Scottish MPs lead protests against plan for Westminster return in June

The government has clashed with the Commons Speaker and opposition MPs after it signalled that hybrid virtual sessions of parliament would come to an end in a week.

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer speaking during Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs)

Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said that all 
MPs would be expected to attend parliament from June to “set an example” for workers in England told to return to work, and claimed it would be wrong to “hide away whilst schoolchildren are going back”.

But the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, said safety would come first and warned he would suspend proceedings if the House became too crowded.

Labour and the SNP also protested, saying it was still not safe for MPs to return to Westminster because of doubts over the ability to socially distance in the 19th century palace.

The row raised the prospect of a constitutional crisis if Scottish MPs choose to boycott proceedings on safety grounds. MPs north of the border from several parties have also warned that with transport services still severely reduced, it will be practically impossible for them to travel to and from rural constituencies every week.

Currently, social distancing requirements mean only 50 MPs can attend the chamber in person, while up to 120 can join proceedings remotely via Zoom. The first online vote only took place this week, with several MPs, including the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, voting the wrong way by accident.

Mr Rees-Mogg announced on Tuesday that he does not want to see the so-called “hybrid” arrangements extended beyond recess that ends on 2 June. He accused opposition MPs of trying to “hide behind a veneer of virtual Parliament”.

“We are the leaders of our nation and we have a responsibility, that responsibility falls on us to come back,” Mr Rees-Mogg said.

Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary who represents Dumfries and Galloway in the Borders, said he would return to Westminster on 20 May to take Scottish questions in person that day.

Mr Jack said he was able to travel as a “key worker”, adding that the Speaker had requested ministers answer questions from the despatch box.

Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, the Scottish Secretary claimed parliament had been “made Covid safe”, adding: “There will be a new normal, it is not going to be back to business as usual when the time comes with everyone crammed in the chamber together, that is not what is being suggested.”

When asked if his advice to others is to stay at home, Mr Jack said: “Yes, of course. That is the Scottish Government’s message and I agreed that in a conversation with the First Minister last week.”

The SNP’s Commons business spokesman Tommy Sheppard said shutting down virtual participation would create an “unnecessary risk of infection”, and warned the government not to “lock Scotland out of parliament”.

“The option of virtual participation must remain so Scotland’s MPs can continue to hold the UK government to account and represent our constituents safely,” Mr Sheppard said.

Making a statement to the Commons yesterday, Mr Hoyle said: “Nothing in the Leader’s announcement changes the position on social distancing in and around the chamber and throughout the parliamentary estate – only changes to the guidance from Public Health England can do that, I think we’re all agreed on that.”

The Speaker said votes in person would take possibly up to an hour, to observe social-distancing rules if electronic voting was no longer allowed.

Garry Graham, deputy general secretary of the Prospect union, warned that a quick return could create a “massively-elevated risk” to parliamentary staff.

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