Members tell Reform to expel, ministers not to break tax pledges

Saturday was a day for trust, and members were short on patience with anyone who breaks it. The sharpest result came on Reform UK expelling the councillors filmed making racist remarks in ITV's undercover investigation, which won overwhelmingly. The most-respected No arguments said any party filmed this way would produce the same remarks; the top Yes case was one line: "When people tell your who they are, believe them". Members, it seems, do.

The day's one genuine squeaker came elsewhere, and it is worth a look below.

The verdicts

The trust theme ran straight through the Budget. On raising income tax, National Insurance or VAT despite promising not to, members said no, comfortably, with the sharpest lines warning that voters would have "no reason to believe anything in a manifesto". Yes voters countered that circumstances change. On political party donors winning government contracts, members backed a ban comfortably on a short, blunt case: "Yes as this is how the corruption starts!" The No side answered with paperwork, urging transparency instead.

The day's closest result belonged to police always revealing a suspect's nationality and ethnicity when announcing a charge, which Yes won narrowly. One side demanded that "Honesty (and accuracy) must prevail"; the other warned of "yet another witch hunt for entire groups".

On fuel and pensions, members kept their wallets in view. They rejected lifting sanctions on Russian petrol and diesel overwhelmingly, with the leading No case suggesting a cut in fuel duty instead. They also voted against making people who keep working past state pension age pay National Insurance, comfortably, with pleas that such workers have "contributed enough".

Two rules-for-the-rest-of-us questions went the regulatory way. Members backed built-in dash cams in all new cars comfortably, though several of the best-respected Yes voices admitted privacy worries before backing cameras on grounds of dangerous driving. And minimum qualifications such as GCSE Maths and English for home-schooling parents won overwhelmingly, over objections that a certificate proves little about teaching.

A new ballot is open today, and members' profiles are waiting for their next votes.

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