Opposition Day: Taxes

On 12 November 2025, the House of Commons voted on an Opposition Day motion on tax policy, tabled by opposition parties. The government defeated the motion by 316 votes to 101. Opposition Day debates give opposition parties the right to choose the subject for debate and put a motion to a vote. The motion appears to have called for lower taxes or opposed recent government tax increases, though the detailed text of the motion is not in the available record. By voting it down, the government confirmed its existing tax policy and blocked the motion from carrying any formal weight. The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 281 Labour MPs and 28 Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted did so against the motion. The Conservative Party provided the bulk of the 101 ayes, with 95 of their MPs voting in favour. Reform UK contributed 3 ayes, and a handful of smaller unionist parties and 2 independents also voted for the motion. No Conservative MP voted with the government, and no Labour MP voted with the opposition. The vote sits within a broader sequence of parliamentary activity on tax, including subsequent divisions on the National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill and the Finance (No. 2) Bill in January 2026.