Opposition Day: UK-EU Summit: Government amendment

What happened: On 13 May 2025, the House of Commons voted on a government amendment to an Opposition Day motion (a debate called by the opposition rather than the government) concerning a UK-EU summit. The government's amendment passed by 321 votes to 102. Earlier the same day, the original opposition motion fell by 402 votes to 104 in a separate division.

Why it matters: The vote determined the terms on which Parliament expressed its view about the UK's engagement with the European Union ahead of or following a UK-EU summit. By passing its own amendment rather than the opposition's original text, the government secured parliamentary backing for its preferred framing of the UK-EU relationship, avoiding language calling for enhanced or closer cooperation that went beyond its stated position. The practical effect is that Parliament's formal expression on this question now reflects government rather than opposition priorities on EU engagement.

The politics: The division followed near-perfect party lines. All 317 Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted backed the government amendment, while 93 Conservatives and 7 Reform UK MPs voted against, alongside one Democratic Unionist Party member and one Traditional Unionist Voice member. The SNP recorded no votes in either lobby. The Conservatives and Reform UK, both broadly sceptical of closer EU ties, found themselves on the same side opposing the government's position, though for reasons that may differ from the opposition's original pro-cooperation framing. The result, read alongside the earlier 402 to 104 defeat of the original motion, illustrates how the government used its Commons majority to reshape the parliamentary debate on EU relations entirely to its own terms.