Crime and Policing Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 359

What happened: The House of Commons voted on 14 April 2026 to reject Lords Amendment 359 to the Crime and Policing Bill, which would have formally proscribed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation under UK law. The government's motion to disagree with the Lords amendment passed by 277 votes to 158. The government argued that existing tools, including the foreign influence registration scheme, were sufficient to address the threat posed by the IRGC.

Why it matters: Proscription as a terrorist organisation is one of the most significant legal designations available under UK law, making membership or support of the named group a criminal offence and triggering a range of financial and investigative powers. By rejecting the Lords amendment, the Commons left the IRGC without that formal status in UK law, meaning the government will continue to rely on other legislative and administrative mechanisms to counter Iranian state-linked activities on British soil. The vote affects national security policy, the UK's diplomatic posture towards Iran, and the legal protections available to people in the UK who may face threats from IRGC-linked networks.

The politics: The division followed strict party lines. All 248 Labour MPs and 26 Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted supported the government's position, while all 84 voting Conservatives, 58 of 59 voting Liberal Democrats, all five Democratic Unionist Party members, all four Greens, all three Plaid Cymru members, and both the Ulster Unionist and Traditional Unionist Voice representatives voted against the government. Only one Liberal Democrat broke with their party to support the government. The vote was one of several on the same day in which the government successfully overturned Lords amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, a pattern consistent across divisions numbered in the same session, where government motions to disagree passed with comfortable majorities.