House of Commons

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. […]

Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said that he does not believe the Budget passes the “Bevan test”. Speaking in the House of Commons the former Labour leader said: “120,000 people have died from Covid. Our way of life has been dramatically restricted. Our key workers have stepped up and put themselves in harm’s way for […]

NHS staff in England were expecting to receive a higher pay rise than the 1% proposed by the government, the head of the health service has confirmed. Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of the NHS in England, confirmed that plans set out previously had budgeted for NHS pay to increase by 2.1% this year. It […]

A junior health minister has been sent to defend the government’s recommendation to give NHS workers in England a 1% pay rise. Health secretary Matt Hancock dodged questions from MPs after Labour called for a response at the despatch box. Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth had demanded Hancock appear in the House of Commons to make […]

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has claimed that the SNP’s ‘little local difficulties’ is a clear reason not to hold a fresh independence poll in Scotland. The leader of the Commons claimed it would be “reckless” to hold another vote as the UK seeks to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic too. Speaking in the Commons, SNP […]

Conservative MPs have demanded prime minister Boris Johnson gives them a Commons vote on moves to slash the UK’s aid contribution to war-torn Yemen. Former cabinet minister David Davis warned the policy “puts lives at risk” and must receive prior approval from MPs. The UK has pledged at least £87 million in aid, down from […]

Our leaders are avoiding proper scrutiny due to the changes in the way politicians communicate during the pandemic. The social impact of COVID is self-evident. It has touched the everyday aspects of each of our lives, from simple tasks such as shopping, to meeting family members on Zoom, to (not) socialising with friends. Each of […]

MPs have called on Matt Hancock to apologise after he denied there was ever a national shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves urged the health secretary to say sorry to NHS and care staff who “had to make makeshift PPE” due to a lack of […]

An MP was snubbed from making a virtual contribution to parliament after being judged to be dressed too casually. Conservative Jonathan Gullis had been set to address the Commons from home during a debate on support for businesses and individuals during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the Stoke-on-Trent North MP was skipped on the order paper […]

Sadiq Khan has hit back at Jacob Rees-Mogg after being branded “Red Khan” over his new diversity scheme. Rees-Mogg claimed London should be spared “loony left-wing wheezes” as he branded the city’s mayor “Red Khan”. The Commons Leader said councils should be responsible for naming streets, with the MP for North East Somerset advising Sadiq […]

Labour MP Stella Creasy is considering pursuing the government in court if it changes the law to allow only ministers to take paid time off after having a baby. The Ministerial and Other Maternity Allowances Bill, which seeks to update the treatment of pregnant cabinet ministers, was announced on February 4 and comes three months […]

Anti-privatisation campaigners have criticised the government’s approach to the NHS in trade deals as the Trade Bill returns to the Commons. We Own It – a group campaigning for greater protections for the NHS against future trade agreements – say the government’s proposals for safeguarding the NHS “isn’t worth the paper it’s written on”. The criticism comes as the government produced an […]

Tory rebels have accused the government of using game-playing to prevent a Commons vote on an attempt to outlaw post-Brexit trade deals with countries that are committing genocide. MPs are threatening to back a House of Lords amendment forcing ministers to withdraw from any free trade agreement with a country which the High Court rules is […]

Boris Johnson is seeking to avert a Tory revolt over his post-Brexit trade bill as it returns to the House of Commons. The government has been involved in a parliamentary battle over proposals to outlaw trade deals with countries that are committing genocide – a dispute taking place at a time when the Chinese authorities’ […]

The government “doesn’t have a plan” to bring home a British mother due to finish a five-year sentence in Iran next month, her local MP fears. British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained in Iran since 2016, when she was sentenced to five years in prison over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has dismissed a call from Labour for a select committee on Brexit and the European Union to be reinstated as problems continue after the UK’s departure from the bloc. For Labour, Valerie Vaz challenged Rees-Mogg over Boris Johnson’s claims about trade in Northern Ireland after Brexit. Calling for the committee to be reinstated, […]

Reports suggesting there was an argument between Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer after Prime Minister’s Questions have been denied. The two leaders had clashed in the Commons after the Prime Minister accused the Labour leader of repeatedly calling for the UK to stay in the European Medicines Agency after Brexit, suggesting such a move would […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has branded Nicola Sturgeon “Mrs Moan-a-lot” after she suggested Boris Johnson’s trip to Scotland this week would break coronavirus guidelines. Instead, Rees-Mogg said the first minister should be “proud” of the prime minister’s visit to a vaccine facility in Livingstone. Responding to the SNP’s Tommy Sheppard’s question on the matter, the Commons leader said: […]

Measures in the government’s new environmental protection legislation could be used to ban people from driving cars, a Conservative MP has claimed. Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) said the so-called precautionary principle in the Environment Bill – where actions could be taken by the government to stop environmental damage – could restrict people’s […]

Rishi Sunak has been accused of sexism after telling MPs that “mums everywhere” are owed a debt of thanks for “juggling childcare and work” during lockdown. The chancellor was responding to a question in the Commons specifically about mothers who are working while dealing with childcare and home schooling responsibilities, although there was no mention of […]

Boris Johnson has not lost faith in education secretary Gavin Williamson to do his job, despite a minister being sent in his place to answer an urgent question, his spokesperson has claimed. Schools minister Nick Gibb will reply for the government later in response to an urgent question on its plan for the reopening of […]

Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband has savaged the new business minister over his attempts to ‘review’ workers’ rights after Brexit. The former Labour leader turned his attention on Kwasi Kwarteng over his previous remarks about the rights of workers. In a debate in the Commons, where Tory MPs abstained on protecting the rights, Miliband pointed to the […]

Conservative MPs have abstained on a motion to protect holiday pay, paid breaks, the 48-hour working week limit and legislation that bans firing and rehiring. While the motion was supported by 263 MPs, Tory MPs did not vote, with many Tory politicians failing to turn up for the debate. Labour frontbencher Andy McDonald told the Commons: […]

Westminster’s tumultuous scenes of recent years have underlined a need for change in the way parliament operates. MEG RUSSELL and DANIEL GOVER offer a solution. The last few years have been turbulent ones in the House of Commons. First over Brexit, then over Covid-19, tensions between the government and parliament have run exceptionally high. This was […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has thanked Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters – who he called the “woke brigade” – for removing statues of historic British figures in a bizarre speech in the House of Commons. Rees-Mogg claimed BLM demonstrators had in fact made people more aware of statues they walk past every day. Responding to a request for a […]

Labour MPs have tabled an Opposition Day debate motion to protect employment rights now under threat as a result of Brexit.  With the UK no longer bound by EU directives, rights enshrined in their wording – such as holiday pay and statutory working limits – can be stripped away.  Sir Keir Starmer – together with […]

A Tory MP has complained Brexit has meant there is less scrutiny of trade deals struck by the UK government than when the country was part of the European Union. Jonathan Djanogly was appearing in the debate on the government’s trade bill where he warned that there must be “meaningful scrutiny” of future trade deals […]

Today, President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris will be inaugurated in one of those grandiose ceremonies which America still does so well. Sure, the pomp and circumstance will be much pared-down because [checks] Biden’s predecessor two weeks ago urged his supporters to march on Capitol Hill and overturn an election result through force. But […]