Armed Forces Bill Committee: New Clause 5

Parliament rejected New Clause 5 to the Armed Forces Bill on 2 June 2026 by 301 votes to 170. The clause was tabled by Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, representing Huntingdon, and was debated alongside a range of other opposition amendments at committee stage. The available record does not set out in precise detail what the clause's specific provisions were, though it was grouped with other opposition new clauses during committee scrutiny of the Bill. The Armed Forces Bill is designed to update the legal framework governing the armed forces, and committee stage involves line-by-line scrutiny of its contents. New Clause 5 was one of several opposition additions sought by Conservative MPs who had conducted extensive pre-legislative work, including seven oral evidence sessions, 47 pieces of written evidence, and site visits to defence establishments. The government's position was to oppose the clause, and it fell by a comfortable margin. The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 302 Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted supported the No lobby, while all 93 voting Conservatives and all 57 voting Liberal Democrats supported the Ayes, as did the Democratic Unionist Party (five), the Green Party (five), Plaid Cymru (three), and smaller parties. The result mirrors other defeats suffered by opposition amendments on the same day, including New Clause 2 (lost 171-302) and New Clause 6 (lost 99-371), suggesting a consistent pattern of the government holding its majority against a cross-party but ultimately insufficient opposition coalition.