A tax cut for banks described as 'sickening' by one Labour MP was passed in the Commons last night.
The Finance Bill had its third reading in the House of Commons and included a provision to lower the rate of a surcharge on banking profits of more than £25 million from 8% to 3% from next year.
Coming on the eve of an expected increase in the energy price cap which could see bills rise for millions of households, the tax cut provoked anger on opposition benches, but passed by 302 votes to 226.
An amendment, which would have seen the tax cut axed, was defeated.
Labour called on the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to scrap the tax cut and instead use the estimated £1 billion it raises each year to fund support for households struggling to deal with the cost-of-living crisis, amid rising fuel prices and energy bills.
Weston's Conservative MP, John Penrose, was among those who backed the bill. No vote was recorded for fellow Conservative, Dr Liam Fox, the MP for North Somerset.
Did Somerset MPs vote in support of the bill?
John Penrose (Con, Weston): Yes
Jacob Rees-Mogg (Con, North East Somerset): Yes
Marcus Fysh (Con, Yeovil): Yes
Ian Liddell-Grainger (Con, Bridgwater): Yes
Rebecca Pow (Con, Taunton Deane): Yes
James Heappey (Con, Wells): No vote recorded
David Warburton (Con, Somerton and Frome): No vote recorded
Dr Liam Fox (Con, North Somerset): No vote recorded
The cut was announced in last year's Budget by the Chancellor.
Labour said the surcharge raised £8.3 billion since 2016, which could fund solid wall insulation for 110,000 homes, cavity wall insulation for a million homes, or 380,000 new gas condensing boilers.
And after the vote Richard Burgeon (Lab, East Leeds), said: "Sickening. I just voted to scrap a multi-billion tax cut for bankers.
"Not a single Tory MP voted to stop bankers getting even richer.
"How dare they do this when millions can't even afford to pay their energy bills."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here