democrats' support for the Conservative amendment represented a cross-party alliance against the clause, though the combined opposition fell well short of the Government's majority. The vote is one of several at Report Stage of a Bill that significantly expands trade union rights, and Conservative speakers framed the political fund clause as evidence of a circular relationship between the Labour Government and the union movement.