Ruth Fox
@RuthFox01
Followers
9,096
Following
1,090
Media
49
Statuses
2,112
Director @HansardSociety , working to make Parliament more effective 🎧 Co-host Parliament Matters podcast: ✉️
London
Joined October 2008
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Manchester United
• 417514 Tweets
Ten Hag
• 311029 Tweets
HAPPY 9TH ANNIVERSARY SVT
• 182329 Tweets
Mainoo
• 182231 Tweets
Man United
• 168210 Tweets
Wembley
• 115531 Tweets
Garnacho
• 114619 Tweets
George Floyd
• 107973 Tweets
#WWEKINGANDQUEEN
• 102180 Tweets
Conference League
• 87029 Tweets
#FREENICKI
• 86499 Tweets
Viva la Patria
• 78556 Tweets
Rodri
• 71374 Tweets
Guardiola
• 62113 Tweets
Lyon
• 57186 Tweets
Amsterdam
• 56230 Tweets
Becky
• 49458 Tweets
#العين_يوكوهاما
• 48922 Tweets
Haaland
• 47655 Tweets
Amrabat
• 44349 Tweets
Doku
• 40366 Tweets
Onana
• 39742 Tweets
Varane
• 38014 Tweets
مانشستر
• 34371 Tweets
#FACUP24
• 32829 Tweets
マリノス
• 32723 Tweets
Licha
• 31182 Tweets
Alexia
• 28322 Tweets
Aitana
• 20004 Tweets
ユナイテッド
• 19363 Tweets
Liv Morgan
• 18159 Tweets
السيتي
• 17090 Tweets
Community Shield
• 13405 Tweets
اليونايتد
• 13300 Tweets
アルアイン
• 12376 Tweets
#العين_الاماراتي
• 12183 Tweets
Rhea
• 11893 Tweets
سفيان رحيمي
• 11746 Tweets
Lyra
• 11122 Tweets
نادي العين
• 10918 Tweets
Nia Jax
• 10858 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
In a sea of political podcasts Parliament Matters offers a different take. Going beyond the political horserace & Commons theatre to focus on the action in Westminster that touches all our lives. Law-making, tax-raising & overseeing Ministers.
⬇️Subscribe
1
15
20
Watching
@bbclaurak
and
@grantshapps
has just said
@LabourLordsUK
have a majority & control the
@UKHouseofLords
. This isn't true. The Conservatives are the largest party with nearly 100 more Peers than Labour.
156
743
2K
Ministers have talked a lot during this crisis of deploying ‘world leading’ measures to tackle the pandemic. Ironically, the
#virtualparliament
is world leading and yet today they want to scrap it
34
685
2K
Lots of discussion today about whether the length of
#prorogation
really matters given the upcoming party conference season. But conference recess hasn't been agreed. So we’ve crunched the numbers and yes, the length matters! (thread – 1/17!)
43
934
1K
🧵I despair that the political editor of a major news channel thinks these ‘radical solutions’ are the answer to the problems at the heart of our political & parliamentary system. Where to start…..1/
Robert Peston lays out how he would fix Britain.
His first step? Reduce the number of MPs by two thirds and raise their wages to £250,000 per year.
Listen to the full interview on from 6pm 📻
@Peston
|
@AyeshaHazarika
|
#TimesRadio
361
53
319
34
136
708
*If* David Cameron is going to Lords &
@FCDOGovUK
then it will raise critical questions about how Cabinet Ministers in Lords can be scrutinised by MPs. We last wrote about this
@HansardSociety
in 2021 re Lord Frosts appt.
David Cameron as foreign sec, and James Cleverly to home office?
12
6
24
32
257
551
The Delegated Powers Memorandum for the
#WAB
(104 pages) is nearly twice as long as the DPM for the EU (Withdrawal) Bill (58 pages). So 435 pages of legal text & supporting documentation for the
#WAB
and MPs have three days to read, scrutinise and amend the Bill. Ridiculous.
Voila,
@DExEUgov
has just published the Delegated Powers Memorandum on their website along with some other docs you don't get on the Parliament site
5
61
85
28
345
534
From one of our major political parties this is constitutionally illiterate. I may be pedantic but it's not yet a law & the PM doesn't sign it. It's a Bill (a proposed law) presented to Parliament. It will become law if both Houses assent to it (after debating/amending it).
🚨 HERE WE GO 🚨
@RishiSunak
confirms signing of new laws that put fans first and clean up our Beautiful game.
