UK demands migration cuts and devolution in narrow votes

The UK split almost down the middle on several of the day's most charged questions, yet delivered one resounding verdict: schools should keep serving hot meals. Barely one in six voters backed forcing every pupil to bring packed lunches instead, a near-total rout that left the idea dead on arrival.

The verdicts

Should the UK government reduce net migration below current record levels? saw the country vote nearly three to one in favour of further cuts, though the floor's most respected voice made the opposite case, arguing migrants contribute more to the economy than the numbers suggest.

On housing, should the government make it easier for developers to build houses and infrastructure? passed two to one, but the actual debate became a proxy fight about immigration rather than planning law. Voters also dismissed the idea that allocating £92,300 per local authority from the Development Management Fund would speed up delivery, calling the sum a rounding error against council budgets running into hundreds of millions.

Should the October Budget move money and power out of Westminster to every UK postcode? produced a narrow but decisive win for devolution by 55 to 45, carried less by enthusiasm for handing out power than by frustration with Westminster's failures.

If the proportion of the white population has dropped from 90% in 2010 to c70% now, is it time to reverse immigration? passed narrowly, though the sharpest contribution came from the winning side's fringe, with one respected voice calling for mass removal and declaring he no longer cared how it was done.

Should the government instigate a media campaign to reacquaint the public with traditional British courtesies & values? scraped a narrow victory for nostalgia by just eight points, even as opponents questioned whether social engineering was really Whitehall's business.

And should older clean energy projects be moved to fixed-price contracts? won nearly three to one, showing the chamber has largely accepted the case for severing the link between wholesale gas prices and household bills.

Voting continues today.

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