Finance (No. 2) Bill Report Stage: Amendment 6

What happened: On 11 March 2026, the House of Commons voted on Amendment 6 to the Finance (No. 2) Bill at Report Stage -- the stage at which MPs debate and vote on changes to a Bill before it proceeds to the House of Lords. The amendment, which sought to modify the government's budget plans as set out in the Bill, was defeated by 292 votes to 175. No Labour MPs voted in favour of the amendment.

Why it matters: The Finance (No. 2) Bill is the primary vehicle through which the government translates its Budget into law, covering taxation, spending powers and related fiscal measures. Defeating Amendment 6 means the government's original proposals in that area of the Bill remain intact. Media coverage around this period has focused heavily on Air Passenger Duty, which is due to rise from April 2026, and this amendment appears connected to right-of-centre concerns about the overall tax burden imposed by the Bill -- though the debate extracts available do not make the precise subject of Amendment 6 explicit.

The politics: The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. Conservatives (95 votes), Liberal Democrats (53), the Scottish National Party (7), Reform UK (8), Plaid Cymru (4) and the Democratic Unionist Party (2) all voted for the amendment, forming an opposition bloc of 175. Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted unanimously against, joined by four Green MPs. This sits within a broader pattern of the government defending its Budget legislation against sustained opposition pressure -- a pattern also visible in votes the following week on the National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill, where the government similarly defeated Lords amendments by comparable margins.