573
44
188
20
119
540
The Govt is trying to amend the law by Statutory Instrument to do something that Parliament has already said 'no' to in a Bill earlier this year. Whatever your thoughts about the laws on the right to protest, this case raises serious questions about our parliamentary democracy.⬇️
A huge amount of controversy surrounds the Govt’s draft protest regulations. How are they being debated ‘again’ having previously been rejected? Why does the Govt have the power to do this?… Confused? Join us on 9 June to find out exactly what’s going on:
0
28
28
5
336
532
How can Lords amendments to a Bill be undemocratic? The very purpose of the Lords is as a revising chamber to the House of Commons, to ask you to reflect on possible changes. You may not like the amendments, but they are not undemocratic. They are parliamentary democracy at work.
My constituents expect me to do everything I can to stop the boats and end the evils perpetrated by the criminal smuggling gangs. I am pleased to vote down the undemocratic Lords amendments. The Home Secretary has my full support to back this Bill
@SuellaBraverman
.
3K
156
1K
11
88
451
This degree of media attention on parliamentary ping-pong for a Bill is unusual. So important to stress that it is a standard, normal part of the legislative scrutiny process. What is unusual (historically, tho not in recent years) is the Govt's intransigent attitude to amdts.
8
139
454
6/ For the majority of us that don’t earn £86K per year, never mind £250K, the idea that we’ll only get a Parliament of competent politicians by paying such salary levels is frankly offensive.
8
34
352
The deteriorating
#Covid_19
situation raises important questions about the role of Parliament in the coming days.
@HouseofCommons
is adjourned until 5 Jan & it can only be recalled by the govt (my
@HansardSociety
blog explains why: ) 🧵(1/12)
15
193
327
To cap it all the govt is whipping the vote. Govt backbenchers may be reluctant to rebel but this is a moment to support other colleagues in all parties across the House. The democratic right of all MPs to take part in proceedings should outweigh partisan allegiance.
11
128
304
NEW: The Delegated Powers & Regulatory Reform Committee in the
@UKHouseofLords
has just published its report on the Retained EU Law Bill and it doesn't mince its words. It calls for 5 of the 6 most important provisions in the Bill to be removed.
#REUL
9
207
307
@commonslibrary
I’ll be on
@BBCr4today
tomorrow morning at about 06:50am discussing all of this.
34
48
282
@commonslibrary
And even if the Commons agreed to go into recess for party conference season, the House of Lords could have carried on sitting.
#Prorogation
denies both Houses the opportunity to decide. (10/17)
4
109
270
But the government’s plans now risk turning the House of Commons from a global parliamentary leader in to an international laughing stock.
10
51
255
Here it is, the new Statutory Instrument requiring us to wear face masks in shops etc. We've heard about it for days, it comes into force tomorrow, but its only just been published and parliamentarians won't be able to scrutinise it until Sept
#delegatedlegislationsystemisafarce
JUST PUBLISHED: Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020. Made today 23/7 under Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984. Into force tomorrow 24/7. Need parly approval by 21/9.
#SIWatch
28
70
52
22
141
261
The government’s desire to bring this long session to an end and outline a new legislative programme in a Queen’s Speech could be met with a prorogation of one to two weeks. Anything longer than this is both unnecessary and beyond the norm. (2/17)
3
100
254
Remote participation across a range of proceedings in the Chamber & Select Committees, plus remote voting, has been delivered at speed and scale. What staff at Westminster have delivered surpasses what many other legislatures have achieved so far in this crisis.
3
40
253
@commonslibrary
Select committees will not be able to sit and scrutinise government planning and decision-making. If the House had merely adjourned – e.g. for conference recess – then they could have held evidence sessions if necessary. (ends)
7
105
254
@commonslibrary
In the current Brexit context anything longer than a usual short prorogation to end the session and start a new one helps the government evade parliamentary scrutiny. (14/17)
4
92
247
This is a prorogation of 31 to 35 days. Prorogation is normally uncontroversial but one of this length is unprecedented in recent times. (4/17)
6
84
248
Dear
@DExEUgov
/
@SteveBarclay
, will you also publish the Delegated Powers Memorandum to accompany the
#WAB
? Or will that only be made available when the Bill gets to the Lords? Given the constraints on the timetable for scrutiny surely it could be made available now?
