Tobacco and Vapes Bill Report Stage: Amendment 1
72Ayes
304Noes
Defeated · majority 232 · Government won275 did not vote
651 Members · Aye 72 · No 304 · DNV 275 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
On 26 March 2025, the House of Commons voted on Amendment 1 to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill at Report Stage. The amendment, tabled by the Liberal Democrats, would have directed money raised from fixed penalty notices under the Bill to local authorities, to be spent on local public health initiatives such as smoking cessation programmes. The amendment was defeated by 304 votes to 72. The amendment had direct practical implications for how enforcement revenue under the Bill would flow. Fixed penalty notices of up to £2,500 can be issued for licensing offences under the Bill. Under Amendment 1, that income would have been retained by local authorities and ringfenced for public health spending. By defeating the amendment, the House left enforcement revenue outside local authority control, with the government maintaining that existing funding routes, principally the public health grant, are the appropriate mechanism for supporting local prevention work. The division fell almost entirely along party lines. All 298 Labour and Labour and Co-operative Party MPs who voted opposed the amendment, providing the bulk of the 304 noes. All 60 Liberal Democrats who voted supported it. Four Conservatives, three Plaid Cymru MPs, three Green MPs, and one Democratic Unionist Party MP also voted for it, but these numbers were not sufficient to alter the outcome. The same day the House passed the Bill at Third Reading by 366 votes to 41, indicating broad cross-party support for the Bill as a whole even where disagreement existed on specific provisions.
Voting Aye meant
Support directing fixed penalty notice revenues to local authorities for public health spending, giving councils more resources for smoking cessation and prevention.
Voting No meant
Oppose ringfencing fixed penalty notice income for local authorities, accepting the government's argument that this risks skewing enforcement priorities and that the existing public health grant is sufficient.
Each row is one party. The stacked bar gives the within-party split of Aye / No / Absent; the columns on the right give the raw counts. The whip column shows the published party position — “Free vote” means the whip was formally removed for this division.
Party
Whip
Aye / No / Abs
Aye
No
Abs
Labour Party
Whipped No
0
268
93
Conservative and Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
4
0
112
Liberal Democrats
Whipped Aye
59
0
12
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped No
0
30
12
Independent
—
2
1
10
Scottish National Party
—
0
0
9
Reform UK
—
0
0
7
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
—
1
0
4
Green Party of England and Wales
Whipped Aye
3
0
1
Plaid Cymru
Whipped Aye
3
0
1
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
0
2
Your Party
—
0
0
2
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
—
0
0
1
Restore Britain
—
0
0
1
Speaker
—
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
—
0
1
0
Ulster Unionist Party
—
0
1
0
Source · Hansard · UK Parliament Votes API · whip status from announced positions; “free vote” indicates the whip was formally removed
Defends the Bill as watershed public health legislation that will save lives by ending tobacco sales to future generations, strengthen vaping restrictions for children, and support adult smokers via stop-smoking services and vape-as-quit-aid schemes.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (4,874 words) →
Supports tobacco control but opposes the Bill's broad powers allowing the Secretary of State to designate smoke-free places without consultation or justified public health grounds; advocates for restricted powers, mandatory pre-implementation licensing consultation, and annual reports on illegal tobacco markets.Conservative · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (1,907 words) →
Warns that the generational smoking ban will inevitably increase the illegal tobacco market, a highly regrettable unintended consequence that requires monitoring and enforcement action.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (47 words) →
Emphasises that illegal tobacco sales are linked to serious organised crime and money laundering, often by foreign-owned shops, and urges stronger support for trading standards and police enforcement.Conservative · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (2,565 words) →
Argues the black market already exists significantly (44% drop in duty-paid cigarettes despite only 0.5% reduction in smoking) and the Bill increases that risk, so evidence-gathering via amendment 19 is essential.Conservative · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (1,627 words) →
Seeks confirmation that fixed penalty notice fines will be retained by local authorities for public health spending to offset enforcement costs.Labour · Voted aye · Read full speech (65 words) →
Welcomes the Bill as world-leading public health legislation that will reduce smoking prevalence and protect NHS resources from being overwhelmed by preventable tobacco-related illness.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (1,625 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0