Voters back troops on borders but reject armed self-defence

The country split almost down the middle on whether soldiers should stand guard at airports, stations and the frontier itself. Should the UK armed forces be deployed to protect national borders and assist checks at airports & coach, railway hubs? ended with a yes, yet the sharpest case against came from those who said service personnel join to protect the country, not to act as security guards.

The verdicts

Should UK residents be allowed to carry firearms for self-defence? saw the UK reach for America as warning rather than model. No carried the day nearly three to one; even one supporter of the idea conceded that more guns could simply make things worse.

On immigration the room revolted against judges. Should UK leave ECHR and withdraw UN Refugee Conventions? passed, though the floor’s best lines belonged to those asking who would surrender rights because of, checks notes, small boats.

Cambridge’s alleged failure to verify an appointment became proxy for a wider row. Is DEI ultimately responsible for Jason Arday's death? scraped a narrow yes, its loudest voices blaming a system that had propped the man up.

University finance lost out to border anxiety. Should the government reverse the levy on international student fees? went down heavily, with the strongest no case branding international students regular visa overstayers.

The waiting list may have budged but the chamber had not. Is the NHS making meaningful progress on waiting lists? was rejected by nearly two to one; its most respected voice warned that full recovery to pre-pandemic sizes would take a very long time.

A new fire minister was cast as either practical answer or gesture politics. Does Andy Burnham's new government role for wildfires set the right spending priority? fell narrowly to no, with widespread scepticism about what the role would actually change.

And the country sounded grim about Labour’s prospects. Will Labour still be in power in 2030 to enforce the ban on new petrol and diesel cars? was voted down by seven in ten, though many diagnosed the question itself as badly phrased; the real argument was less about cars than whether the party survives the next election.

Voting continues today.

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