Pension Schemes Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 43

What happened: On 15 April 2026, the House of Commons voted 273 to 159 to reject Lords Amendment 43 to the Pension Schemes Bill, restoring the government's preferred version of that clause. This was one of several votes on the same day in which the Commons pushed back against changes the House of Lords had made to the Bill. The motion was brought by the Labour government and passed with a comfortable majority.

Why it matters: The Pension Schemes Bill is designed to improve returns for pension savers, primarily by consolidating a fragmented pensions landscape and encouraging investment in a wider range of assets. By rejecting Lords Amendment 43, the Commons maintained its own version of the legislation, keeping in place the government's framework for how pension schemes must operate. The Bill affects millions of workers enrolled in workplace pension schemes, with the government arguing that greater scale and diversification will deliver better retirement incomes.

The politics: The vote followed strict party lines. All 268 Labour and Labour-Co-operative MPs who voted supported the government, while Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, the SNP, and Plaid Cymru all voted against. The Greens voted with the government. There were no notable rebels on either side. The division was one of several on the same day in which the Commons overturned Lords amendments, with parallel votes on Amendments 1, 15, 26, and 35 all producing similar results in the 269-278 range. The debate was marked by sharp exchanges between ministers and Conservative frontbenchers over whether the Bill's investment powers amount to an unacceptable intrusion into pension savers' funds.