Crime and Policing Bill Report Stage: New Clause 121

Wednesday, 18 June 2025 · Division No. 237 · Commons

114Ayes

–

310Noes

Defeated

221 MPs did not vote

cross-cuttingGovernment defeatedPro Violence Against Women Protections(Yes)Pro Pornography Regulation(Yes)Tough On Sexual Exploitation(Yes)Pro Government Bill Scope(No)

Voting Yes means

Support criminalising extreme pornographic content depicting non-fatal strangulation, to reduce normalisation of a form of abuse already illegal without consent

Voting No means

Oppose adding this new clause to the Crime and Policing Bill, likely on grounds of legislative scope or preferring alternative approaches rather than outright disagreement with the principle

What happened: On 18 June 2025, the House of Commons voted on New Clause 121, a proposed addition to the Crime and Policing Bill at Report Stage. The clause was defeated by 310 votes to 114. Report Stage is the point in the legislative process where MPs debate and vote on amendments to a bill that has already passed through committee scrutiny.

Why it matters: The defeat means that whatever specific provision New Clause 121 sought to introduce into the Crime and Policing Bill will not be included in the legislation as it progresses. The government's preferred version of the bill remains intact on this point. The Crime and Policing Bill is a substantial piece of legislation covering a wide range of law enforcement and public safety measures, and contested amendments at Report Stage typically reflect genuine disagreements about the scope or direction of policing policy.

The politics: The vote divided sharply along government versus opposition lines. Almost the entire Conservative parliamentary party (92 of 116 voting members) supported the new clause, alongside all eight Reform UK MPs present, all four Green MPs, all three Plaid Cymru MPs, and a majority of independents. Labour, by contrast, voted almost unanimously against, with only one Labour MP crossing the floor. This was not a cross-party rebellion against the government but rather a conventional opposition challenge to government legislation, defeated comfortably by the government's majority.