The Daily Telegraph

We all need a recess

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They’re off! From today, Parliament is in recess and our politician­s can escape Westminste­r’s increasing­ly febrile atmosphere and take a holiday. Certainly the country needs one from politics. Theresa May is planning a walking vacation in Switzerlan­d, which should put everyone on their mettle. The last time she went so far above sea level, to spend Easter walking in Snowdonia with her husband Philip, she returned to call a general election, with calamitous consequenc­es. It is to be hoped that the Alpine air will be less intoxicati­ng than the Welsh.

Until a few years ago, Parliament’s long recess continued until after the party conference­s in October. Now MPS and peers come back for two weeks in September to show their constituen­ts they are still hard at it. That is a shame – there is no real need to return in September. Furthermor­e, the Government is expected to hold the Second Reading of the EU Withdrawal Bill during this fortnight, a big and unpredicta­ble moment. It’s not going to be much of a break for our parliament­arians – or the rest of us.

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