Employment Rights Bill: Motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 61

Parliament voted on 15 September 2025 to reject a Lords amendment to the Employment Rights Bill that would have preserved the opt-in system for trade union political funds introduced by the Trade Union Act 2016. The motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 61 passed by 330 votes to 161. The effect is that the Bill's clause 59 stands, reversing the 2016 change and restoring the long-standing opt-out arrangement under which union members are automatically enrolled in political funds unless they actively choose to leave. The practical consequence is that new trade union members will once again be treated as contributing to their union's political fund by default, rather than having to give explicit consent before any deduction is made. Unions raise money through political funds to campaign on workplace and political issues, and in some cases to affiliate to and donate to political parties. Supporters of the change argue that the opt-out model, which operated for roughly 70 years before 2016, gave unions a stable funding base. Opponents argue that members should not have to take action to prevent their money being used for political purposes they may not share. The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 308 Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs present voted with the government, as did the SNP's eight members who voted, Plaid Cymru's three, and a handful of independents and others. The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, and the Democratic Unionist Party all voted against. There were no notable cross-party rebels recorded. The vote is part of a prolonged parliamentary back-and-forth over the Employment Rights Bill, with Lords and Commons exchanging positions on several contentious clauses in the weeks surrounding this division.