Lords put pressure on Starmer with vote to ban social media for under-16s

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 3 min read 100% complete by Rowena Mason Whitehall editorJanuary 21, 2026 at 10:57 PM
Lords put pressure on Starmer with vote to ban social media for under-16s

AI Summary

medium article 3 min

The House of Lords voted in favor of an amendment to ban social media for under-16s, increasing pressure on Keir Starmer and the Labour Party to consider similar restrictions. The Tory-led amendment to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill passed 261 to 150, despite not having government backing. This defeat means the House of Commons will now debate the ban, with support from both Labour and Conservative MPs. While the government is already consulting on a potential ban, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch urged Starmer to implement the ban immediately, citing concerns about children's mental health and concentration. Starmer is reportedly waiting to assess the impact of Australia's social media ban before making a decision.

Keywords

social media ban 100% under-16s 90% children's mental health 80% keir starmer 70% house of lords 70% australian-style restrictions 60% government policy 60% kemi badenoch 50% children's wellbeing 50% mental health 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative
Score: -0.30

Source Transparency

Source
The Guardian - World News
Political Lean
Center-Left (-0.40)
Far LeftCenterFar Right
Classification Confidence
90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).