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Division Vote (Lords)
14 Jan 2026 - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Bassam of Brighton (Lab) voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House
One of 162 Labour No votes vs 1 Labour Aye votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 278 Noes - 176
Division Vote (Lords)
14 Jan 2026 - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Bassam of Brighton (Lab) voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House
One of 152 Labour No votes vs 1 Labour Aye votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 213 Noes - 211
Division Vote (Lords)
14 Jan 2026 - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Bassam of Brighton (Lab) voted No - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 123 Labour No votes vs 0 Labour Aye votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 59 Noes - 127
Division Vote (Lords)
12 Jan 2026 - Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Bassam of Brighton (Lab) voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House
One of 147 Labour No votes vs 1 Labour Aye votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 201 Noes - 169
Written Question
Music Venues: Valuation
Wednesday 7th January 2026

Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the new valuations by the Valuation Office Agency on grassroots music venues.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

At the Budget, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. Music venues are valued in the same way as any other class of non-domestic property, through applying the statutory and common law principles that apply across non-domestic rating.

Some properties, including in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, have seen their rateable values increased. This is in part because the last revaluation updated rateable values to align with market values at 1 April 2021 – during the COVID pandemic. This meant rateable values were lower due to the atypical economic situation the pandemic created. This latest revaluation reflects a post Covid world, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.

To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

Division Vote (Lords)
6 Jan 2026 - Sentencing Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Bassam of Brighton (Lab) voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House
One of 125 Labour No votes vs 1 Labour Aye votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 204 Noes - 136
Division Vote (Lords)
6 Jan 2026 - Sentencing Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Bassam of Brighton (Lab) voted No - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 133 Labour No votes vs 1 Labour Aye votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 180 Noes - 219
Division Vote (Lords)
6 Jan 2026 - Sentencing Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Bassam of Brighton (Lab) voted No - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 122 Labour No votes vs 1 Labour Aye votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 134 Noes - 185
Division Vote (Lords)
6 Jan 2026 - Sentencing Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Bassam of Brighton (Lab) voted No - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 130 Labour No votes vs 1 Labour Aye votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 182 Noes - 209
Division Vote (Lords)
5 Jan 2026 - Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Bassam of Brighton (Lab) voted No - in line with the party majority and against the House
One of 120 Labour No votes vs 0 Labour Aye votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 131 Noes - 127