Ending virtual voting for MPs ‘beyond a farce’
Concern for shielding Parliamentarians
GOVERNMENT PLANS to make MPs vote in person during the coronavirus crisis have been branded “beyond a farce” amid concerns they will discriminate against shielding politicians.
Commons Leader Jacob ReesMogg tabled a motion yesterday in Parliament setting out the requirement preventing virtual voting from resuming.
If the House approves the plan today, then MPs may have to form a kilometre-long queue in order to obey social distancing rules if the majority of them vote.
Pressure group the Electoral Reform Society said the plans “risk leaving voters voiceless”. It said in a statement: “If this goes ahead, it is beyond a farce. It is unacceptable when there is currently a safe, secure and speedy option for voting available: remote/digital voting. MPs have already used it, and it works.
“Since some MPs are shielding and are not safe to travel in person,
these plans – if confirmed – pose a real threat for democratic representation and political equality.”
The Government’s motion requires the need for voting in person at the Palace of Westminster and that MPs must follow Public Health England guidance.
The mechanics of voting would then be left down to Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to set out, with MPs having to avoid the narrow division lobbies.
He has described a single file of MPs snaking through Parliament as a “supermarket queue” that will lead through the centre of the chamber and to the dispatch box.
Writing on the PoliticsHome website, Mr Rees-Mogg said one of the advantages of returning to physical proceedings “is that the total numbers on the estate will not increase significantly”.
He wrote: “MPs’ staff will continue to work from home, while numbers will remain limited in the chamber itself so that its atmosphere remains muted for the time being. What is going to change is the quality of scrutiny.
“The virtual Parliament brought us through the peak of the pandemic but it is no longer necessary to make the compromises it demanded. We can do so much better.
“It comes down to the quality of communication between MPs and Ministers. Politics is better done face-to-face, even if the
The House of Commons will remain socially distanced. whites of the ministerial eyes are six feet away.
“In the chamber frontbenchers will have to keep on their toes
A statement from the Electoral Reform Society.
as interventions are once again made possible. This exceptional aspect of British democracy, curtailed under the hybrid halfway house, can once again flourish.”
The Conservative said the Government was working with the Commons authorities to see how MPs with underlying health conditions can contribute.
And he said the Commons would “not be returning to its normal hustle and bustle”, adding: “Those returning to Westminster
for the first time in two months will be in for a surprise.
“The Palace has changed considerably, thanks to parliamentary officials’ thoroughness in ensuring the Commons adheres to public health advice. Social distancing is practised rigorously.
“The division lobbies are being replaced by a more appropriate alternative devised by the Speaker. Risk assessments are being conducted and the parliamentary estate will be Covid-19 secure.”
It is unaceptable when there is a secure, safe option for voting.