Planning and Infrastructure Bill Report Stage: New Clause 43

MPs voted on 9 June 2025 on New Clause 43 to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, a Conservative-tabled amendment that would have required the Secretary of State to issue or update planning guidance giving villages equivalent protections to those currently afforded to towns under the National Planning Policy Framework. The clause was defeated by 334 votes to 167. The practical effect of the amendment would have been to direct government planning guidance toward preserving the character, identity and rural fabric of villages by guarding against neighbouring developments absorbing them, maintaining green buffers between settlements, and protecting their historic character. Supporters argued that existing planning policy leaves villages without equivalent safeguards to those towns enjoy, leaving rural communities exposed to what they described as unchecked sprawl and settlement merging. The vote divided sharply along party lines. All 292 voting Labour MPs and 35 Labour and Co-operative MPs opposed the clause. Conservatives (95 votes), Liberal Democrats (55 votes), and Reform UK (6 votes) all voted in favour, joined by 7 independents and 2 Democratic Unionist Party MPs. The Greens voted against. The defeat fits a pattern across the Bill's report stage, in which government-opposed Conservative amendments were consistently voted down by Labour's Commons majority.