Representation of the People Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 67: how MPs voted on 2 September 2026
Division 62, 2 September 2026, 19:19. The Commons Votes API gives 105 Ayes, 410 Noes: majority 305 for the Noes.
The question
New Clause 67
Language of campaign materials
“(1) During the relevant period campaign material must not be promoted or published in a foreign language.
(2) A person is guilty of an offence if the person causes campaign material to be promoted or published that falls within subsection (1).
(3) For the purposes of this section—
“campaign material” means imprinted election campaign material published by political parties and candidates, whether in hard copy or digital format;
“foreign language” means a native language of any foreign country outside the British Islands, other than English;
“relevant period” the period after the date on which the candidate becomes a candidate at an election.
(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
(a) on summary conviction in England and Wales, to a fine;
(b) on summary conviction in Scotland or Northern Ireland to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
(5) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (2) to prove—
(a) that the person took all reasonable steps, and exercised all due diligence, to ensure that the campaign material was not promoted or published contrary to subsection (1), and
(b) that the contravention arose from circumstances beyond the person’s control.”—(Katie Lam.)
This new clause would ban election materials published in a foreign language by political parties and candidates during the short campaign. It would not ban campaigning in native languages of the British Islands such as in English, Welsh, Cornish, Ulster Scots, Irish, et al. Nor would it prevent campaigning via the likes of BSL or Braille.
Brought up.
Question put, That the clause be added to the Bill.
As printed in Hansard before the division.
By party
Conservative MPs cast 92 of the 103 named Aye votes; Labour MPs 318 of the 406 named No votes.
| Party | Aye (named) | No (named) |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 0 | 318 |
| Conservative | 92 | 0 |
| Liberal Democrat | 0 | 63 |
| Scottish National Party | 0 | 8 |
| Independent | 2 | 4 |
| Green Party | 0 | 5 |
| Reform UK | 5 | 0 |
| Plaid Cymru | 0 | 4 |
| Democratic Unionist Party | 3 | 0 |
| Social Democratic & Labour Party | 0 | 2 |
| Alliance | 0 | 1 |
| Traditional Unionist Voice | 1 | 0 |
| Your Party | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 103 | 406 |
Tellers: David Reed (Conservative, Exmouth and Exeter East) and Gregory Stafford (Conservative, Farnham and Bordon) (Ayes); Emma Foody (Labour, Cramlington and Killingworth) and Jade Botterill (Labour, Ossett and Denby Dale) (Noes).
How each MP voted
509 named · CSV
Sources
- Bill: Representation of the People Bill
- Hansard: Representation of the People Bill
- Commons division 62
- Commons Votes API: division
c8cccc35479a76d215 October 2026 - Hansard API: division search
501988bfaf8b89cb15 October 2026 - Hansard API: debate
04820e73b689f15215 October 2026
SHA-256 of each copy read. Open Parliament Licence v3.0