King's Speech Motion for an Address
307Ayes
171Noes
Carried · majority 136 · Government won171 did not vote
649 Members · Aye 307 · No 171 · DNV 171 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
Parliament voted on 20 May 2026 to approve the government's motion for an Address in reply to the King's Speech, passing it by 307 votes to 171. The motion is the formal parliamentary response to the State Opening of Parliament, in which the monarch sets out the government's proposed legislative agenda. Approving it signals that the House of Commons accepts that programme as the basis for government business. The vote carries practical weight as a confidence measure. Defeating the motion for an Address would have amounted to a rejection of Labour's legislative agenda and, in effect, a vote of no confidence in the government. By passing, it confirms that the government commands a working majority and can proceed with the bills and policies set out at the State Opening. The result affects the full range of policy areas covered by those proposals, from domestic legislation to public spending priorities. The division followed strict party lines. Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs provided all 307 Aye votes, with no crossover from opposition benches. The Conservatives contributed 88 No votes, joined by 61 Liberal Democrats, 7 Scottish National Party MPs, 5 Reform UK MPs, and smaller groupings including 2 from Your Party, 1 from the Democratic Unionist Party, and 1 from Traditional Unionist Voice. Three Independents voted Aye alongside the government, and two voted No. The same day saw three related amendments to the Address defeated, with the largest gathering just 104 votes in favour, suggesting the opposition failed to build any broader cross-party challenge to the speech.
Voting Aye meant
Support the government's legislative programme as outlined in the King's Speech
Voting No meant
Reject the government's stated legislative agenda, signalling no confidence in Labour's programme
Each row is one party. The stacked bar gives the within-party split of Aye / No / Absent; the columns on the right give the raw counts. The whip column shows the published party position — “Free vote” means the whip was formally removed for this division.
Party
Whip
Aye / No / Abs
Aye
No
Abs
Labour Party
Whipped Aye
271
0
89
Conservative and Unionist Party
Whipped No
0
88
28
Liberal Democrats
Whipped No
0
60
11
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped Aye
33
0
9
Independent
—
3
3
7
Reform UK
Whipped No
0
5
3
Scottish National Party
Whipped No
0
7
0
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
—
0
1
4
Green Party of England and Wales
—
0
0
5
Plaid Cymru
—
0
0
4
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
0
2
Your Party
—
0
2
0
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
—
0
0
1
Restore Britain
—
0
1
0
Speaker
—
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
—
0
1
0
Ulster Unionist Party
—
0
1
0
Source · Hansard · UK Parliament Votes API · whip status from announced positions; “free vote” indicates the whip was formally removed
The Government must urgently publish the Defence Readiness Bill and Defence Investment Plan, commit to 3% GDP defence spending, and scrap the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill to protect veteran morale and recruitment.Conservative · Voted no · Read full speech (3,304 words) →
The Government is investing record sums in defence (£270bn this Parliament), has signed over 1,200 defence contracts, and will deliver both the Defence Investment Plan and Defence Readiness Bill later in the Parliament as part of an ambitious reform agenda.Labour · Voted aye · Read full speech (2,799 words) →
The Government is moving too slowly on defence; it must publish the Defence Investment Plan and Bill urgently, commit to 3% GDP spending by 2030, and launch defence bonds to mobilise investment at the scale required.Liberal Democrat · Voted no · Read full speech (1,900 words) →
The Defence Investment Plan delay is damaging domestic industry and UK credibility with NATO allies; the Government must publish it before summer recess and provide a timeline for reaching 3.5% NATO target to allow industry to plan capacity expansion.Labour · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,512 words) →
Defence spending has been allowed to fall under successive governments; Britain now faces its greatest threat since the 1930s from totalitarian states (China, Russia, Iran), requiring commitment to 5% GDP spending and urgent publication of the Defence Investment Plan and Defence Readiness Bill.Conservative · Voted no · Read full speech (2,009 words) →
The Government must invest rapidly in defence, but national strength also depends on rebuilding the social contract for young people through jobs, housing, and opportunity; without addressing economic insecurity and inequality, recruitment and patriotism will suffer.Labour · Voted aye · Read full speech (3,386 words) →
The absence of the Defence Investment Plan and Defence Readiness Bill from the King's Speech represents a concerning vacuum in defence planning and industrial strategy at a time of acute threat.Conservative · Voted no · Read full speech (2,112 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0