Armed Forces Commissioner Bill: Government amendment (a) in lieu of Lords Amendments 2 and 3

MPs voted 329 to 101 on 3 June 2025 to approve a government compromise amendment to the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill, replacing two whistleblowing provisions passed in the House of Lords with a strengthened government version. The amendment, designated government amendment (a) in lieu of Lords Amendments 2 and 3, was moved by the Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard. The Bill itself establishes a new Armed Forces Commissioner to replace the existing Service Complaints Ombudsman, giving serving personnel and their families an independent route to raise welfare concerns outside the military chain of command. The vote advances a significant reform to how complaints and welfare concerns are handled across the armed forces. The new Commissioner will be able to receive representations directly from service personnel and their families, investigate general welfare matters, enter Ministry of Defence premises unannounced, and report findings to Parliament. Replacing two Lords amendments on whistleblowing with a single government version means the specific whistleblowing protections in the legislation reflect the government's preferred wording rather than that passed by the upper house. The annual cost of the new office is estimated at between four and five and a half million pounds from the Defence budget. Labour MPs voted unanimously in favour, joined by the Democratic Unionist Party and the Green Party. All 96 Conservative MPs who voted opposed the amendment, as did all six Reform UK MPs who voted, one Traditional Unionist Voice MP, and one Ulster Unionist MP. Two independents voted for and one against, while Plaid Cymru had no vote recorded from any of its four MPs. The same day, the House also voted to disagree with Lords Amendments 2 and 3 separately, in divisions 207 and 208, by margins of 319 to 180 and 315 to 184 respectively.