Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill: Committee: Amendment 5

What happened: The House of Commons voted on Amendment 5 to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill during its committee stage on 17 November 2025. The amendment, which sought to strengthen environmental protections and biodiversity measures in international waters, was defeated by 318 votes to 147.

Why it matters: The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill concerns how the United Kingdom implements its obligations relating to the high seas, the vast areas of ocean that lie outside any national jurisdiction. Amendment 5 would have introduced additional environmental requirements into that framework. Its defeat means the Bill continues without those strengthened provisions, leaving the existing text intact. The outcome affects how the UK approaches conservation and regulation in international waters, with implications for marine ecosystems, commercial activities at sea, and the UK's standing in global environmental diplomacy.

The politics: The vote divided almost entirely along government versus opposition lines. All 276 Labour MPs and all 31 Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted did so against the amendment, as did all three Green MPs and both Plaid Cymru MPs who voted. The Conservatives supplied 84 of the 147 Aye votes, and the Liberal Democrats contributed 58, forming the bulk of the opposition to the government's position. Smaller parties including the Democratic Unionist Party, Traditional Unionist Voice, and one Reform UK MP also voted Aye. The result closely mirrors the pattern seen on Amendment 4 to the same Bill, voted on the same day, which was also defeated 318 to 143, suggesting a consistent cross-opposition effort to add further protections that the government systematically resisted.