How members voted on Saturday 31 October

Yesterday's one true stalemate came from the least glamorous question on the ballot. On whether county and district councils should be merged into single, larger councils, the result was a dead heat, the day's closest result. Yes voters wanted to "get rid of double and treble beauracracy"; No voters feared the money would "pool in the cities" and leave rural areas forgotten.

Everywhere else, refnation members had firm opinions and a fondness for the status quo.

The verdicts

The tax-and-benefits questions produced the loudest answers. Members voted overwhelmingly against the idea that it is fair for a full-time worker on less than double the minimum wage to pay 40% income tax, with even the most-respected Yes case conceding that thresholds should rise with inflation. On scrapping the Winter Fuel Payment, members said no comfortably, though many No voters wanted it means tested and both top-rated cases blamed the cost of energy.

The NHS and policing questions pulled in different directions. Members comfortably backed requiring ID or proof of residence for non-emergency NHS treatment, the best-respected case being that the NHS is paid for by contributors. On banning police officers from religious dress or symbols on duty, members voted narrowly against a ban, though the strongest arguments on each side never really met.

History and housing were less cosy. Members comfortably rejected a formal UK apology for the transatlantic slave trade, with the No side offering "The Brits ended the transatlantic slave trade. You're welcome." Members did back banning new holiday lets in areas short of housing, though the most-respected No voices called blanket bans clumsy and preferred licensing.

Finally, members comfortably backed all UK councils taking public control of their bus networks, even as the No side held the most-respected lines, led by a jab at the Bee Network's bill for a shared timetable.

A fresh ballot opens today, and the council-merger tie is still waiting for someone to break it.

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