In the Bretonian Parliament

[pbrione]

As the House moved to divide, there was a great deal of commotion. Several of Worthington's government openly crossed the floor to join Mountbatten's supportes queuing to vote in the "No" lobby on the left side, whilst considerably more simply walked out of the building looking hurried and flustered, without a second glance behind them, clearly preferring not to be present for the vote at all. Those remaining on the government side all clustered around the Foreign Secretary Lord Osborne, Duke of Leeds, Worthington's cousin and main leader in the House of Lords. They were looking increasingly desparate as it became evident that many of their supporters were simply walking out on them. The Duke himself was red in the face, bellowing loudly at the backs of his deserting allies, and attempted to forcibly restrain one of his Junior Ministers from crossing the floor of the lobby, forcing the Stewards to intervene and seperate the two men.

Finally, after several more such incidents, and a good deal of shouting and general jostling, those Lords who had not walked out on the proceedings resumed to take their seats in the Chamber, waiting for the results to be tallied. The benches on the government's side were looking conspicuously devoid of many of their key ministers. The Duke of Leeds sat in the middle of the front row, frowning and in deep conversation with Lord Halloran and Lord Barrington. The Lord Chancellor, Lord Russell, was notably absent. Both Lord Ralston and Sir Edmond Grey say alongside a slightly smiling Mountbatten and a stone-faced Lord Canning firmly on the front row opposition benches. Finally, the 2 tellers entered the hall, and bowed to the Lord Speaker. Silence decended.

"The Ayes to the Right, Sixty Six. The Nos to the Left, One Hundred and Forty Three." A rapid murmuring of conversation started all around, as the note displaying the results was handed up to the Lord Speaker for confirmation.

"The Ayes to the Right, Sixty Six. The Nos to the Left, One Hundred and Forty Three. I declare the Nos have it. Motion not passed!"

The moment that the Lord Speaker had finished, a huge roar erupted from the packed opposition benches. They had defeated the Bill by a huge margin, more than anyone had expected. Those quick on mental maths realised that even considering the 39 abstentions, mostly from Worthington's side, the government had lost its majority. 143 votes was enough to give Mountbatten a firm majority in the Lords, and no doubt the strongly progressive Commons was even more affected. Worthington was finished for sure.

As the various Lords jostled one another in leaving the House, a white-faced Duke of Leeds picked up his comms device to make the call to his cousin, who he knew would have been watching the result. As he did so, a few people noticed Lord Barrington trying to inconspicuously slip away from him to join the crowd of Mountbatten's supporters heading for the exit. There was no recovery from this. The government had fallen.

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Sir Stanley Nelson




<span style="color:#000066">Charles Canning </span><span style="color:#000066"> Foreign Secretary</span>