Members insist Brexit reversal needs fresh referendum

The day's sharpest tension came on the constitution: refnation members voted decisively that rejoining the EU must be settled by referendum rather than a manifesto pledge. Should rejoining the EU be decided by referendum rather than being a manifesto commitment? carried by more than four in five, with the strongest voices insisting no government should reverse Brexit without asking the public again. Many treated the question as a safeguard against an illegitimate coup by parliament alone; others saw it as simple symmetry — out by referendum, in by referendum.

The verdicts

Should the BBC television licence fee be replaced with a compulsory £11-a-month charge on household internet bills? was rejected by a wide margin. Members disliked the idea that people who never watch the BBC would still pay through an everyday necessity like broadband.

On foreign policy, Should the UK recognise that the US is no longer a stable ally? split members almost down the middle. No scraped through, yet the most respected arguments defended the alliance as more stable than our enemies, leaving the room without a settled verdict.

Should the UK introduce a windfall tax on profits earned by banks? passed comfortably. Voters backed the tax even though the chamber's sharpest-rated argument came from the losing side warning that damaging companies destroys jobs.

Should MPs in the UK face a term limit? was turned down. The strongest case rested on voters, not rules, deciding when an MP should stand down.

Should indefinite leave to remain be abolished? passed narrowly. Yes prevailed, but the highest-rated voices added a boundary: it should not be abolished retrospectively.

Members overwhelmingly rejected Should the UK introduce smartphone laws to help increase birth rates?, preferring the view that people will have children when their lives feel stable and secure.

Finally, Should the UK government nationalise artificial intelligence infrastructure to ensure public control? was defeated by about two to one. Distrust of turning the most transformative technology of our age into a political football outweighed calls for public ownership.

Voting continues today.

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