Local Government
Council services, local authority funding, and devolved powers
Based on 13 parliamentary votes
Sub-issues
How Parties Voted on Local Government
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 the government's proposed principles for determining whether council tax increases in England in 2026-27 require a local referendum. This annual report sets the referendum thresholds — councils that wish to raise council tax above the set limit must hold a local vote to get approval. Yes = Support the government's proposed council tax referendum thresholds for 2026-27, allowing councils to raise tax up to the set limits without a referendum · No = Oppose the proposed thresholds, likely arguing they are too high (permitting excessive council tax rises) or too low (restricting councils' ability to raise revenue) Govt: Aye | 280-92 | 11 Feb 2026 |
MPs voted on whether to approve the government's local government finance settlement for England for 2026-27, which sets out how much funding councils will receive from central government. This matters because it determines the resources available to local authorities to deliver services like social care, housing, and waste collection. Yes = Support the Labour government's proposed funding allocation for English councils in 2026-27 · No = Oppose the settlement, likely arguing councils are underfunded or the distribution is unfair to certain areas Govt: Aye | 279-143 | 11 Feb 2026 |
Vote on New Clause 69 during the Report Stage of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. The debate covered a range of amendments including Conservative proposals to cap council tax increases for mayoral combined authorities at the same level as county and unitary councils, alongside government clauses extending powers to local bodies. The government defended the Bill as the biggest transfer of power from Westminster to regions, while opposition argued it was centralising. Yes = Support the opposition's amendments, including capping council tax rises for mayoral combined authorities in line with other councils, and expressing concern that the Bill centralises rather than genuinely devolves power · No = Reject the opposition amendments and back the government's approach to devolution, arguing the Bill represents a genuine transfer of power to regions and communities Govt: No | 189-321 | 25 Nov 2025 |
Vote on New Clause 17, which proposed that council tax increases by mayoral combined authorities and combined county authorities be subject to the same caps as ordinary county and unitary councils, as part of the wider English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. The Liberal Democrats raised broader concerns that the Bill concentrates power upwards into combined authorities and away from local communities. Yes = Support imposing the same council tax referendum limits on mayoral combined authorities as apply to county and unitary councils, preventing mayors from raising council tax more than other local bodies · No = Oppose this restriction, backing the government's devolution framework which allows combined authorities greater fiscal flexibility as part of a planned transfer of powers to regional mayors Govt: No | 88-320 | 25 Nov 2025 |
MPs voted on the final passage of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which transfers significant powers from central government to elected mayors and local authorities in England, including new powers for mayors to allow local highway authorities to charge utility companies for roadworks disruption. Yes = Support devolving more powers to English mayors and local authorities, including giving mayoral strategic authorities greater control over local infrastructure and roads. · No = Oppose this package of devolution reforms, whether due to concerns about the specific powers transferred, the pace of reform, or the impact on areas without mayoral structures. Govt: Aye | 322-181 | 25 Nov 2025 |
Vote on whether to require that mayoral combined authorities and combined county authorities face the same council tax referendum limits as other councils, preventing them from raising council tax by more than standard county and unitary councils can. This was an opposition proposal to the English Devolution Bill, resisted by the government. Yes = Support capping council tax rises in mayoral combined authorities at the same level as other councils, arguing this protects residents from higher bills under devolved mayors · No = Oppose this restriction, preferring to retain flexibility for mayoral combined authorities on council tax and trusting existing oversight mechanisms Govt: No | 189-319 | 25 Nov 2025 |
Vote on a Liberal Democrat amendment (Amendment 85) to remove or restrict the use of commissioners appointed to support mayors of combined authorities, on the grounds that this concentrates power too narrowly and lacks democratic accountability. The government and its backbenchers opposed the amendment, arguing commissioners give mayors important tools to do their jobs effectively. Yes = Support removing or limiting the role of commissioners for mayors, arguing it reduces democratic accountability and concentrates power away from elected representatives and local communities · No = Oppose the amendment, backing the government's plan to allow commissioners to support mayors of combined authorities as a useful governance tool Govt: No | 59-309 | 24 Nov 2025 |
Vote on New Clause 29, which would have imposed a climate duty on local authorities and combined authorities as part of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. Supporters argued local councils are responsible for around a third of emissions and need a formal obligation to act on climate, while the government indicated ambition should go beyond the Bill's floor but resisted the specific duty. Yes = Support placing a statutory climate duty on local and combined authorities to tackle emissions at the local level · No = Oppose a mandatory climate duty in this Bill, preferring flexibility for local authorities to shape climate action without a new statutory obligation Govt: No | 76-311 | 24 Nov 2025 |
Vote on Amendment 25 to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which sought to restrict mayoral development corporations from designating rural land for development, prioritising building in town centres and high-density areas instead. The opposition (Conservatives) supported this to limit what they saw as the government making it too easy to build on rural areas with insufficient infrastructure. Yes = Support restricting mayoral development corporations from designating rural land for development, favouring building in town centres and high-density urban areas first · No = Oppose the restriction, backing the government's broader approach to housing development which allows mayors more flexibility over where development can be designated Govt: No | 101-366 | 24 Nov 2025 |
Vote on a Conservative amendment to require combined authorities and mayoral combined authorities to follow the same council tax referendum rules as county and unitary councils, preventing them from raising council tax precepts by more than other local authorities without triggering a local referendum. The amendment was framed as ensuring accountability and protecting council taxpayers from higher bills under devolved bodies. Yes = Support imposing equal council tax referendum limits on combined authorities, arguing that greater devolved powers must come with equal fiscal accountability to local taxpayers · No = Oppose restricting combined authorities' council tax precept flexibility, preferring to allow different arrangements for these newer devolved bodies as part of the broader devolution settlement Govt: No | 160-319 | 24 Nov 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.