Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill Committee: New Clause 8
145Ayes
251Noes
Defeated · majority 106 · Government won246 did not vote
642 Members · Aye 145 · No 251 · DNV 246 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
Parliament voted on 8 June 2026 on whether to add New Clause 8 to the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill during its committee stage, the line-by-line scrutiny phase of the legislation. The clause was defeated by 251 votes to 145. New Clause 8 would have required the Secretary of State to publish a statement to Parliament on contingent liabilities before proceeding with nationalisation. According to the debate, this would have meant disclosing the value of hidden or future liabilities, including those relating to environmental, pension, or operational risks that could fall on taxpayers, and taking steps to address them. Supporters argued this was a transparency measure to ensure Parliament had sight of the financial risks attached to taking steel assets into public ownership before those powers were exercised. The vote split almost entirely along party lines. Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted unanimously against, supplying all 251 no votes. Conservatives provided 81 of the 145 aye votes and Liberal Democrats provided 62, with small contributions from the Democratic Unionist Party and the Ulster Unionist Party. No notable cross-party rebellions were recorded. The result fits a pattern visible across related divisions on the same bill during the same period, in which opposition amendments were consistently defeated by the government's majority.
Voting Aye meant
Support requiring the government to be transparent about the financial risks and hidden liabilities taxpayers could inherit before any steel nationalisation goes ahead.
Voting No meant
Oppose the additional parliamentary disclosure requirement, backing the government's position that it has sufficient accountability mechanisms and the Bill should proceed without this constraint.
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 party-line column is inferred from how cohesively each party voted, not a published whip: a clear one-way majority of a party’s voters reads as a line, a close division reads as “Split”.
Party
Party line
Aye / No / Abs
Aye
No
Abs
Labour Party
Voted No
0
226
134
Conservative and Unionist Party
Voted Aye
81
0
35
Liberal Democrats
Voted Aye
61
0
10
Labour and Co-operative Party
Voted No
0
24
18
Independent
—
2
1
10
Reform UK
—
0
1
7
Scottish National Party
—
0
0
7
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
Voted Aye
3
0
2
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
1
1
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
—
0
0
1
Restore Britain
—
0
0
1
Speaker
—
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
—
0
0
1
Ulster Unionist Party
—
1
0
0
Source · Hansard · UK Parliament Votes API · party line inferred from voting cohesion, not a published whip; “Split” = a close within-party division
Bill exposes taxpayers to unlimited liability; amendments needed to narrow steel undertaking definition, restrict public interest test, require independent assessment and NAO value-for-money check, and limit sunset clause extension.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (2,988 words) →
Bill's broad powers modelled on Banking Act 2009 and essential for swift intervention in market failure; wide definition of steel undertaking and public interest test provide needed flexibility; government will exercise powers proportionately.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (5,966 words) →
Supports temporary nationalisation as rescue measure but demands parliamentary accountability through statement requirement, affirmative procedure for regulations, stakeholder advisory committee, and jobs transition strategy.Liberal Democrats · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,339 words) →
Secretary of state's powers in clauses 1–3 are too broad; definition of steel undertaking could catch tangential steelmakers, public interest test is undefined and expansible, and indefinite sunset extension negates the purpose of a sunset clause.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,952 words) →
Supports nationalisation and bill's swift passage; opposes conservative amendments as bureaucratic delays that would prevent necessary investment; calls for 10-year strategy, pro-British steel procurement, and blast furnace commitment.Reform UK · Voted no · Read full speech (1,510 words) →
Supports bill as historic reversal of industry neglect; praises steel strategy and £2.5bn investment; urges government to ensure trade measures do not inadvertently harm downstream businesses and steel stockholders.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (1,176 words) →
Bill's speed and flexibility are essential; amendments imposing prerequisites would cumulatively hamper swift action; nationalisation means strategic acquisition with independent board, not day-to-day government control; supports transparency balanced against commercial sensitivity.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (2,772 words) →
Amendment 23 would guarantee protection of Welsh steel jobs and sites; Port Talbot was allowed to close when government could have intervened; Welsh steel deserves equal protection as English and Scottish sites.Plaid Cymru · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (789 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0