English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: Government motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 2

**What happened:** On 21 April 2026, the House of Commons voted to disagree with Lords Amendment 2 to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, rejecting a change that the House of Lords had inserted into the legislation. The motion passed by 293 votes to 155, with the government's position prevailing by a margin of 138. **Why it matters:** By rejecting Lords Amendment 2, the Commons restored the Bill to the form the government prefers, removing whatever modification the Lords had made to this clause. This vote was one of several on the same day in which the Commons pushed back against Lords changes to the Bill, indicating a sustained disagreement between the two chambers over the shape of the legislation. The Bill concerns the devolution of powers to English regions and communities, meaning its final form will determine how much autonomy local bodies gain, which powers are transferred, and on what terms citizens can influence or initiate local governance changes. **The politics:** The vote divided almost entirely along government-versus-opposition lines. All 292 Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted backed the government's motion, while Conservatives (86), Liberal Democrats (55), Greens (5), and smaller parties including the DUP, TUV, UUP and Reform UK all voted against. No Labour MPs voted with the opposition. The same pattern repeated across four other divisions on the same day concerning Lords Amendments 4, 13, 26 and 36, suggesting a coordinated Lords resistance to particular provisions that the government is systematically overturning. The Bill now returns to the Lords, potentially entering the back-and-forth process known as parliamentary ping-pong.