Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill: Motion to disagree with Lords Amendments 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E

What happened: On 31 March 2025, the House of Commons voted by 302 to 167 to reject four amendments (15B, 15C, 15D, and 15E) that the House of Lords had made to the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill. The Lords amendments would have weakened or delayed the bill's provisions increasing business rates for private schools. By voting to disagree with these amendments, the Commons insisted on the government's original approach.

Why it matters: The bill removes the business rates relief that independent schools in England have historically received as charitable organisations. By rejecting the Lords amendments, the Commons cleared the way for private schools to pay the full standard business rates multiplier, effectively increasing their property tax burden. The government has argued this raises revenue for state education. Private schools and their supporters contend the costs will be passed on to parents through fee increases, potentially pushing some pupils into the state sector.

The politics: The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 299 Labour and Labour-Co-operative MPs who voted supported the government, joined by all three Greens and three independents. All 92 Conservatives, all 63 Liberal Democrats, all five Reform UK members, and the four Democratic Unionist Party members who voted opposed it, supporting the Lords amendments. This is a notable instance of the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives voting together to protect private school tax relief, a position the government has sought to frame as defending privilege. The Lords' resistance represents one of the more prominent uses of the revising chamber's powers against this government's tax agenda.