Parliament ‘is failing to lead’ in drive to get back to work

PARLIAMENT must “lead by example but is failing to do so” in the Government’s back to work push and return to “business as usual”, a group of dozens of MPS and peers say in a letter to The Daily Telegraph today.

Senior Conservative MPS, peers and former Cabinet ministers Sir Graham Brady, David Davis and Tom Tugendhat have all signed the letter decrying the “absurd situation where ministers, speaking in near empty debating chambers, are telling people it is safe to go back to work”.

They made the intervention as the Government gave warning that any delay in getting people back to the office means the UK will take longer to emerge from the recession. The group of 46 MPS and peers says that all “necessary steps must be taken” to ensure that a regular service can commence in both the Commons and the Lords.

The letter says: “The Government is right to exhort people to return to their place of work. We all need to learn to live with the virus, and manage the risks, so we can get the economy back on its feet.

“Parliament must therefore lead by example, but it is failing to do so. We are in the absurd situation where ministers, speaking in near empty debating chambers, are telling people it is safe to go back to work.

“All necessary steps must be taken to ensure that we have a return to ‘business as usual’ in both Houses as fast as possible.

“Failure to do so risks people, understandably, asking why they should heed the Government’s exhortation to return to work if MPS and peers appear unwilling to do so.”

Lord Lamont of Lerwick, the former Tory chancellor and one of the signatories, said last night: “I don’t see how we can encourage people to get back to work if central government – the civil service and Parliament – is not setting an example. This is a dead parrot Parliament.”

Mr Davis said the performance of the Government, which has been criticised for repeated about-turns, would be improved with a better attended Commons.

He said: “The simple truth is that Parliament is not working at the moment.

“Many of the mistakes that the Government made that led to the infamous U-turns would probably have been caught if the Government had to report to Parliament more effectively than it does now.”