Economy
Economic policy, growth, taxation, and public spending
Based on 93 parliamentary votes
Sub-issues
How Parties Voted on Economy
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 whether to abolish the Agricultural Property Relief (APR) inheritance tax changes targeting family farms — Amendment 6, tabled by the Conservatives, sought to remove the Government's proposed reform that limits inheritance tax relief on agricultural property, which critics argue threatens family farms. Yes = Support removing the Government's inheritance tax changes on agricultural property, arguing the policy harms family farms and is based on false claims about farmers' wealth · No = Oppose the amendment, backing the Government's approach of reforming agricultural inheritance tax relief while raising thresholds, arguing it is fair and fiscally necessary Govt: No | 176-293 | 11 Mar 2026 |
Vote on a Liberal Democrat amendment requiring the government to index the thresholds for the inheritance tax relief on agricultural land to inflation and rising land values, rather than keeping them fixed. Lib Dem and other MPs argued that static thresholds would erode the relief over time and hurt family farmers. Yes = Support indexing agricultural inheritance tax thresholds to inflation and rising land values to protect family farmers from fiscal drag · No = Oppose mandatory indexation of agricultural inheritance tax thresholds, preferring to keep fixed thresholds as set in the legislation Govt: No | 176-294 | 11 Mar 2026 |
A Conservative amendment to the Finance Bill concerning income tax thresholds. The Conservatives argued that Labour's approach of higher taxes, spending and borrowing is harming families and businesses, while Labour MPs defended their fiscal decisions as necessary to restore public finances and invest in public services. Yes = Support the Conservative amendment on income tax thresholds, signalling opposition to Labour's tax and spending approach · No = Reject the Conservative amendment, backing the government's existing income tax threshold policy as part of restoring fiscal order Govt: No | 173-285 | 11 Mar 2026 |
Vote to pass the Finance (No. 2) Bill at its final stage in the Commons, including a procedural Ways and Means motion moved after the Bill — an unusual departure from standard practice that drew criticism from the SNP, though the government acknowledged this and pledged to avoid it in future. Yes = Support passing the government's Finance Bill into law, backing the Budget measures it contains · No = Oppose the Finance Bill and its Budget measures, or object to the irregular parliamentary procedure used Govt: Aye | 293-161 | 11 Mar 2026 |
Vote on New Clause 3, which would have required the government to report on UK Export Finance's impact on GDP and support for small and medium-sized businesses. The government opposed it on the grounds that existing reporting requirements already cover this information. Yes = Support adding new reporting requirements on how export finance assistance affects GDP and benefits SMEs, arguing greater transparency and accountability is needed · No = Oppose the new reporting clause as unnecessary, since the government argues existing legal reporting obligations already capture this information Govt: No | 79-284 | 23 Feb 2026 |
Vote on opposition amendments to the Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill that would have restricted UK Export Finance support where goods might be re-exported to Russia or other sanctioned countries, and separately where exports involve modern slavery or human trafficking. The amendments sought to cap the Secretary of State's financial commitments to zero in such cases. Yes = Support restricting public export finance where goods risk being re-exported to Russia or sanctioned countries, and where exports are linked to modern slavery or human trafficking · No = Oppose these restrictions, preferring the government retain flexibility in how UK Export Finance is used without these additional conditions Govt: No | 158-276 | 23 Feb 2026 |
Vote on whether to ban UK government export finance or insurance for goods where there is reason to believe they may be re-exported to Russia or other sanctioned countries, and separately to ban export finance where modern slavery or human trafficking is involved. This Opposition amendment would have set the financial assistance limit to zero in such cases. Yes = Support blocking UK export finance for goods likely to be re-exported to sanctioned countries like Russia, and for exports linked to modern slavery or human trafficking · No = Oppose this restriction, likely arguing existing sanctions law and due diligence requirements are sufficient without additional legislative constraints on export finance Govt: No | 163-275 | 23 Feb 2026 |
Final vote on a bill that introduces a £2,000 cap on pension contributions made through salary sacrifice arrangements (optional remuneration). The opposition argued it would harm pension saving, particularly for lower and middle income earners and younger workers, while the government backed the bill. Yes = Support passing the National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill, which caps pension contributions under salary sacrifice arrangements at £2,000 · No = Oppose the bill, arguing it attacks pension saving and disproportionately harms basic rate taxpayers, younger workers, and middle-income earners Govt: Aye | 317-196 | 21 Jan 2026 |
Vote on a new clause that would require the government to calculate and publish the impact on lifetime pension values before and after the changes in this Bill, which caps tax relief on employer pension contributions. The Conservative opposition pushed this transparency measure, arguing the Bill harms pension saving for ordinary workers. Yes = Support requiring the government to publish an assessment of how this Bill changes lifetime pension values, arguing taxpayers deserve to know the real cost to their retirement savings · No = Oppose the transparency requirement, backing the government's position that such an assessment is unnecessary and that the Bill should proceed without mandated impact calculations on pension values Govt: No | 193-314 | 21 Jan 2026 |
Vote on whether to exempt basic rate taxpayers (lower earners) from a £2,000 cap on tax relief for employer pension contributions, so the cap would only apply to higher and additional rate taxpayers. The Conservative opposition proposed this to protect younger workers and those on modest incomes from losing pension savings incentives. Yes = Support protecting basic rate taxpayers from the £2,000 pension contributions cap, arguing the cap unfairly burdens ordinary workers and discourages long-term pension saving · No = Oppose the exemption, defending the government's Bill as introduced and applying the £2,000 cap to all taxpayers regardless of income tax rate Govt: No | 192-325 | 21 Jan 2026 |
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.