Opposition Day: Hospitals
77Ayes
307Noes
Defeated · majority 230 · Government won259 did not vote
643 Members · Aye 77 · No 307 · DNV 259 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
Parliament voted on 23 April 2025 on a Conservative Opposition Day motion on hospitals. The motion was defeated by 307 votes to 77. Opposition Day motions are symbolic parliamentary tools that allow the opposition to force a debate and vote on a topic of their choosing; they carry no legal force and the government routinely votes them down. The motion called on the government to address concerns about hospital services, with the Conservatives seeking to put NHS waiting times and hospital capacity on record as matters of parliamentary concern. Because Opposition Day motions are not binding, the defeat does not change any government policy. However, the vote creates a public record of where MPs stand and forces the government to defend its NHS record on the floor of the Commons. The Liberal Democrats provided the bulk of the Aye votes, with 67 of their MPs supporting the motion alongside 4 independents, 3 Green MPs, 2 Reform UK MPs, and a handful of smaller unionist parties. No Conservative MP appears in the voting record, which is unusual for a motion brought by the Conservatives, and may reflect procedural conventions around tabling parties. Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted unanimously against, providing all 307 Noes. The Ulster Unionist Party was the only smaller party to vote No.
Voting Aye meant
Support the opposition's motion criticising the government's handling of hospitals and NHS waiting times
Voting No meant
Reject the opposition's motion, defending the government's record and approach to NHS hospital services
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
280
81
Conservative and Unionist Party
—
0
0
116
Liberal Democrats
Whipped Aye
66
0
5
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped No
0
29
13
Independent
—
5
0
8
Scottish National Party
—
0
0
9
Reform UK
—
2
0
5
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
—
1
0
4
Green Party of England and Wales
Whipped Aye
3
0
1
Plaid Cymru
—
0
0
4
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
0
2
Your Party
—
0
0
2
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
—
0
0
1
Restore Britain
—
1
0
0
Speaker
—
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
—
1
0
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
The NHS hospital estate is crumbling and the Government's delays to the New Hospital Programme are a false economy; calls for reversed delays, a taskforce, and long-term sustainable funding to fix maintenance backlogs.Liberal Democrats · Voted aye · Read full speech (3,381 words) →
The previous Conservative Programme was unfunded and unrealistic; the Government has commissioned a proper review and now offers a credible, phased approach with £15 billion over five-year waves, backed by new fiscal rules preventing capital budget raids.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (3,877 words) →
The previous Government committed to the New Hospital Programme and secured significant funding; Labour has broken election promises by delaying hospitals, and the current approach lacks ambition (515 hospitals over 200 years at current pace).Conservative · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (2,013 words) →
The New Hospital Programme was unfunded under the Tories but is being properly funded now under Labour; local hospitals in his constituency are receiving major investment and should be credited.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (545 words) →
Capital investment in hospitals is essential and will save money long-term; concerned about lack of transparency in how funding is allocated and calls for publication of detailed Department assessments of all schemes.Liberal Democrats · Voted aye · Read full speech (2,107 words) →
The previous Government only secured 4% of funding for Milton Keynes hospital despite claiming it was 'fully funded'; Labour has now found the remaining 96% and will actually deliver the hospital.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (1,293 words) →
Milton Keynes has suffered 14 years of underfunding while experiencing rapid population growth; Labour's commitment to the new hospital is genuine delivery on a long-broken promise.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (705 words) →
North Devon district hospital's operating theatres are from 1978 and critically failing; without swift action on new hospital programme, patient safety will be compromised.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (516 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0