Non Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill: Motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 14

What happened: On 25 March 2025, the House of Commons voted 320 to 179 to disagree with Lords Amendment 14 to the Non Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill. This meant MPs rejected a change that the House of Lords had inserted into the bill, effectively restoring the government's original version of the legislation. The bill reforms how business rates (the tax businesses pay on non-residential property) are calculated and removes the charitable business rates relief that private schools had previously enjoyed.

Why it matters: The vote keeps the government's two core policies intact. First, it allows the Treasury to set different business rates multipliers (the figures used to calculate how much each business pays) for different categories of property, which the government intends to use to lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties while raising them for larger commercial premises. Second, it removes the charitable status exemption that had allowed private schools to pay reduced business rates, raising additional revenue that the government says will fund state education. The practical effect is that private schools face higher property tax bills, while many high street businesses may benefit from a reduced rate if the multiplier reform proceeds as planned.

The politics: The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 285 Labour MPs and 29 Labour and Co-operative MPs voted with the government, joined by all four Green MPs and one independent. All 101 Conservative MPs, all 60 Liberal Democrats, all five Reform UK MPs, and all five Democratic Unionist Party MPs voted against. There were no notable cross-party rebellions. The Lords amendment the Commons rejected had been an attempt by the upper chamber to constrain the government's approach, continuing a pattern of back-and-forth between the two chambers known as parliamentary ping-pong. The removal of private school business rates relief sits within the broader Labour policy of ending VAT exemptions for private schools, a commitment the party made in its 2024 general election manifesto.