Sentencing Bill: Second Reading
340Ayes
77Noes
Carried · majority 263 · Government won229 did not vote
646 Members · Aye 340 · No 77 · DNV 229 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
The House of Commons voted on 16 September 2025 to approve the Sentencing Bill at its Second Reading, the stage at which MPs debate and vote on a bill's general principles before detailed scrutiny begins. The bill passed by 340 votes to 77, a majority of 263. The Sentencing Bill proposes reforms to criminal sentencing laws and penalties in England and Wales. A successful Second Reading means the bill's broad aims were accepted by the Commons, allowing it to proceed to detailed committee examination. The vote signals parliamentary approval in principle for changes to how courts sentence offenders, with practical consequences for the prison system, the judiciary, and those convicted of criminal offences. The vote divided largely along government and opposition lines. Labour and Labour Co-operative MPs voted unanimously in favour, as did the Liberal Democrats and the Greens, producing the 340-strong majority. The Conservatives provided the bulk of the opposition, with 72 MPs voting against, joined by 4 Reform UK members and 1 Democratic Unionist Party MP. There were no Labour rebels. The bill went on to face a more contested passage: Report Stage votes in October 2025 saw the government defeat several proposed new clauses, and the bill passed its Third Reading on 29 October 2025 by 321 votes to 103, indicating some additional opposition had accumulated by that later stage.
Voting Aye meant
Support advancing the Sentencing Bill, which seeks to reform how offenders are sentenced and rehabilitated in order to reduce the high reoffending rates and tackle prison pressures inherited from the Conservatives
Voting No meant
Oppose the Sentencing Bill at this stage, whether due to concerns about being too soft on crime, insufficient punitive measures, or other reservations about the approach to sentencing reform
Each row is one party. The stacked bar gives the within-party split of Aye / No / Absent; the columns on the right give the raw counts. The whip column shows the published party position — “Free vote” means the whip was formally removed for this division.
Party
Whip
Aye / No / Abs
Aye
No
Abs
Labour Party
Whipped Aye
250
0
111
Conservative and Unionist Party
Whipped No
0
72
44
Liberal Democrats
Whipped Aye
54
0
18
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped Aye
32
0
10
Independent
—
3
1
9
Scottish National Party
—
0
0
9
Reform UK
Whipped No
0
4
4
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
—
0
1
4
Green Party of England and Wales
Whipped Aye
3
0
1
Plaid Cymru
—
0
0
4
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
0
2
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
—
0
0
1
Restore Britain
—
0
0
1
Speaker
—
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
—
0
0
1
Ulster Unionist Party
—
0
0
1
Your Party
—
0
0
1
Source · Hansard · UK Parliament Votes API · whip status from announced positions; “free vote” indicates the whip was formally removed
The Bill is essential to prevent prisons running out of space while delivering 'punishment that works' through earned progression incentives, community sentences, tagging, and victim protections, backed by evidence from Texas and the Gauke review.Labour · Voted aye · Read full speech (4,787 words) →
The Bill is a 'white flag surrender' that will unleash a crime wave by releasing 43,000 criminals annually, abandoning short sentences for burglars, rapists, and domestic abusers, and removing law enforcement perspectives from parole boards.Conservative · Voted no · Read full speech (3,992 words) →
The Bill's reforms are necessary and welcome, but implementation faces serious challenges around probation staffing (10,000 shortfall), Serco tagging reliability, and the earned progression model's criteria for rehabilitation versus behaviour management.Labour · Voted aye · Read full speech (2,566 words) →
The Bill addresses real problems and includes positive domestic abuse identifier measures, but requires significant changes: domestic abuse must be excluded from short sentence presumptions, the Lord Chancellor's veto over sentencing guidelines threatens judicial independence, and probation must be properly resourced.Liberal Democrat · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,368 words) →
Crime is a malevolent choice requiring retributive justice and punishment, not treatment; the Bill wrongly treats crime as illness and fails to protect victims—dangerous offenders like those guilty of domestic abuse should serve much longer sentences.Conservative · Voted no · Read full speech (445 words) →
As a former police officer, the Bill delivers necessary reform by building 14,000 prison places, replacing ineffective short sentences with community punishment, and prioritizing victim protection through domestic abuse identifiers and sentencing remarks transparency.Labour · Voted aye · Read full speech (954 words) →
The Government wrongly claims credit for HMP Millsike (1,468 places) which was approved and started under the previous Conservative Government in 2021, not by Labour; overall prison building claims are misleading.Conservative · Voted no · Read full speech (1,592 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0