Budget Resolution No. 4: Income tax (dividend rates)

What happened: On 2 December 2025, the House of Commons voted to approve Budget Resolution No. 4, which set the income tax rates applied to dividend income, meaning the returns people receive from owning shares in companies. The resolution passed by 371 votes to 166, with the government's position carrying the day comfortably.

Why it matters: Dividend tax rates determine how much income tax is paid on money received as dividends, typically by shareholders and investors. By approving this resolution, Parliament gave effect to the government's proposed rates as announced in the Budget. The vote locks in the tax treatment of investment income for the coming fiscal period, affecting individuals who receive income from share ownership, including small investors, directors of owner-managed businesses who pay themselves partly through dividends, and larger shareholders.

The politics: The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs provided 352 of the 371 aye votes, joined by smaller parties including Plaid Cymru, the Greens, and the SDLP. The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, and the DUP all voted against, contributing 163 of the 166 no votes, with three independents also opposing. There were no Conservative or Liberal Democrat ayes and no Labour noes, indicating tight party discipline on both sides. The result sits within a broader pattern of the government pressing through its autumn Budget fiscal package, with related divisions in the weeks before and after covering employer national insurance contributions and industrial financial assistance also producing clear government majorities.