House of Commons

SAM FOWLES took on Boris Johnson’s government over the prorogation of parliament in 2019 – now he warns of a new battle against the repealing of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act. The Royal Prerogative harks back “to the clanking of mediaeval chains of the ghosts of the past”. So said the great judge Lord Roskill, […]

A recommended pay rise for MPs has been scrapped over concerns it would “not reflect the reality” that the public is facing from the economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) ordered a pay freeze for the next financial year instead of the £3,300 pay hike after coming under pressure […]

Michael Gove has been told to “correct the record” after misleading statements made about Brexit. Gove had claimed that key health and education benefits will be saved “for a while” – even if there is no deal – while interviewed by the Today programme. There is currently no guarantee the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or Erasmus will […]

Labour MP Chris Bryant has been rebuked by the House of Commons speaker after taking exception to apparent “disgraceful” behaviour while Boris Johnson spoke at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle called out the Labour former minister for alleged “heckling” in the middle of Johnson’s answer. It saw Bryant storm out of his seat at PMQs in […]

Tory Brexit hardliners have issued a fresh warning to Boris Johnson ahead of his meeting with EU leaders in Brussels. Sir Bill Cash, chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee, told the prime minister that they will be “watching” with “great diligence” over what he proposes and they hope their confidence in him will be justified. The MP […]

SNP MP Drew Hendry has angered Tory MPs in a speech to the House of Commons which claimed the governing party has a “casual relationship with the truth”. The Scottish politician used his speech during a debate on the Internal Market Bill to brand the lesiglation “disastrous, petty, grubby, law-breaking, power-grabbing Tory Bill”, prompting calls for him to […]

A food and beverage boss has described preparing for Brexit in the middle of a pandemic like “an assault on people’s headspace”.  Ian Wright, chief executive of the UK’s Food and Drink Federation, told a Commons committee on his industry faces a triple whammy of financial hardship if Downing Street proceeds forward with leaving the EU […]

MPs have voted 357 to 268, a majority of 89, to reinsert a controversial section of the UK Internal Market Bill which enables ministers to breach international law over Brexit. These are the politicians that voted with the government to overturn a House of Lords decision to remove them: Conservative Adam AfriyieAdam HollowayAlan MakAlberto CostaAlec […]

MPs have voted 357 to 268, a majority of 89, to reinsert a controversial section of the UK Internal Market Bill which enables ministers to breach international law over Brexit. The House of Commons restored sections of the Bill removed by peers, as talks between the UK and EU continue in search of a deal […]

Shadow chancellor of the Duchy Rachel Reeves has put down James Cleverly over his claim that the “oven-ready deal” promised at the last general election had been delivered. Cleverly, appearing on BBC Breakfast earlier, said that Boris Johnson’s comments only related to the Withdrawal Agreement and not a Brexit deal overall. He said: “That ‘oven-ready’ that […]

A former Tory minister has told a Twitter user to “get stuffed” after the politician denounced the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Simon Clarke, a former communities minister until he resigned in September, tweeted in support of environment secretary George Eustice, who refused to criticise Millwall fans when they booed players taking the knee. Eustice told Sky News […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg claimed on Thursday that devolution would be a “triumphant success” if the Conservative party had a majority in Holyrood – and slammed what he called the “failure of the SNP” to deliver for Scotland.  The leader of the House of Commons made the remark to SNP MP Tommy Sheppard during a session of […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has said that Eton “work very well” without girls, dismissing calls by the education secretary to make the school mixed-sex. Rees-Mogg, a former Etonian, spoke out after Gavin Williamson suggested it would be a “great step forward” if the elite schooling institute altered its admissions policy to include female students. Boris Johnson, David […]

It suits various politicians to stay quiet on Brexit. But that must end now. On January 1st, Brexit goes from an idea to reality. The repercussions will come in waves. First comes the chaos at the border, which will take place regardless of whether there’s a deal or not. Our frictionless trading network with the […]

A Brexiteer MP has issued expletives to convey his amazement at the number of customs declarations expected between Great Britain and Northern Ireland after Brexit. Northern Ireland committee member Bob Stewart was shocked to find out that the HMRC are expecting traders on both sides of the Irish Sea to lodge 11 million customs declarations after […]

England is set for a strengthened tiered system of coronavirus restrictions after MPs backed the measures, despite Boris Johnson suffering the largest Tory rebellion of this parliament. Their support means 99% of England will enter the toughest Tier 2 and 3 restrictions, preventing them from mixing indoors with other households when the second national lockdown […]

