Armed Forces Bill Report Stage: New Clause 22

New Clause 22 to the Armed Forces Bill was defeated at report stage on 22 June 2026 by 323 votes to 74. The clause was proposed against the backdrop of a bill already subject to several contested divisions on the same day. The defeat means the policy contained in New Clause 22 will not be added to the Armed Forces Bill as it proceeds through Parliament. The detailed content of the clause is not fully set out in the available record, though it sits within the bill's broader concern with armed forces support and defence policy. Its rejection keeps the bill on the track preferred by the government. Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted unanimously against, providing the 319 votes that formed the core of the Noes. Support for the clause was led by the Liberal Democrats, who provided 57 of the 74 Aye votes. Reform UK contributed 6 Ayes, the Democratic Unionist Party 5, and Plaid Cymru 4. Only one Conservative MP voted in favour, with 115 Conservatives having no vote recorded. The vote follows a pattern visible across multiple divisions on the same bill that day, in which the government's majority held against a scattered opposition.