Members guard the windfall tax by the slimmest of margins

The day's tightest call came from the North Sea, where members only just kept the windfall tax. Should the Budget scrap the windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas to boost UK production? No won, narrowly, and the best No lines were less about the tax than about the proceeds: one wanted the money in a sovereign wealth fund, because "We only get this gas once". It was a narrow result, and the only one that really felt like a contest.

The verdicts

The loudest agreement came on political conduct. Should MPs face a mandatory by-election if they defect to another political party? Yes won overwhelmingly, on the argument that defection breaks a bargain with those who voted on the strength of a manifesto. No voters countered with the bus that changes route, and Churchill, to little effect.

On expenses, members were just as firm. Should MPs and Senedd members be able to claim for hotel stays in the area they represent? They voted against, overwhelmingly, the sharpest line being that the constituency is "your normal place of work". Yes voters pleaded big seats and tired surgeries.

On the economy, Should the Budget cut VAT on pubs, restaurants and hotels from 20% to 10%? Yes won overwhelmingly, though its best-respected voice wanted targeted help for independent community businesses rather than a blanket cut. Most of the No side argued for a different tool to help the same pubs.

Two comfortable Yes results came next. Should migrants have to wait 10 years, not 5, before they can settle permanently in the UK? Members said yes, yet many Yes voters thought ten years too soft, and the most-respected No cases attacked from the hard side too, calling it tinkering. Should the Royal Family release some of its land for social housing? Yes won comfortably, though the top Yes case asked for something narrower: no council estates "in the middle of nowhere". The best No case was about population, not land.

Two comfortable No results finish the day. Should Northern Ireland veterans face investigations over Troubles killings like anyone else? Members voted against, with one line on symmetry doing the work: "Immunity should apply both ways or not at all." And Should people with ancestry in the British Isles be recognised as an indigenous people of the UK? Members rejected the idea, though Yes voters made the louder case about rights and erasure. The most-respected No reply was a single question: "Just how far back does your ancestry have to go?"

A fresh ballot is open today, and the windfall tax will not be the only thing worth arguing over.

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