6
117
234
@commonslibrary
There will be no scrutiny of ministers’ negotiations with the EU or of the progress being made with no-deal preparations while both Houses stand prorogued. (16/17)
4
124
234
@commonslibrary
However, the government has not brought forward a motion for the conference recess. Any dates for recess have to be agreed by MPs. And Opposition party leaders reportedly discussed opposing such a motion yesterday. (8/17)
3
76
228
@commonslibrary
If Parliament stands prorogued ministers cannot be called to account each day at the despatch box. There will be no urgent questions, no emergency debates, no ministerial questions, no Prime Minister’s Questions. (15/17)
4
107
213
@commonslibrary
So, the government’s manoeuvre halves the number of potential pre-Brexit sitting days when government ministers can be held to account. (13/17)
3
101
208
The virtual
@HouseofCommons
is a poor substitute for the real thing. Scrutiny is different, interventions are difficult, spontaneity is lacking, But it beats being disenfranchised, which is what ministerial plans mean for some MPs.
2
46
196
But the most serious consequence is that MPs who are shielding or who are unable, for reasons arising from the pandemic, to travel to Westminster will be unable to take part in any chamber proceedings or votes. Westminster will have 2-tier representation.
2
46
185
The problem with regret motions like this is they are toothless. The Govt won't withdraw the regulations & no commitment was secured from Ministers that they won't use this constitutional precedent in future. To resolve ongoing problems with SIs we need to reform the process.
NEW: Peers vote 177-141 FOR
@UKLabour
@Vernon_Coaker
Motion, calling on Govt to withdraw its 'serious disruption' regulations.
155
33
81
4
59
184
2/ There is a case for reducing the number of MPs but slashing them by two thirds - without also reducing the number of Ministers - will tilt the balance of power massively towards Government at the expense of Parliament.
1
10
177
Further evidence in
@IanDunt
's latest article of why we urgently need wholesale reform of the delegated legislation system. The
@HansardSociety
will be publishing our final review proposals in a couple of months. In the meantime our working paper:
Very quietly, the Home Office has used a ministerial power to directly overrule parliament. It’s a chilling development
190
3K
5K
2
81
174
🧵1/ Unpacking the realpolitik behind parliamentary ping-pong on the Rwanda Bill: as MPs and Peers clash over legislative amendments, how credible are their claims about the political maneuvering of the other side?
#RwandaBill
#Politics
#Realpolitik
11
71
165
@commonslibrary
So in calculating the days when the Commons might / might not have been sitting, it cannot be assumed that it would have gone into recess for party conference season. (9/17)
3
38
157
So
@GreenJennyJones
is testing the opinion of the House by forcing a division on her 'fatal' motion. Often if they detect they don't have the necessary support Peers will decline to test the will of the House and not put their motion to a division. Tonight, she's taking names!
5
34
153
In this decade, as
@commonslibrary
stats show, prorogations for the start of a new session (rather than for dissolution) have been 5 days in 2016; 20 days in 2014; 12 days in 2013; and 7 days in 2012 (5/17)
3
57
145
11/ Plenty of people who I think would make great MPs have told me that the political lifestyle – the travelling & split home life between London & the constituency, the hours, and the abuse – is what puts them off. I’ve never had someone say salary was the barrier.
4
20
148
@commonslibrary
The 2014
#prorogation
, hitherto the longest this decade, covered the period of elections to the European Parliament, when MPs were out campaigning, as well as what would have been the Whitsun recess. (6/17)
1
32
142
8/ The prospect of a Parliament filled with bright young things from the tech & financial sectors is as worrying as one without any representation from those sectors. But reduce the number of MPs & you reduce the range of life/professional experience that can be represented.
2
6
145
Someone please ask
@Jacob_Rees_Mogg
why the House isn't sitting remotely on Thursdays/Fridays to expand the time for legislation if he's concerned about the programme of bills. There's no reason to sit only 3 days a week. The Lords are doing four. The technology isn't a barrier.
2
57
139
The
@CommonsProcCom
chair Karen Bradley is offering a pragmatic solution with amendments to provide for continued virtual participation by MPs who are ‘prevented from attending the House in person by the conditions arising from the pandemic’
1
28
137
12/ Increasing MPs salary also doesn’t address the gateway problem posed by political parties. As their membership has declined over the decades so the talent pool for selecting MPs & future Ministers has got shallower. Any prescription that doesn't address this is going nowhere.
8
10
138
I'm mystified. The govt stressed the need for MPs to set an example by returning to the workplace. But what kind of example does
@Jacob_Rees_Mogg
think this is setting for any employer watching on. Its OK to ignore the needs of 1/3 of your staff, waste time and be inefficient...
3
56
133
4/ Reducing the size of the
@HouseofCommons
by 2/3rds will mean constituencies with electorates of 250K+ which would destroy a defining positive feature of our parliamentary system: the close link between the MP and their constituency.
