Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 5

Parliament defeated New Clause 5 to the Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill on 1 July 2026, by 308 votes to 177. The clause was proposed by opposition parties and rejected by the government's Labour majority. All 305 Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted did so against the clause, while every Conservative, Liberal Democrat, SNP, Plaid Cymru, Reform UK, DUP, and most independent MPs who voted backed it. The detailed text of New Clause 5 is not reproduced in the available record, but it fell under the issue categories of taxation, energy, and vehicle safety. Given its placement in the Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill at committee stage, it would have introduced a new provision into legislation dealing with energy taxation and vehicle-related fiscal measures. Its defeat means the clause will not form part of the bill as it proceeds through Parliament. The vote reflects a clean government-versus-opposition divide. Labour held firm, with no recorded rebels among those who voted. The opposition coalition spanning Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, the SNP, Plaid Cymru, Reform UK, and the DUP voted unanimously in favour, but fell well short of the numbers needed to overcome the government's majority. This division was one of several on the same bill on 1 July 2026; New Clause 4 was defeated by a similar margin of 282 to 173 earlier the same day, and New Clause 2 fell by 281 to 80, suggesting a pattern of sustained opposition attempts to amend the bill that the government consistently resisted.