English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: Government motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 4

**What happened:** The House of Commons voted on 21 April 2026 to disagree with Amendment 4 made by the House of Lords to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. The motion passed by 298 votes to 152, with the government successfully rejecting the Lords' change and restoring its own preferred version of the legislation. **Why it matters:** By overturning this Lords amendment, the Commons reasserted the government's original approach to English devolution and community empowerment policy. The vote is part of a broader process known as parliamentary ping-pong, in which the two Houses exchange amendments until they reach agreement. The outcome determines the shape of a significant piece of legislation that affects how powers are distributed between central government and local authorities across England, with direct consequences for millions of people in terms of how their local areas are governed and what decisions are made closer to home. **The politics:** The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 297 Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted supported the government, while Conservatives (84), Liberal Democrats (55), Greens (5), the Democratic Unionist Party (3), and Ulster Unionists (1) all voted against. Two independents voted with the government and three against. There were no notable cross-party rebels. This division on Amendment 4 was one of five similar votes held on the same day, with the government winning all of them by comparable margins, suggesting a coordinated effort to strip out multiple Lords amendments in a single sitting.