10
8
137
🧵When the clock strikes 12 tonight, it will bring forth not just a new year, but some significant changes in UK law. The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 lists nearly 600 items of retained EU law (REUL) to be revoked "immediately before the end of 2023". 1/
2
74
132
@commonslibrary
Defenders of the govt’s decision today argue that as the Commons would not be sitting for the party conference recess – probably rising on Thu 12 Sept and returning on Mon 7 or Tues 8 Oct – then a Queen’s Speech on 14 Oct means a loss of up to 7 sitting days at most. (7/17)
5
41
126
@commonslibrary
Counting from the return of the House on 3 September, without a conference recess there could be 35 Commons sitting days to Brexit day on 31 October, assuming no sitting Fridays. If the House sat on Fridays there would potentially be 7 more sitting days. (11/17)
3
38
126
So it’s unclear why some types of scrutiny - adjournment, backbench business and e-petition debates for example – could not be provided for. The problem seems to be political will not system constraints.
1
25
125
5/ Transferring constituency responsibilities from MPs to members of an elected House of Lords, whilst at the same time arguing that an elected Upper Chamber with constituency links would not pose a threat to the primacy of the House of Commons is bonkers.
2
3
125
The virtual Commons sat for only three days per week and for limited sitting times. But it could sit for longer if MPs demanded it. The
@HouseofLords
sat for four days in the week before the Whitsun recess and for up to 9 hours a day.
1
29
121
Erskine May states that
@CommonsLeader
has a ‘special responsibility’ to ensure business arrangements ‘have regard to what is right and proper in the interest of the House as a whole’. In the circumstances, it would be indefensible not to resume full virtual proceedings. (12/12)
8
23
119
@commonslibrary
If Parliament is prorogued on the 9th Sept there will be only 16 sitting days left to 31 Oct, assuming no sitting Fridays. If it happens on the 10th Sept there will be just 17, on the 11th just 18 or on the 12th just 19 sitting days left, assuming no sitting Fridays. (12/17)
2
33
115
But social distancing can’t be accommodated in the Commons voting lobbies so they can’t be used for divisions. The result will be a long, socially distanced voting queue of hundreds of MPs snaking through the Palace of Westminster
3
20
115
We do not yet know on which day between 9 and 12 September Parliament will be prorogued. The Order in Council states that it will be no earlier than Monday 9th September and no later than Thursday 12 September. (3/17)
1
34
114
Ministers want the
@HouseofCommons
to resume normal service albeit with new social distancing measures. MPs will no longer be able to participate remotely in Chamber proceedings or vote online in divisions.
1
23
113
1st line of Commons Commission statement on
#virtualParliament
: "MPs are set to be able to quiz ministers via Zoom for the first time in the House of Commons 700-year history.” Makes you wonder what was stopping Cromwell and Pitt? Did Zoom want too many shillings for the licence?
5
33
113
The report demolishes the Govt's argument that this Bill will re-establish Parliament as the principal source of law in the UK. It won't. The Bill undermines Parliament by granting Ministers 'extraordinary powers' to dispose, retain, or re-write
#REUL
by Statutory Instrument.
3
56
110
10/ We’ve had well paid, highly respected businessmen get elected to the House of Commons and most of them have been hopeless politicians. They were well suited to executive roles but in representative politics they were fish out of water.
2
7
111
The latest example of how delegated legislation can be so useful in a crisis situation. But also an example of how powers in an Act can be used by ministers decades later which is why scrutiny of the powers in a Bill are so important.
#SIWatch
#coronavirus
JUST PUBLISHED:
#Coronavirus
SI ordering closure of pubs etc; made 2pm today (Sat 21/3) under emergency procedure in s. 45R Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984; into force immediately; both Houses must approve by 7/5 assuming current sitting days
15
104
89
2
51
102
Three of the most important & respected committees in the
@UKHouseofLords
have today fired a warning shot at the government about the use of 'skeleton' bills 'in which broad delegated powers are sought in lieu of policy detail'. (1/10)
The Chairs of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, and Constitution Committee have written a joint letter to
@michaelgove
&
@CommonsLeader
about skeleton bills.
📨
3
13
26
2
60
102
To put tonight's vote & the Cons backbench rebellion in context, if the opposition parties had voted against the government, it would have been the first time since 1978 that MPs would have declined to approve a Statutory Instrument.
#SIWatch
3
24
103
The government’s proposals are also worryingly short-sighted There is no provision for the virtual parliament to be reinstated if there is a new lockdown with a 2nd wave of the virus. And it’s unclear what will happen if MPs and officials have to isolate for 14 days.
