This Wednesday, MPs will head home from the virtual parliament and go into recess. When they come back to work, the government is pushing for a return to normal. Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg wants MPs to return to parliament rather than work from home. There are no current plans to renew measures that had allowed MPs to work from home such as the ability to question ministers via the video app Zoom or vote online.
This decision has not been universally well-received. Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has expressed safety concerns while Labour MPs have warned against the move. Given that Hoyle says the Chamber cannot take more than 50 MPs at any one time (while staying in accordance with social distancing measures), there’s a chance MPs return but are then unable to take part in many of the once routine parts of their day.
Last week, two controversial pieces of legislation were pulled so they did not get put to a virtual vote
So, why is the government pushing ahead? Last week, there were reports that the Prime Minister had been spooked by PMQs with Keir Starmer and wanted supportive MPs behind him next time. While it’s true that Johnson works best in the Chamber with a supportive party cheering him on, the reasons that the bulk of Tories have been for pushing for a return to parliament go beyond issues limited to the Chamber.
They roughly fall into two camps. There is a sense that if MPs are encouraging the public to gradually return to work – be it with social distancing in place – they need to lead by example. With a high level of fear and reluctance to return to normal, some ministers believe that having MPs return to work could serve to reassure worried Britons. Conservatives are also concerned about precedents being set – if this goes on indefinitely, parliament via keyboard could become the norm.
The other reason – which works both ways – relates to party discipline. Last week, two controversial pieces of legislation were pulled so they did not get put to a virtual vote. Plans to bring forward motions for the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Early Release on Licence) and abortion regulations in Northern Ireland were scrapped. As one minister puts it, it demonstrates ‘how un-whippable a remote party is’. Having MPs in parliament – even if they can’t all be in the room at the same time – will allow the government whips to gather intelligence on difficult votes that are looming (such as Huawei).
There are also a high number of Tory MPs who wish to return to parliament – but not so they can be forced to toe the government line. Instead, there is a view among a growing number of Tory MPs who are anxious about the slow pace of lockdown easing that being physically in the Commons will boost their cause. This is because it will mean the mood in the party is more apparent – and there will be more opportunities to lobby the government. It will also allow for traditional political plotting. ‘It will be much easier to tell the mood,’ explains one such MP.
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