Constitution and Democracy
Democratic institutions, devolution, and electoral reform
Based on 36 parliamentary votes
Sub-issues
How Parties Voted on Constitution and Democracy
Government alignment shows how often each party voted with the government's stated position. Issue-aligned direction shows agreement with the AI-identified supportive stance.
Voted with government positionVoted in issue-aligned direction
Recent Votes
| Vote | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|
Vote on regulations giving the new Fair Work Agency (created by the Employment Rights Act 2025) the same investigatory powers previously held by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, including surveillance tools. Conservatives argued these state-level surveillance powers were disproportionate for a labour enforcement body; the Lib Dems backed the government. Yes = Support transferring investigatory and surveillance powers to the Fair Work Agency as a necessary consequence of merging labour enforcement functions into the new body · No = Oppose granting the Fair Work Agency extensive surveillance powers, arguing they are disproportionate for a labour enforcement agency and represent state overreach Govt: Aye | 368-107 | 18 Mar 2026 |
MPs voted on whether to give initial approval to a Courts and Tribunals Bill, which proposes modernising the criminal justice system. Debate focused on whether reforms — including potential changes to when juries are used — are necessary to clear court backlogs, while critics raised concerns about protecting jury trial rights and disproportionate impacts on minority ethnic defendants. Yes = Support modernising the courts and criminal justice system, including reforms to jury thresholds, to make it fit for the 21st century · No = Oppose the Bill, citing concerns that reforms could undermine jury trial rights and disproportionately harm defendants from black and minority ethnic backgrounds Govt: Aye | 305-204 | 10 Mar 2026 |
MPs voted on a Conservative reasoned amendment opposing the Courts and Tribunals Bill at Second Reading. The Bill, introduced by David Lammy, aims to modernise the criminal justice system, but the opposition attempted to block its progress, with concerns raised about the impact on jury trials and the effect on black and minority ethnic defendants. Yes = Support blocking the Courts and Tribunals Bill, opposing changes to the criminal justice system including potential reductions in jury trial eligibility · No = Support allowing the Courts and Tribunals Bill to proceed, backing government reforms to modernise courts and tribunals while retaining jury trials as a cornerstone of justice Govt: No | 205-311 | 10 Mar 2026 |
A vote on a 'reasoned amendment' to block the Representation of the People Bill from proceeding to its next stage. The Bill, introduced by the Labour government, includes measures such as extending voting rights to 16 and 17-year-olds — a Labour manifesto commitment. A reasoned amendment is an opposition attempt to reject the Bill at Second Reading by citing objections to its principles. Yes = Support blocking the Representation of the People Bill, opposing measures such as votes at 16 and other electoral reforms proposed by the Labour government · No = Support allowing the Bill to proceed, backing Labour's electoral reforms including extending the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds Govt: No | 107-409 | 2 Mar 2026 |
MPs voted on a Remedial Order to amend the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which had been found incompatible with human rights law. The order was designed to address legal concerns about the controversial immunity scheme for Troubles-era offences following court rulings that parts of the original Act breached the European Convention on Human Rights. Yes = Support passing the Remedial Order to bring the Troubles Legacy Act into compliance with human rights law, maintaining a reformed framework for dealing with the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles · No = Oppose the Remedial Order, either because it does not go far enough in addressing human rights concerns, because it still undermines victims' rights and access to justice, or because of broader opposition to the Legacy Act framework Govt: Aye | 372-104 | 21 Jan 2026 |
MPs voted on new regulations expanding the Public Order Act 2023 to criminalise interference with key national infrastructure, such as energy, transport, and water systems. This extends powers introduced to tackle disruptive protest tactics used by groups like Just Stop Oil. Yes = Support extending criminal offences to cover interference with key national infrastructure, strengthening powers to deter and prosecute disruptive protest activity · No = Oppose these regulations, likely on grounds that they excessively restrict the right to protest or represent an overreach of state power against civil disobedience Govt: Aye | 300-110 | 14 Jan 2026 |
The opposition brought forward a motion on jury trials, likely seeking to protect or expand the right to trial by jury. This is an Opposition Day debate, meaning the government was expected to vote against the motion. Yes = Support protecting or strengthening the right to jury trials in the criminal justice system · No = Oppose the motion on jury trials, likely defending government reforms that may limit or modify the scope of jury trial entitlements Govt: No | 184-290 | 7 Jan 2026 |
MPs voted on whether to give a second reading (proceed with) a new government Bill on addressing the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which would replace the previous government's controversial immunity framework with a new approach to legacy investigations and acknowledgement for victims' families. Yes = Support the new Labour government's approach to dealing with the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles, allowing the Bill to proceed to further scrutiny in Parliament · No = Oppose the Bill proceeding, with concerns including that it fails to cover atrocities such as the Omagh bombing and does not adequately serve all victims' families Govt: Aye | 321-106 | 18 Nov 2025 |
MPs voted on whether to block the second reading of the government's new Northern Ireland Troubles legacy bill, which aims to address how killings and atrocities from the Troubles (1966–1998) are investigated and dealt with. The opposition reasoned amendment was an attempt to prevent the bill progressing, reflecting concerns about its scope and whether it adequately covers victims like those of the Omagh bombing. Yes = Support blocking the bill at Second Reading, expressing concern that it fails to adequately address all Troubles victims — notably those affected by the Omagh bombing — and that its approach to legacy is flawed · No = Support allowing the bill to proceed to further parliamentary scrutiny, backing the government's new approach to dealing with the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland Govt: No | 167-326 | 18 Nov 2025 |
Nigel Farage brought a Ten Minute Rule Motion seeking permission to introduce a Bill to withdraw the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). He argued that Brexit was unfinished business and that decisions on who can live in or be removed from the UK should be made by Parliament, not judges in Strasbourg. Yes = Support giving Parliament permission to consider withdrawing the UK from the ECHR, arguing it would restore parliamentary sovereignty and allow the UK to control immigration and deportation without interference from Strasbourg judges. · No = Oppose withdrawing from the ECHR, defending the Convention as a vital protection of human rights and rejecting the argument that leaving it is a necessary consequence of Brexit or parliamentary sovereignty. Govt: No | 97-157 | 29 Oct 2025 |
How is this calculated?
Government alignment (primary bar) shows how often a party's MPs voted with the government's stated position on this issue. This is the most comparable metric across parties, as it measures the same reference point for everyone.
Issue-aligned direction (secondary bar) shows how often MPs voted in the direction tagged as supportive of this issue by AI analysis. For example, if a vote is tagged “pro-environment”, a Yes vote counts as aligned. This can be misleading when the tagged direction happens to align with opposition amendments rather than government bills.
Why these metrics may differ: Opposition parties often vote against government bills for strategic or procedural reasons, even when they broadly support the policy area. The government alignment metric makes this clearer by showing the actual voting pattern against a consistent reference.
Source: Commons division data from the UK Parliament Votes API. Alignment direction determined by AI analysis of vote stance tags. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.