English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill Report Stage: New Clause 80

Parliament voted on New Clause 80 during the Report Stage of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill on 25 November 2025. The clause was defeated by 320 votes to 187. Every Labour and Labour and Co-operative MP who voted did so against the clause, while Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, the Democratic Unionist Party, the Greens, and most independents voted in favour.

The vote reflects a wider dispute over how much power the Bill genuinely transfers to local communities. Supporters of New Clause 80 argued that the government's framework concentrates authority with combined authority mayors and statutory bodies rather than pushing it down to district, parish and town councils. Opponents, meaning the government and its parliamentary majority, held that the Bill as drafted strikes the right balance and that adding further clauses would expand the legislation beyond the government's devolution plans.

The division fell cleanly along government-versus-opposition lines, with no Labour rebels recorded. The Conservatives provided the largest block of Aye votes at 98, with the Liberal Democrats contributing 68. The result mirrored a near-identical division the same day on New Clause 69, which also fell by 320 to 189, suggesting a coordinated opposition strategy of pressing multiple additions to the Bill. The Bill itself passed Third Reading that same day by 322 votes to 179, confirming the government's overall control of the legislation.