Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill Committee: New Clause 3
77Ayes
280Noes
Defeated · majority 203 · Government won286 did not vote
643 Members · Aye 77 · No 280 · DNV 286 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
Parliament voted on 23 February 2026 on New Clause 3 to the Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill, which would have required the government to report on the impact of UK Export Finance on GDP and on small and medium-sized enterprises. The clause was defeated by 280 votes to 77. The bill itself raises the statutory cap on UK Export Finance commitments from roughly £84 billion to £160 billion, and lifts the industrial assistance limit from £12 billion to £20 billion. New Clause 3 sought to attach additional reporting duties to the expanded export finance framework, requiring the government to account for UKEF's contribution to GDP and its support for SMEs. The government argued that equivalent reporting was already required under existing law, making the new clause redundant. Labour MPs voted unanimously against the clause, providing the bulk of the 280 noes. The Liberal Democrats supplied the largest share of the 77 ayes, with 53 voting in favour; smaller opposition parties including the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the Greens, and the Democratic Unionist Party also voted aye. All but one Conservative MP had no vote recorded. The vote reflects a recurring pattern in the same committee sitting, where opposition parties sought to attach scrutiny or conditionality measures to a bill the government wanted to pass in lean form.
Voting Aye meant
Support additional statutory reporting requirements on UK Export Finance, including its contribution to GDP and support for SMEs, to strengthen parliamentary scrutiny of how public money is deployed.
Voting No meant
Reject the new clause as unnecessary, on the grounds that existing law already mandates equivalent reporting and the new requirements would be redundant.
Each row is one party. The stacked bar gives the within-party split of Aye / No / Absent; the columns on the right give the raw counts. The whip column shows the published party position — “Free vote” means the whip was formally removed for this division.
Party
Whip
Aye / No / Abs
Aye
No
Abs
Labour Party
Whipped No
0
254
107
Conservative and Unionist Party
—
0
1
115
Liberal Democrats
Whipped Aye
53
0
18
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped No
0
26
16
Independent
—
2
3
8
Scottish National Party
Whipped Aye
6
0
3
Reform UK
—
2
0
6
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
5
0
0
Green Party of England and Wales
Whipped Aye
4
0
0
Plaid Cymru
Whipped Aye
4
0
0
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
0
2
Your Party
—
1
0
1
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
—
0
0
1
Restore Britain
—
0
0
1
Speaker
—
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
—
1
0
0
Ulster Unionist Party
—
1
0
0
Source · Hansard · UK Parliament Votes API · whip status from announced positions; “free vote” indicates the whip was formally removed
Supports the Bill to increase financial assistance limits and backs UK Export Finance's existing human rights and environmental oversight; rejects amendments as duplicative of current safeguards but commits to ongoing responsible business conduct review.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (2,569 words) →
Supports the Bill's principles but proposes amendments to prevent export finance where goods may be re-exported to sanctioned destinations and to require annual steel industry impact reporting for transparency and accountability.Conservative · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (1,692 words) →
Strongly advocates for amendments to prohibit UKEF support for businesses with modern slavery or human trafficking in supply chains, citing past failures where UKEF funded sanctioned Chinese entities and calling for zero-tolerance legislative approach.Conservative · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (1,344 words) →
Argues Northern Ireland faces unequal treatment under Windsor Framework EU state aid rules and proposes new clause for annual transparency reporting showing how financial assistance is distributed across UK nations.DUP · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,468 words) →
Supports the Bill but advocates for amendments on annual reporting of impact on GDP, SMEs and EU trade; expresses concern that UKEF's eligibility criteria lock out first-time exporters and that structural barriers to EU trade remain unaddressed.Liberal Democrat · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,477 words) →
Supports the Bill but raises practical concerns about SME access to trade finance, downstream steel processors being overlooked, and defence exporters' access to finance amid ESG-related restrictions.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (280 words) →
Supports new clause 1 for transparency, arguing Northern Ireland faces economic disadvantage due to Windsor Framework constraints and Irish Sea border, requiring equal access to state aid as rest of UK.DUP · Voted aye · Read full speech (932 words) →
Supports amendments on modern slavery safeguards, noting inconsistency with protections already established in health and energy sectors; calls for alignment across government.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (298 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0