The vote that nobody in the chamber expected
Two abstentions, one missing member and a bill that survived by a margin of exactly one.
By the time the doors were locked for the division, three separate whips believed they had counted the room correctly. All three were wrong.
The bill passed by a single vote, a result that will shape the legislative calendar for the rest of the session and has already triggered a review of how absences are managed.
The corridor conversation
Two members who abstained say they were given assurances about amendments at committee stage. Nobody in leadership will confirm those assurances exist.
The opposition is demanding a recorded explanation. The government is treating the result as a mandate.
Both positions are, in the way of these things, entirely sincere and entirely incompatible.
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