Planning and Infrastructure Bill Report Stage: Amendment 15

What happened: The House of Commons voted on Amendment 15 to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill during its Report Stage on 9 June 2025. The amendment was defeated by 323 votes to 73. The Bill itself is the Labour government's flagship legislation to overhaul England's planning system, with the stated aim of accelerating housing delivery and major infrastructure projects.

Why it matters: The amendment formed part of a broader set of opposition proposals seeking to modify how the Bill handles compulsory purchase orders (CPOs), development corporations, and environmental protections. Those voting in favour argued the Bill as drafted would weaken safeguards for communities, nature, and agricultural land. Those voting against, principally the Labour and Labour and Co-operative parliamentary parties, were defending the Bill's existing provisions, which the government argues are necessary to cut through planning delays and meet housing targets. The outcome means the Bill proceeds without the changes the amendment proposed.

The politics: The vote divided almost entirely along government-versus-opposition lines. All 285 Labour MPs and 34 Labour and Co-operative MPs present voted no. The 73 ayes came chiefly from the Liberal Democrats (56 votes), with smaller contributions from Independents, Reform UK, the Greens, the Democratic Unionist Party, and a single Conservative. The Conservatives, with 115 MPs absent, largely abstained rather than voted aye, reflecting their ambivalent position: rhetorically critical of the Bill but not uniformly willing to vote with other opposition parties. The vote sits within a wider pattern of the government defeating a series of opposition amendments across the Report Stage, with the Bill subsequently passing its Third Reading the following day by 306 votes to 174.