![\"House](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2161788044-e1752747690873.jpg\")
\t\tLib Dems have vowed to push back the mandation power\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tFriday 24 April 2026 12:12 pm
\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Updated:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\tFriday 24 April 2026 3:06 pm\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\tLib Dems have vowed to push back the mandation power\t<\/p>\n
The government has been warned that the Pension Schemes Bill will continue to be pushed back unless ministers remove controversial mandation powers, as a groundswell of opposition puts pressure on the government to water down the bill.<\/p>\n
The warning comes as the House of Commons gears up for the bill to bounce back from the Lords on Monday, after the upper house once again defeated the government on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n
It marks the second time peers <\/a>have sent the issue back to the Commons, after rejecting the government\u2019s revised wording of the mandation power.<\/p>\n Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Bowles, who led the opposition to the revised wording, said the concessions offered so far amounted to \u201cfiddling around the edges\u201d and failed to address the core problems within the powers.<\/p>\n The power would allow ministers to dictate where pension funds allocate their capital and has been viewed across the Square Mile and Westminster as a power grab to fund politicians\u2019 pet projects, such as HS2.<\/p>\n \t\tNot the experts<\/p>\n Baroness Bowles said: \u201cThe government aren\u2019t the experts on pension investments.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to choose what to do with retirement savings, rather than the experienced professionals and trustees who must operate in people\u2019s best interests.\u201d<\/p>\n The party has also called on the government to \u201cproperly address two central objections\u201d, including the subordination of trustees\u2019 fiduciary duty which the Lib Dem\u2019s argue lower funds\u2019 duty to savers to maximise returns in favour of national growth.<\/p>\n The Lib Dems also called out the exclusion <\/a>of listed investment companies, investment trusts on the London Stock Exchange which invest in other assets such as start-up companies, from mandation targets.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n \t\t\tPension ping pong: Now government backtracks on mandation powers<\/a><\/p>\n The opposition has expressed confusion at their exclusion, with the government\u2019s productive financing working group hailing them as a perfect vehicle for investment in UK growth.<\/p>\n Fears have grown among the opposition and industry figures that their exclusion locks out billions from established trusts and instead steers investment towards newer, less-proven vehicles such as long-term asset funds (LTAFs).<\/p>\n Conservative peer Lord Lucas also called mandation a \u201cdead end, and at its heart poisonous\u201d during Wednesday\u2019s session.<\/p>\n Tick Tock<\/p>\n The government is now facing a pressing choice to back down and negotiate with the opposition as the end of the parliamentary session inches closer.<\/p>\n Failure to pass the bill through the two houses before the session ends could see the government lose the bill entirely.<\/p>\n While those opposed have accepted concessions so far, including the statutory cap, a one-time use restriction on the power and a full sunset on the regime by 2035, the wish to see the bill watered down further.<\/p>\n