House of Commons

Too centralised, too short term, too obsessed with Twitter, our political system is a dysfunctional mess. If we don’t fix it, we’ll all suffer

The next government could save £20bn on Westminster’s refit by building a new Houses of Parliament in Birmingham

Procedural manoeuvres, bellowing and walk-outs – there’s a good reason for it all

Boris Johnson faces the prospect of a Tory rebellion when MPs are asked to approve the extension of coronavirus restrictions in England until July 19. The House of Commons will vote on Wednesday evening on the four-week delay to the end of lockdown measures, aimed at buying more time for the vaccine programme. Labour has […]

A Tory MP will make a public apology in the House of Commons for bullying parliamentary committee staff as he struggled with IT issues. Daniel Kawczynski acted in a “threatening and intimidating manner” towards the complainants after he was unable to join a committee hearing due to technical problems. A disciplinary report said the Shrewsbury […]

A key British cultural organisation is not being abandoned by the UK government, a minister has insisted, amid concerns over possible outpost closures. Conservative MP John Baron used a Commons urgent question to warn a £10 million shortfall has left the British Council facing the prospect of shutting some of its international network. The Basildon […]

Northern England and the West Midlands will lose MPs under a planned shake-up of Westminster constituencies, with cabinet ministers set to be hit by the changes. The proposals, aimed at ensuring seats with broadly similar numbers of voters, will see England gain 10 additional seats overall, but the bulk of those will be in the […]

A new £800 million research agency – which was originally described as Dominic Cummings’ ‘pet project’ – risks being a “side door to sleaze in science”, the opposition has warned. Ministers want the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) to focus on “high-risk, high-reward” research to explore new ideas while having “strategic and cultural” independence and […]

Boris Johnson has been spared an immediate Tory revolt over cuts to Britain’s overseas aid budget after a Commons move to reverse the decision was ruled out of order by the speaker. Lindsay Hoyle ruled the proposed change to the Bill setting up the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) – which would have forced […]

A loophole which prevents constituents of disgraced MP Rob Roberts from forcing a by-election should be closed, the government has said. The Delyn MP faces being suspended from the Commons for six weeks after breaching sexual misconduct rules by making repeated unwanted advances to a member of staff. He has been stripped of the Tory […]

Readers praise the former House of Commons speaker's column for The New European.

Former Commons speaker John Bercow on his anger at the government’s warped priorities and the Voter ID plan which proposes "a solution to a problem that does not exist"

Boris Johnson has been questioned at Prime Minister’s Questions on the UK’s border policy after his former chief adviser branded it a “joke” and “nonsense”. On Monday, Dominic Cummings accused ministers of developing policy “based on nonsense memes” which claim that people in Asian countries, “all do as they’re told… it won’t work here”. Writing on […]

Boris Johnson is to face Labour leader Keir Starmer for Prime Minister’s Questions for the first time since the local elections and the Queen’s Speech. The prime minister could face pressure to clarify the confusion around international travel rules after one of his ministers said all international trips were “dangerous”. Would-be holidaymakers were left with […]

Parliament’s standards watchdog reportedly believes Boris Johnson’s holiday to Mustique was worth more than double the £15,000 he declared in the Commons register. According to the Daily Mail, Kathryn Stone, the commissioner for standards, said the bill had not been met by Tory donor David Ross as the prime minister has insisted. The revelation will […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has defended the government’s plans to require photographic identification to vote by comparing it to a ban on MPs wearing overcoats and hats during Commons divisions. The Commons leader was challenged by Labour over the proposal amid fears it could disenfranchise some voters who do not have any form of photo ID. Shadow […]

Boris Johnson has mocked Angela Rayner for her new shadow cabinet job titles, claiming the deputy Labour leader will become “hungrier” for more power. Angela Rayner was given greater authority within the shadow cabinet following intense criticism of Keir Starmer’s initial move to strip her of key roles as party chairwoman and campaign co-ordinator following the elections. […]

