Cladding campaigners say Boris Johnson broke promise by ordering his MPs to vote against aid package

Cladding campaigners have said they will not stop fighting after the government saw off an attempt by MPs to provide financial help to families living in buildings with unsafe cladding.

Boris Johnson ordered his MPs to vote down an amendment agreed by the House of Lords on Monday night that would have extended financial support to leaseholders left out of the current government assistance package.

Despite a rebellion by a small minority of Conservatives, ministers comfortably saw off an amendment to the Fire Safety Bill by a margin of 322 votes to 253.

Some leadersholders are being left to pick up the tab for replacing cladding of the kind blamed for the Grenfell Tragedy. Paul Afshar, of the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign, said people were "angry" and "disappointed" at the government's action.

"Ministers and two Prime Ministers have promised countless times that leaseholders should not pay for shoddy construction work, corporate malfeasance and botched government interventions, he said.

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"This evening they broke that promise by voting against an amendment that would protect us in law. They failed to listen to common sense and the moral arguments set out by the Lords. We are disappointed – and we are angry."

Mr Afshar said the group was "truly grateful" at the way politicians "across the political divide", including many Tory MPs "have recognised the devastating effect this crisis is having on millions of people".

"They recognise how this scandal is pushing many to the brink – financially and mentally – as well as paralysing huge chunks of the housing market," he said.

"We now call on the Lords to continue their heroic fight for the innocent people trapped in this scandal – and for the government to finally step up and protect the people it is meant to serve, as finally and fairly resolving this issue is clearly in the national interest. We won’t stop fighting until we have justice."

Under the Lords amendment plan, the government would have covered the upfront costs of replacing dangerous cladding, with the expenses recouped by imposing a levy on cladding producers, contractors and developers.

But housing secretary Robert Jenrick has rejected this approach and said £3.5bn of cash to replace cladding will go only to towers over 18m in height, with those in smaller buildings required to take out loans.

The bill will now return to the House of Lords - meaning it could potentially face a round of parliamentary "ping-pong" where it is sent back and forth between the two chambers.

In a statement the campaign group Grenfell United, which represents bereaved families and survivors from the 2017 west London fire, said:

"We're determined that homes are made safe and that residents shouldn't be facing bankruptcy for a crisis that was not of their making, especially while companies responsible continue to make huge profits.

"Instead of holding those corporations responsible to account, Government continues to force enormous bills on innocent leaseholders, whilst the companies who knew the risks and dangers of their products but sold them anyway – highlighted in the Public Inquiry – face no consequences.

"We will keep pushing - every step until there is a solution that works. It shouldn't be down to families who lost loved ones – or those trapped in their own homes facing financial ruin, but we can't rest until everyone is safe in their homes and the lessons of Grenfell are learnt."

Responding for the government on Monday night housing minister Christopher Pincher said that the Lords proposals could be “self-defeating” by motivating landlords to activate insolvency procedures and walk away from the problem.