The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill is changing certain decision-making powers in combined authorities (a legal body made up of two or more local authorities). If the bill becomes law, most decisions made by a combined authority will have to be taken by a ‘simple majority’: that is, more votes for a decision than against it.

Currently, certain decisions in combined authorities can only be taken with a ‘supermajority’, which means a specified proportion of votes in excess of a simple majority (for instance, a two-thirds majority).

This briefing explains the changes that are proposed in the English Devolution Bill. It also sets out the circumstances in which supermajorities are (and have been) required within English local government and at other levels of government in the UK.

Supermajorities in the government of the UK

Supermajorities are rare in the government of the UK. Across the world, parliaments and legislatures normally use supermajorities for matters related to constitutional or other fundamental legal changes.

In English combined authorities, supermajorities are often required for strategic policy decisions. An Institute for Government report on decision making in mayoral combined authorities (MCAs) from 2024 said that this is because:

…some of the governance arrangements were negotiated to restrain mayoral power and reduce the uncertainty of the model for local authorities.

MCAs are therefore set up based on collective decision making, with most key decisions taken jointly by the mayor and other local leaders.

In contrast, supermajority requirements in UK local authorities mostly relate to ceremonial matters or elections.

Supermajority requirements at national government level in the UK, or within the UK’s devolved administrations, relate mostly to constitutional or regulatory matters.

The changes proposed in the English Devolution Bill

Since 2017, elected mayoralties have been introduced in several areas of England. These new elected mayors are chairs of combined authorities or combined county authorities. These bodies are distinct from local authorities, which include county, district and unitary councils. Combined authorities and combined county authorities are made up of indirectly elected councillors drawn from the local authorities within their area.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill would introduce a range of additional powers for elected mayoralties and would standardise a number of their administrative and governance procedures. At the time of writing, the bill is at committee stage in the House of Commons.

Simple majority votes by default for combined authority decisions

The bill states that, by default, all decisions taken in a combined authority are to be taken by simple majority votes. In a combined authority, the mayor has one vote and each of the local authority members has one vote.

One of the significant effects of this change is that a combined authority will only require a simple majority of members to pass its budget. Until now, some combined authorities have required supermajorities or unanimity to pass their budget.

However, some elements of the budget are determined by the mayor, as some combined authority functions are legally conferred on the mayor alone. Combined authorities require a two-thirds majority of members voting to amend these elements of the budget (see the Combined Authorities (Finance) Order 2017). The bill will not change this.

Removing most supermajority requirements for combined authority decisions

Most other supermajority requirements will also be removed.

For instance, Greater Manchester requires a two-thirds majority to reject a draft local transport plan, while Liverpool City Region requires a two-thirds majority to approve a transport plan. Spatial development strategies require unanimous approval in the West of England Combined Authority, but a majority vote in the North-East Combined Authority. These will all be replaced by a requirement for a simple majority. A few non-standard voting requirements will be left in place (see the government’s English devolution: Area factsheets).

But the changes in the bill do not all run one way. For instance, the bill permits mayors to appoint ‘commissioners’: in effect, deputies in charge of specific policy areas. The combined authority members will have the power to veto these appointments on a two-thirds majority. The bill would also introduce a new requirement that non-mayoral combined authority budgets must be approved unanimously by the (local authority) members.

The UK Government has never published any rationale for the differences in supermajority requirements between combined authorities.

Reactions

The Institute for Government published a report in March 2025 welcoming the proposed changes, arguing that some of these requirements had caused barriers to decision making.

Are supermajorities used in local councils?

Most decisions in local authorities in the UK are taken using a simple majority. There are a very small number of exceptions, which are all related either to ceremonial matters or to elections. The following decisions require a two-thirds majority of all councillors voting:

Councils with elected mayors

The situation is different in local authorities (and combined authorities) which have directly elected mayors. In authorities with directly elected mayors, a council needs a two-thirds majority to overrule the mayor’s decision making for certain core policy decisions, including:

This means that a directly elected mayor could take core decisions – over budgeting and high-level planning – with the support of only one-third of the councillors. The bill will not change this situation.

Councils which have a leader and cabinet (rather than a mayor), or use the committee system, can amend budgets and strategies using a simple majority.

