Crime and Policing Bill: Third Reading

Crime and Policing Bill: Third Reading House of Commons, 18 June 2025

What happened: The House of Commons passed the Crime and Policing Bill at Third Reading on 18 June 2025, by 312 votes to 95. Third Reading is the final stage in the Commons at which MPs vote on whether to send a bill, in its completed form, to the House of Lords. The result means the bill now passes out of the Commons and proceeds to the upper chamber for further scrutiny.

Why it matters: The Crime and Policing Bill is a significant piece of legislation intended to strengthen law enforcement powers and reform aspects of criminal justice. Its passage means the government's policing agenda advances toward becoming law, with practical consequences for police powers, criminal offences, and how crimes are investigated and prosecuted across England and Wales. The bill's opponents raised concerns centred on civil liberties, arguing that certain provisions go too far in expanding state powers over individuals.

The politics: The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. Labour and Labour Co-operative MPs supplied the overwhelming majority of the ayes, with 304 votes between them, while the Conservatives provided 79 of the 95 noes, joined by most Reform UK and most Independent MPs voting against. The Green Party, unusually for a party that often emphasises civil liberties, voted with the government, adding four ayes. One Conservative MP crossed the floor to vote aye, and one Labour MP broke ranks to vote no. The bill sits within a broader government programme on crime and sentencing, alongside the Sentencing Bill which passed its Second Reading in September 2025.