A cross-party panel of MPs will be asked to consider how misleading comments in the Commons should be corrected over concerns from opposition MPs that Boris Johnson is consistently dishonest. Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle backed a proposal for the Commons Procedure Committee to look into “how perceived inaccuracies could be corrected” in a bid to […]

The leaders of six Westminster opposition parties will meet with Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to discuss holding a debate on Boris Johnson’s “inaccuracies” in parliament. The Liberal Democrats, Greens, SNP, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and Alliance Party will attend the talks with Sir Lindsay. Labour has said it will not back the call for a debate […]

Parliament is scheduled to dissolve on April 29 ahead of next month’s Queen’s Speech, the government has said. Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg, announcing forthcoming business, confirmed the Commons will prorogue next Thursday once royal assent has been signified for all necessary legislation – such as the Domestic Abuse Bill. The Queen’s Speech to start the […]

The equalities minister has hit out at those that have attempted to discredit the findings of a controversial report on racial disparities. Kemi Badenoch said “appalling abuse” had been meted out to members of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (Cred) and false assertions have been made about their work. Her statement comes one […]

The Tory MP leading a Commons committee investigating lobbying is confident that his probe can bring “meaningful change” in the wake of the Greensill Capital controversy. William Wragg is chairman of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, which will be carrying out an inquiry into lobbying and business appointments issues that have come to […]

Labour has called for a parliamentary investigation into the David Cameron lobbying scandal over Greensill, telling MPs the former prime minister is “only sorry he got caught”. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves told the Commons: “Having refused to respond to any questions at all for 40 days, David Cameron chose a period of national grief, […]

MPs are to vote on whether to establish a parliamentary inquiry into David Cameron’s lobbying activities for collapsed financial firm Greensill Capital. A plan put forward by Labour would create a new Commons select committee to investigate lobbying, including the former prime minister’s activities, which would be able to summon witnesses to answer questions in […]

MPs have asked what Rishi Sunak is “afraid of” by avoiding the House of Commons during an urgent question on David Cameron and his involvement in the Greensill lobbying row. Text messages revealed Sunak revealed “pushed” officials to consider plans that could have helped the firm Cameron was lobbying for. Labour MP Andrew Gwynne told […]

Ministers are expected to face questions in the House of Commons over David Cameron’s lobbying activities on behalf of the collapsed financial firm Greensill Capital. Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has been granted an urgent Commons question calling on chancellor Rishi Sunak to explain how Greensill was granted access to a Covid loan scheme for businesses, […]

A new cross-party group comprising of MPs, business leaders and economic exports is being established to provide independent scrutiny of the UK’s trade deals with Europe and the rest of the world. The Trade and Business Commission will be co-convened by Labour MP Hilary Benn and the chairman of Virgin Group, Peter Norris. It will […]

Public health budgets are effectively being cut or frozen in a host of areas where Covid-19 case rates are higher than the national average, according to Labour. The party said new pressure on public health spending, which has impacted 2021/22 budgets, will hit efforts to tackle the pandemic, especially in “red wall” areas of traditional […]

Conservative rebels have failed in their bid to prevent ministers from signing trade agreements with countries implicated in genocide following Brexit. The House of Commons voted 319 to 297, majority 22, to disagree with a Lords amendment to the Trade Bill. This would have established a parliamentary panel of judicial experts to determine whether any […]

Technical problems delayed Priti Patel’s appearance in the House of Commons ahead of an update on the protests in Bristol. MPs had assembled in the chamber for Home Office questions at 2.30pm, but problems in allowing MPs to appear virtually in the chamber caused speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to suspend business immediately. He told the […]

Sir Keir Starmer has “gone mad”, a Tory government minister has claimed. Conservative frontbencher Christopher Pincher said that the Labour leader is a “prisoner of woke” and that the Labour leader should “direct” mayor of London Sadiq Khan to focus on housing and other projects rather than trying to “pull down” statues in parks. Khan […]

Labour has said it will not back the government’s key crime legislation because of clauses that could lead to harsher penalties for damaging a statue than attacking a woman. Shadow justice secretary David Lammy said the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill contain “poorly thought out” proposals that would impose controls on the right to protest. […]