Football Governance Bill

Key Points

• Aims to reform governance to improve transparency and accountability in English football.
• Seeks fair financial dealings between professional clubs and their supporters.
• Has progressed through the Lords with large majorities; amendments in the Lords were largely defeated.
• Now in the Commons at the second reading, with scrutiny to follow in committee stage.
• Shows broad but varied cross-party interest, with some parties supportive and others more cautious.

Progress

The bill has completed Lords consideration with strong support and is currently at the second reading in the House of Commons. The next steps are Commons committee scrutiny, report stage, and potential reconciliation of any Lords amendments before it can become law.

Voting

In the Lords, the bill sailed through Second Reading (342-70) and Third Reading (415-98), while Report Stage amendments were rejected by large margins (e.g., 178-338; 86-340; 167-346). In the party-wide figures provided, Liberal Democrats showed clear support (300-48), while Labour MPs were mixed overall (about 605-1281), and Conservative MPs also split (about 245-148). Overall, amendments in the Lords faced strong opposition, and the Third Reading in the Lords passed with a large majority.