Planning and Infrastructure Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 33

What happened: On 13 November 2025, the House of Commons voted by 257 to 128 to reject Lords Amendment 33 to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. The amendment, which had been passed in the House of Lords, would have required that government regulations introducing a national scheme of delegation for local planning committees be subject to the affirmative parliamentary procedure, meaning both Houses would need to actively approve the regulations rather than allowing them to pass without a dedicated vote. The Commons voted to disagree with the Lords on this point, restoring the government's original position.

Why it matters: Lords Amendment 33 was concerned with democratic accountability over a significant change to how planning decisions are made locally. The Bill contains powers to introduce a national scheme of delegation that could shift decision-making on planning applications away from elected local councillors and planning committees towards planning officers. The amendment would have ensured Parliament had a formal opportunity to scrutinise and vote on those regulations before they took effect. By rejecting the amendment, the Commons backed the government's view that existing consultation arrangements are sufficient, without requiring the higher bar of affirmative approval. Critics of the rejection argue this concentrates power in the hands of the Secretary of State and reduces the role of locally elected representatives in planning decisions.

The politics: The vote followed strict party lines. All 253 Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted supported the government's position. Every Conservative (73), Liberal Democrat (42), Green (4), and Reform UK (5) MP who voted opposed it, alongside most independents. The Liberal Democrats had argued explicitly in debate that the Bill "fundamentally concentrates power into the hands of Secretaries of State," with their spokesperson Gideon Amos specifically citing Amendment 33 as a safeguard for local democratic accountability. There were no notable Labour rebels. This division was one of several held on the same day as the Bill returned from the Lords, with the government winning each one by similar margins, reflecting the government's determination to pass the Bill swiftly and without the Lords' modifications intact.