Greater London Authority

In the Greater London Authority, the London Assembly requires a two-thirds majority of members voting to amend the mayor’s budget, or to amend statutory mayoral strategies. This means that it is easier for a Mayor of London to pass their budget unamended, as they only need the support of one third of assembly members. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will not change this situation. An amendment to the bill sought to change this to a simple majority requirement, but it was rejected.

The London Assembly can also veto the mayor’s candidate for Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, and Deputy Mayor for Fire, with a two-thirds majority of members voting, provided the candidate is not a London Assembly member. The Assembly can also veto the mayor’s candidate for London Fire Commissioner on a two-thirds majority of members voting.

Are supermajorities used in the government of other parts of the UK?

In the UK Parliament, and within the devolved legislatures, there are some supermajority requirements. Supermajorities are mostly required for matters that could be described as ‘constitutional’ or regulatory in character, not for ceremonial or policy-related matters.

UK Parliament

At Westminster, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 required an early dissolution of Parliament to be approved by votes equivalent to two thirds of the total number of seats in the House of Commons, as opposed to a two-thirds majority of MPs voting.

Four votes took place under the terms of the 2011 act. One, on 19 April 2017, led to the 2017 general election. On three further occasions – 4 September 2019, 9 September 2019 and 28 October 2019 – a majority voted for dissolution but the two-thirds requirement was not met.

This two-thirds majority requirement was repealed by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022.

With the exception of the requirement that a minimum of 100 MPs votes for a closure motion in the House of Commons, there are no other requirements for supermajorities in the House of Commons or House of Lords.

Changes to the Royal Charter for the Self-Regulation of the Press must be approved by a two-thirds majority of members voting in both the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The two-thirds majority also applies in the Scottish Parliament regarding the devolved aspects of the charter.

Supermajorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The Scottish Parliament and the Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament have several powers that require two-thirds of all members to vote in favour when they are exercised. These powers are all constitutional or regulatory in character. Northern Ireland operates a number of additional voting requirements which take account of the existence of two distinct ‘communities’.

Scotland

The Scottish Parliament can vote for an early dissolution with the support of two thirds of the total number of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Under sections 31 and 31A of the Scotland Act 1998, a supermajority is also required for any provisions relating to:

  • the franchise
  • the electoral system
  • the number of constituencies and regions
  • the number of members for each constituency or region

The Scottish Parliament has never used these powers.

The Scottish Parliament also has the power to dismiss members of the Scottish Human Rights Commission with the support of two thirds of all MSPs.

Wales

In Wales, the Senedd can vote for an early dissolution with the support of two-thirds of the total number of members. This supermajority is also required for changes to other “protected subject-matter”, namely:

  • the number of Welsh ministers and deputy Welsh ministers
  • provisions relating to the franchise
  • provisions relating to the electoral system
  • provisions relating to the number of constituencies and regions
  • provisions relating to the number of members for each constituency or region
  • changing the Senedd’s name

The Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 required this supermajority. It changed the name of the then National Assembly for Wales to Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament on 27 November 2019 (for more, see the Commons Library Insight Senedd Cymru: Why has the National Assembly for Wales changed its name?). This act also introduced votes at 16 for devolved and local elections in Wales.

On 8 May 2024, the Senedd exercised powers in the other five ‘protected subject-matters’. In the next Senedd election, scheduled to take place on 7 May 2026, 96 members will be elected in 16 six-member constituencies.

The Senedd also requires a two-thirds majority of members voting to remove its Commissioner for Standards.

A Welsh local authority can change its voting system with a two-thirds majority of the total membership of the authority.

Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Assembly has a system of ‘consociational government’, where a wide range of decisions require assent from a majority in both communities. These operate differently from requirements for a two-thirds majority or a simple majority. More information is available in the Commons Library research briefing Introduction to devolution in the United Kingdom.

In Northern Ireland too, the assembly can dissolve itself with the support of two-thirds of the total number of assembly members (AMs). The assembly requires the same level of support to dismiss the Comptroller and Auditor-General of Northern Ireland.

About the author: Mark Sandford is a researcher at the House of Commons Library, specialising in local government and devolution in England.

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