Product Regulation and Metrology Bill [Lords] Report Stage: Amendment 24

What happened: The House of Commons voted on Amendment 24 to the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill at Report Stage on 4 June 2025. The amendment, which sought to strengthen regulatory oversight or modify compliance requirements for businesses under the Bill, was defeated by 273 votes to 164. The government opposed the amendment, and its majority held comfortably.

Why it matters: The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill sets the framework for how goods sold in the UK are regulated after Brexit, covering product safety standards, measurement rules, and business compliance obligations. Amendment 24 would have imposed additional oversight requirements on businesses, pushing for stronger regulatory controls. Its defeat means the government's preferred, lighter-touch approach to product regulation remains intact, with businesses facing fewer additional compliance burdens than the amendment's supporters wanted.

The politics: The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted backed the No lobby, while Conservatives and Liberal Democrats voted unanimously for the amendment, joined by Reform UK, both Ulster unionist parties, the DUP, and several independents. This unusual cross-party alliance of opposition parties, spanning from the Liberal Democrats on the centre-left to Reform UK on the right, reflects shared, if differently motivated, concerns about the Bill's regulatory framework. The government's large majority meant the opposition could not overcome the arithmetic, and the defeat was not especially close.