Health
NHS, healthcare services, public health, mental health
Based on 12 parliamentary votes
Sub-issues
How Parties Voted on Health
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 |
|---|---|---|
MPs voted on whether to approve new fee regulations for medical devices, which update the charges paid by manufacturers to the medicines regulator (MHRA) for market surveillance and approval. The government revised earlier proposals after concerns that original fee increases would disproportionately burden small and medium-sized businesses in the life sciences sector. Yes = Support updated medical device fee regulations, accepting the government's revised approach that attempts to balance regulatory funding with protecting SMEs in the life sciences industry · No = Oppose the fee regulations, citing concerns about unpredictability of costs for businesses and the cumulative regulatory burden on medical device manufacturers Govt: Aye | 294-108 | 28 Jan 2026 |
Vote on whether to amend the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill to give priority in NHS specialty training to British citizens, regardless of where they trained. Supporters argued this would help British students who trained abroad (e.g. in Cyprus or Grenada) return to practise in the UK, while opponents argued it could be counterproductive as NHS experience matters more than citizenship. Yes = Support prioritising British citizens for NHS specialty training interviews and places from 2027, even if they trained outside the UK · No = Oppose using citizenship as the primary criterion for training priority, preferring to prioritise those with UK medical qualifications and NHS experience regardless of nationality Govt: No | 93-379 | 27 Jan 2026 |
A vote on an opposition amendment to the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill, which sought to give priority to British citizens in UK foundation and specialty training programmes from 2027. The government defeated the amendment, preferring its own approach to managing medical training places. Yes = Support requiring that British citizens are given priority for foundation programme places and specialty training interviews from 2027 onwards · No = Oppose this amendment, preferring the government's existing framework for prioritising UK medical graduates without a citizenship-based criterion Govt: No | 90-311 | 27 Jan 2026 |
Vote on a Conservative-backed amendment (Amendment 2) to the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill that would reintroduce merit-based selection — rewarding academic achievement and exam performance — into the NHS medical specialty training allocation system, which currently allocates places without considering candidates' grades or merit. Yes = Support returning to a merit-based system for NHS specialty training, where doctors' exam results and academic performance are rewarded when allocating training places · No = Oppose reintroducing merit-based allocation to specialty training, preferring the current system which does not rank candidates by academic achievement Govt: No | 63-311 | 27 Jan 2026 |
An Opposition Day debate brought by the Conservatives challenging the government's record on hospitals, likely focusing on NHS waiting times and hospital capacity. The vote was on an opposition motion criticising Labour's handling of hospital services. Yes = Support the opposition motion criticising the government's record on hospitals and NHS waiting times, backing calls for stronger action · No = Reject the opposition motion, defending the government's approach to reducing hospital waiting times and improving NHS services Govt: No | 79-310 | 23 Apr 2025 |
A vote on New Clause 19 to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which concerned the risk of an increased illegal tobacco market as a consequence of the generational smoking ban. The clause raised concerns that restricting tobacco sales to younger generations would drive more people toward unregulated black market products. Yes = Support requiring the government to assess and address the growth of the illegal tobacco market that may result from the generational smoking ban · No = Oppose adding this clause, arguing the generational smoking ban's public health benefits outweigh concerns about illicit trade, or that existing measures are sufficient Govt: No | 160-308 | 26 Mar 2025 |
Vote on whether to add a ban on plastic filters in cigarettes to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The new clause was motivated by environmental concerns — plastic cigarette filters are a major source of marine pollution — rather than public health grounds. Yes = Support banning plastic cigarette filters to reduce plastic pollution in waterways and marine environments · No = Oppose adding a plastic filter ban to this Bill, likely preferring to address it through separate environmental legislation or rejecting the amendment as outside the Bill's public health scope Govt: No | 138-303 | 26 Mar 2025 |
A vote on an amendment to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill that proposed directing money raised from fixed penalty notices (fines for breaking the new tobacco and vaping rules) towards specific purposes, such as enforcement or public health measures. The government defeated the amendment. Yes = Support ringfencing revenues from fixed penalty notices under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill for designated purposes such as enforcement or public health · No = Oppose ringfencing fixed penalty notice revenues, preferring the general Treasury approach without hypothecated funding Govt: No | 94-304 | 26 Mar 2025 |
MPs voted to pass the Tobacco and Vapes Bill at its final stage in the Commons. The Bill aims to create a 'smokefree generation' by gradually raising the legal age for buying tobacco so that those born after a certain date can never legally purchase it, representing the biggest public health intervention since the 2007 smoking ban. Yes = Support passing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, creating a smokefree generation through progressive age-of-sale restrictions on tobacco and tighter regulation of vapes · No = Oppose the Bill, potentially on grounds of personal freedom, concerns about enforcement, or government overreach into lifestyle choices Govt: Aye | 361-43 | 26 Mar 2025 |
Vote on whether money raised from fixed penalty notices under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill should be retained by local authorities to spend on public health, rather than going to central government. Supporters argued this would help fund enforcement and save the NHS money. Yes = Support allowing local authorities to keep fixed penalty notice income to fund public health and trading standards enforcement locally · No = Oppose ring-fencing fixed penalty notice revenue for local authorities, preferring current central arrangements Govt: No | 72-301 | 26 Mar 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.