Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill: Third Reading

What happened: The House of Commons voted on 9 July 2025 to give the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill its Third Reading, the final Commons stage before a bill passes to the House of Lords. The vote passed by 336 ayes to 242 noes, meaning the bill cleared the Commons and will proceed to the upper chamber for further scrutiny.

Why it matters: The bill introduces significant changes to Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the two main working-age benefits in the UK welfare system. PIP supports disabled people and those with long-term health conditions with the additional costs of daily living and mobility. The changes are expected to tighten eligibility criteria and reduce the overall cost of the benefits bill. Critics argue the reforms will cut support for some of the most vulnerable people in Britain; supporters argue they are necessary to put the welfare system on a sustainable financial footing.

The politics: The vote exposed a notable split within the governing Labour Party. While 335 Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted in favour, 48 voted against the government, a substantial rebellion for a Third Reading vote. Every Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, Green, and Reform UK MP who voted did so against the bill, alongside several Independents. The opposition was therefore unusually broad, uniting the traditional left and right of British politics in opposition to a Labour government measure, though for quite different reasons.