Tobacco and Vapes Bill Report Stage: New Clause 2

What happened

On 26 March 2025, the House of Commons voted on New Clause 2 during the Report Stage of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The new clause, which sought to add additional public health measures beyond those already contained in the government's legislation, was defeated by 304 votes to 137. Report Stage is the point in a bill's passage where MPs can propose amendments and new clauses to modify the legislation before it proceeds to a final vote.

Why it matters

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is designed to create a so-called smokefree generation by progressively raising the minimum legal age for purchasing tobacco, meaning that anyone aged 16 or under in 2025 will never legally be able to buy tobacco products. New Clause 2 would have extended or strengthened the public health protections in the bill beyond what the government proposed. Its defeat means the legislation continues in the form the government prefers, without the additional measures the clause would have introduced. The bill passed its Third Reading on the same day by 366 votes to 41, confirming it will proceed to the House of Lords.

The politics

The vote produced a sharply divided pattern. Labour MPs voted almost unanimously against the new clause, with only one Labour MP supporting it and 271 voting no, reflecting the government's settled position. Meanwhile, Conservative MPs backed the clause 62 to zero, and Liberal Democrats voted 60 to zero in favour, forming a cross-party opposition alliance that was nonetheless outnumbered by the government's majority. Reform UK, Plaid Cymru, the Democratic Unionist Party, and smaller unionist parties also supported the new clause. The result illustrates that while the bill itself attracted broad cross-party support at Third Reading, disputes over its precise scope and the extent of additional measures generated significant opposition to the government from across the chamber.