Opposition Day: Energy: original words stand part
97Ayes
336Noes
Defeated · majority 239 · Government won216 did not vote
649 Members · Aye 97 · No 336 · DNV 216 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
On 12 November 2025, MPs voted on whether the Conservative opposition's original motion on energy policy should stand unamended. The motion was defeated by 336 votes to 97. The result means the government's preferred position on energy prevailed over the opposition's wording. Opposition Day debates give the official opposition dedicated parliamentary time to set the agenda and put their policy positions to a vote. When a government tables an amendment to an opposition motion, a separate vote is held on whether the original words should stand. By voting down the original motion, Labour MPs ensured the government's amended version of the debate's conclusion took effect rather than the Conservatives' own framing of energy policy. The vote split almost entirely along party lines. All 94 Conservative MPs who voted backed the original motion, joined by three Reform UK MPs and one Democratic Unionist Party MP. Labour's 288 MPs and 29 Labour and Co-operative MPs all voted no, as did four Plaid Cymru MPs, four Green Party MPs, two Your Party MPs, and one Ulster Unionist Party MP. Six Independents also voted no. No Labour or Labour and Co-operative MPs voted for the motion; no Conservatives voted against it.
Voting Aye meant
Support the opposition's original motion on energy policy standing unamended, backing the Conservative position on energy
Voting No meant
Reject the opposition's energy motion, supporting instead the government's approach to energy policy
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 No
0
288
73
Conservative and Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
94
0
22
Liberal Democrats
—
0
0
71
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped No
0
29
13
Independent
—
1
6
6
Scottish National Party
—
0
0
9
Reform UK
Whipped Aye
3
0
5
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
—
1
0
4
Green Party of England and Wales
Whipped No
0
4
0
Plaid Cymru
Whipped No
0
4
0
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
0
2
Your Party
—
0
2
0
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
1
0
Source · Hansard · UK Parliament Votes API · whip status from announced positions; “free vote” indicates the whip was formally removed
Opposes Labour's clean power plan; advocates cutting carbon taxes, scrapping renewable obligation subsidies, stopping Allocation Round 7 auction, and ending the ban on new oil and gas licences to cut bills 20% and boost North Sea investment.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (3,841 words) →
Defends Labour's clean energy mission as the path to lower bills and energy security; highlights £60bn government investment, nuclear programmes, and job creation in renewables, carbon capture, and hydrogen.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (3,257 words) →
Backs clean energy investment but critiques both Labour's renewable auction costs and Conservative plan as unfunded; proposes windfall taxes on banks, local energy markets, and home retrofits.Liberal Democrat · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (2,374 words) →
Criticises Conservative U-turn on climate commitments; highlights home insulation schemes cutting energy bills (e.g. Tina's bill drop from £140 to £67) and argues clean energy is both cheaper and necessary.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (1,210 words) →
Argues wind and solar are 60% cheaper than gas; warns that expanding North Sea oil/gas repeats failed Conservative mistakes and locks in reliance on volatile global markets.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (1,044 words) →
Questions net zero achievability; raises concerns over rare earth metal sourcing, agricultural land conversion for solar, and off-grid communities; frames energy as national defence priority.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,061 words) →
Endorses Coutinho's cheap power plan; argues Labour's taxes and renewable commitment drive businesses away and harm industrial competitiveness versus China and India.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (709 words) →
Questions why Labour abandoned the Conservative strategic objective of cheapest electricity prices in Europe by 2030s; challenges Liberal Democrat claims on decoupling gas and electricity prices.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (774 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0