Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: New Clause 25

MPs voted on 13 January 2026 on whether to require the Chancellor of the Exchequer to make a statement to the House of Commons within six months on the effects of raising gambling duties, specifically the near-doubling of remote gaming duty from 21% to 40% and an increase in general betting duty to 25%. The new clause, numbered 25, was proposed as an amendment to the Finance (No. 2) Bill at committee stage. It was defeated by 351 votes to 187, Division 405. The vote matters because the underlying duty increases, contained in clauses 83 to 84 of the Bill, are already set to take effect. New Clause 25 would have compelled a formal parliamentary assessment of their consequences for sports and horseracing, the number of high street betting shops, the black market in unregulated gambling, employment, and the public finances. Its defeat means no such mandatory review is required. Supporters of the clause warned that independent modelling from EY, cited during debate by Conservative MP James Wild, projected a potential loss of 15,000 jobs as a result of the duty increase. Critics of the rises also pointed to the risk that higher taxes on licensed operators could push customers toward unregulated black-market alternatives. The division split almost entirely along party lines. Conservative MPs voted 96 to 0 in favour, joined by the Liberal Democrats (68 to 0), the Scottish National Party (9 to 0), the Democratic Unionist Party (5 to 0), Plaid Cymru (4 to 0), and most of Reform UK (3 to 0). Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted unanimously against, 334 in total, as did the four Green MPs. Two independents voted for the clause and seven against. There were no significant cross-party rebellions recorded. The result reflects a broader pattern in this Parliament of the government holding its fiscal measures against opposition criticism rooted in concerns about economic consequences.