David Rees
Labour
6:23,
28 January 2026
And that brings us to voting time. Unless three Members wish for the bell to be rung, I will move directly to voting. Before we begin—
David Rees
Labour
6:24,
28 January 2026
can I remind Members that, on 8 January, you were all reminded of the requirement on virtual voting that you would have to register with the clerking team so that you could be allowed to vote remotely? There is a Member online that has not registered on this occasion and as such I will not be accepting a vote from that Member. I want to remind, therefore, Members, you are informed of this. You know your own responsibilities, and if you wish to vote, then you need to make sure that we are aware where you are voting from. Okay?
David Rees
Labour
The first vote this evening is on item 6, the Welsh Conservatives debate on transport connectivity. I call for a vote on the motion tabled in the name of Paul Davies. If the proposal is not agreed, we will vote on the amendments tabled to the motion. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 12, 1 abstention, 35 against. Therefore, the motion is not agreed.
Division number 6914
Item 6. Welsh Conservatives Debate - Transport connectivity. Motion without amendment.
David Rees
Labour
6:25,
28 January 2026
I now call for a vote on Amendment 1, tabled in the name of Heledd Fychan. If amendment 1 is agreed, amendment 2 will be deselected. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 11, no abstentions, 37 against. Therefore, amendment 1 is not agreed.
Division number 6915
Item 6. Welsh Conservatives Debate - Transport connectivity. Amendment 1, tabled in the name of Heledd Fychan.
David Rees
Labour
6:26,
28 January 2026
I now call for a vote on Amendment 2, tabled in the name of Jane Hutt. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 25, no abstentions, 23 against. Therefore, amendment 2 is agreed.
Division number 6916
Item 6. Welsh Conservatives Debate - Transport connectivity. Amendment 2, tabled in the name of Jane Hutt.
David Rees
Labour
6:26,
28 January 2026
I now call for a vote on the motion as amended.
Motion NDM9121 as amended:
To propose that the Senedd:
1. Recognises the importance of good transport connectivity to the economic prosperity of Wales.
2. Recognises the achievements of the Welsh Government in delivering better transport:
a) developing a world class South Wales Metro system on the back of the Welsh Government’s investment of over £1 billion to improve the infrastructure of the devolved core valleys lines rail network;
b) investing £800 million in new trains to almost double capacity and deliver a huge growth in passenger services;
c) bringing the largest UK Government investment in wider Welsh rail since the 2009 announcement of the electrification of the South Wales main line by the last UK Labour Government;
d) passing the landmark Bus Services (Wales) Bill to introduce franchising and put people before profit in the provision of bus services;
e) attracting two million young people to travel on the buses with a £1 young person’s fare cap;
f) exciting plans for a £2 adult fare cap and a 10 per cent uplift in routes in the next Senedd;
g) delivering a prioritised major asset renewal starting with the £180 million River Dee replacement scheme;
h) starting work on clearing the roads maintenance backlog following 14 years of Conservative austerity, improving 627km of road surfaces and filling 203,000 potholes following a £25 million boost to maintenance budgets for the strategic road network and a £60 million (£120 million over 2 years) Local Authority Borrowing Initiative to fix local roads;
i) commissioning a review of road and traffic conditions of major strategic roads, such as the M4, A55 and A494 to assess priority interventions to improve the efficiency of the highways serving strategic economic corridors;
j) collaborating with local authorities to develop a regional transport planning capability, with new regional transport plans developed by Corporate Joint Committees and over £100 million available for their delivery; and
k) working with regions to renew momentum toward the development of regional 'metros' in North Wales and South West Wales.
David Rees
Labour
6:26,
28 January 2026
Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 26, no abstentions, 22 against. Therefore, the motion as amended is agreed.
Division number 6917
Item 6. Welsh Conservatives Debate - Transport connectivity. Motion as amended.
David Rees
Labour
6:27,
28 January 2026
The next vote is on item 7, the Plaid Cymru debate on housing. I call for a vote on the motion, tabled in the name of Heledd Fychan. If the motion is not agreed, we will vote on the amendments tabled to the motion. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 11, no abstentions, 37 against. Therefore, the motion is not agreed.
Division number 6918
Item 7. Plaid Cymru Debate – Housing. Motion without amendment.
David Rees
Labour
6:28,
28 January 2026
I now call for a vote on Amendment 1, tabled in the name of Paul Davies. If amendment 1 is agreed, amendment 2 will be deselected. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 13, no abstentions, 35 against. Therefore, amendment 1 is not agreed.
Division number 6919
Item 7. Plaid Cymru Debate – Housing. Amendment 1, tabled in the name of Paul Davies.
David Rees
Labour
6:28,
28 January 2026
We'll now move to a vote on Amendment 2, tabled in the name of Jane Hutt. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 25, no abstentions, 23 against. Therefore, amendment 2 is agreed.
Division number 6920
Item 7. Plaid Cymru Debate – Housing. Amendment 2, tabled in the name of Jane Hutt.
David Rees
Labour
6:29,
28 January 2026
I now call for a vote on the motion as amended.
Motion NDM9122 as amended:
To propose that the Senedd:
Welcomes the bold and ambitious legislative reform set out in the Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill to support the long-term goal of ending homelessness.
Recognises that over the current Senedd term more than £540 million has been invested by the Welsh Government to improve the energy efficiency of homes in Wales, and that the Welsh Government has committed a further £98 million for the Optimised Retrofit programme to improve social homes in 2026-27.
Welcomes the UK Government’s Warm Homes Plan and notes the Welsh Government’s intention to work in partnership to maximise the impact of the interventions and investment that will flow from the plan, to improve outcomes for the people of Wales.
Acknowledges that over £2 billion has been invested in social housing by the Welsh Government, with delivery of 20,000 additional low carbon homes for rent in the social sector on track for November.
Recognises the damage to housing development pipelines as a result of the Liz Truss mini-budget and Brexit, and calls on all parties to commit to an ambitious programme of housing across social, private and intermediate sectors, over the next Senedd term and beyond.
Welcomes the commitment and collective ownership of Welsh Government and sector partners in implementing the Affordable Housing Taskforce’s recommendations.
David Rees
Labour
6:29,
28 January 2026
Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 25, no abstentions, 23 against. Therefore, the motion as amended is agreed.
Division number 6921
Item 7. Plaid Cymru Debate – Housing. Motion as amended.
David Rees
Labour
6:29,
28 January 2026
That concludes our voting for this afternoon.
The Conservatives are a centre-right political party in the UK, founded in the 1830s. They are also known as the Tory party.
With a lower-case ‘c’, ‘conservative’ is an adjective which implies a dislike of change, and a preference for traditional values.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