Boris Johnson’s Covid-19 strategy poses a “significant” health risk and is “highly unlikely” to see restrictions eased in parts of the country before Christmas, Labour has claimed. Sir Keir Starmer accused the prime minister of “over-promising and under-delivering” by pursuing an approach of short-term decisions that then “bump into the harsh reality of the virus”. […]

Boris Johnson is bracing himself for a damaging Tory rebellion as MPs vote on a new toughened system of tiered coronavirus controls for England. The government is expected to win Tuesday’s Commons vote on the new rules – which are due to come into effect the following day – after Labour said it would abstain. Sir […]

ANDREW ADONIS ranks the (sometimes surprising) names who changed British history for better or worse. My top 20 shapers of modern Britain includes those who made things much worse – the top spot goes to the politician who made things worst of all, although he wasn’t a bad man – as well as those who […]

House of Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has delivered a blistering attack on the government after it bypassed the chamber to publish information on England’s new tiered-lockdown system. Sir Lindsay was facilitating a round of questions on this week’s business statement when allowed Labour’s Valerie Vaz to interrupt with an urgent point of order. She said: “This is a […]

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned that a no-deal Brexit would cause more economic harm to the UK than the effects of Covid-19. Bailey said a failure to agree to a Brexit deal before the end of the transition period would wreak havoc on cross-border trade and damage the chances of a future economic partnership […]

Boris Johnson is facing a fresh revolt from his own backbenches after the government was expected to detail a new tougher three-tier system for England when its national lockdown ends on December 2. Johnson will detail the strengthened tiered system in a statement to the House of Commons, where he will appear virtually from Downing Street […]

Readers continue to propose ideas for improving the calibre of politicians in the House of Commons. Ideas abound about how to improve our politics. Recent suggestions in letters to TNE include making MPs do a work experience, having time limits on how many years they can serve, and of course the popular suggestions of reform […]

Liz Truss has denied claims the UK “lacks bandwidth” to negotiate post-Brexit trade deals during a tense exchange in the House of Commons. The international trade secretary addressed comments by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau that the UK “lacks the bandwidth” to conclude a trade deal. Trudeau told the FT he feared a trade deal between […]

A Labour MP has been rebuked by the speaker in the House of Commons after claiming Boris Johnson’s “foulmouthed-edness has caught up with him”. Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi raised previous comments by the prime minister to point out that his remarks are likely to have made chances of a deal with the president-elect Joe […]

Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has been urged to make virtual participation in parliament available to all MPs as soon as possible. The government has been criticised in recent weeks for its reluctance to bring back hybrid proceedings for the House of Commons, as per the first coronavirus lockdown in the spring when MPs could participate […]

Robert Jenrick has “something to hide” if he does not publish minutes and correspondence linked to decisions around a £3.6 billion funding pot to help struggling towns. It comes as Commons spending watchdog the Public Accounts Committee warned that a “lack of transparency” over how money has been awarded could “fuel accusations of political bias” […]

A Labour MP has accused Jacob Rees-Mogg of “gaslighting” both MPs and the country with his responses over arrangements for the virtual parliament in the Commons. Up to 50 MPs can attend the Commons chamber due to social distancing requirements, while Zoom contributions are currently allowed for questions sessions, urgent questions and ministerial statements. The […]

Michael Gove has been challenged to pick which unelected bureaucrat he supports in the internal war in Number 10. During questions in the House of Commons, the Cabinet Office minister was asked to decide whether he was on the team of “Dom or Carrie”. It came as director of communications Lee Cain resigned, and chief […]

A former Tory minister has attacked Jacob Rees-Mogg over claims that MPs working from home were “shirking” their duties. Tracey Crouch, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in June, suggested that measures Rees-Mogg imposed prohibiting MPs from voting remotely meant parliamentarians like her were not able to participate in crucial divisions. She said: “(Rees-Mogg) will be aware there […]

Geoffrey Howe – the story behind the greatest Commons speech ever made. The most memorable thing about Sir Geoffrey Howe was how unmemorable he was. Margaret Thatcher’s most decorated cabinet colleague – he was her chancellor, foreign secretary and deputy prime minister – had many qualities but charisma wasn’t one of them. Hence Denis Healey’s […]

An Australian lawyer has slammed Priti Patel for appearing to copy her country’s asylum seeker policy, adding that any “decent” country would not process refugees offshore. Madeline Gleeson, a human rights lawyer, said the move to copy Australia’s immigration policy was “deeply concerning” and warned Westminster MPs against following suit. Gleeson’s comment comes after leaked documents showed the […]