1
22
106
Vague assertions have been made in recent weeks about the technological and resource limitations of the system but theres no limit on the number of days or hours the system could be used although clearly more staff resources would be needed to operate for longer each day
1
19
102
How much time will be eaten up in voting queues rather than in scrutiny? Just 5 divisions – as there was on the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill on 22 Jan - could take up to 2.5 hours out of a day in future.
1
21
103
On the parliamentary elements this may help... The idea, set out in the statement, that there is some kind of anti-democratic stitch up / conspiracy / political hitjob / witch hunt is not borne out by the facts. 1/
Media organisations should be fact-checking the Johnson statement asap.
10
39
195
4
53
103
3/ There is also a case for reducing the number of Ministers as well, but reducing them in parallel by 2/3rds would only result in the dominance of the civil service.
2
4
103
Nor is there a limit of 120 on the number of participants remotely. More could now be accommodated if desired. Unlike in the Chamber where 50 is the limit for social distancing, only 40 of which can be accommodated in seats with microphones nearby
1
24
101
The government motion is poorly drafted (in contrast to the Bradley amendments) and betrays a lack of detailed thinking about the procedural consequences that arise if only 50 MPs can be accommodated in the Chamber.
1
23
99
Labour Peers will try and amend the Rwanda Bill. That's their job. But as
@DArcyTiP
& I explain in our latest Parliament Matters podcast they'll be thinking ahead and will 'do as they want to be done to' if they win the next election.
🎧 Listen here: .
3
19
100
Baroness Mone says in her interview with
@bbclaurak
that she can't see what she's done wrong. As she sits in the House of Lords let's start with breaching the 7 Principles of Public Life:
- Selflessness
- Integrity
- Honesty
- Accountability
- Openness
- Objectivity
- Leadership
“I can’t see what we’ve done wrong”
Baroness Michelle Mone tells
#BBCLauraK
she does not believe she committed any wrongdoing and says that lying to the press about her involvement in a PPE contract “is not a crime”
1K
317
847
4
44
99
The government is axing the virtual Parliament before MPs have had the chance to test online or hybrid legislative committees. Unlike in the Lords, where several virtual legislative committees have now operated as far as possible like their Grand Committee model.
1
20
94
Ministers indicate that a solution lies in pairing to reduce the time spent voting. But that’s a whips brew and means potentially hundreds of MPs will not have a chance to record their view on important legislation in the future.
2
15
88
9/ You need to start by defining the role and purpose of an MP. But even then, whether they were actually competent would be subjective and inevitably relate to your view of their policies.
1
3
89
Dear
@Peston
you said you wanted to prompt a debate. Would you be interested in an event in the New Year where we and others discuss these issues in detail? We are agreed that politics/Parliament is not working & what we want from our MPs is a critical debate to have before a GE
🧵I despair that the political editor of a major news channel thinks these ‘radical solutions’ are the answer to the problems at the heart of our political & parliamentary system. Where to start…..1/
34
136
708
4
24
87
Is that a good use of MPs time? Will the additional time eaten up in divisions be explicitly excluded from the time set aside for scrutiny in the programme motion for bills in future? Will it inhibit MPs moving amendments to test the House?
1
15
86
Voila,
@DExEUgov
has just published the Delegated Powers Memorandum on their website along with some other docs you don't get on the Parliament site
Dear
@DExEUgov
/
@SteveBarclay
, will you also publish the Delegated Powers Memorandum to accompany the
#WAB
? Or will that only be made available when the Bill gets to the Lords? Given the constraints on the timetable for scrutiny surely it could be made available now?
6
117
234
5
61
85
The Commons Leader suggests the amount of time the House spends debating primary legislation will increase by two thirds, but provides no evidence for this.
1
15
85
The report then hammers the absence of policy substance in the
#REUL
Bill. It's "all powers, no policy" says the Cmtt. The Bill is so lacking in substance it's not a skeletal Bill it's 'hyper-skeletal'.
2
37
82
There’s no mention of provisions for securing emergency debates under SO. 24 where 40 MPs are required to indicate support in the Chamber. How can sitting Fridays for Private Members Bills return, when 40 and 100 MPs are variously required to support certain PMB procedures?
1
13
82
New regulations for England just published, making it mandatory to self-isolate in the event of a positive
#Coronavirus
test. Made (signed into law) at 5pm and come into force at midnight tonight.
#SIWatch
25
63
71
But the govt has persistently failed to make contingency plans for a resurgence of the virus. The virtual technology cannot be used by MPs to debate Statutory Instruments or Bills remotely without them first having to meet physically to decide on such arrangements (5/12)
3
20
81
The Deputy Speaker has indicated that she can only call MPs who were present in the chamber when debate started. As no one was expecting debate now this means many MPs who might have wanted to take part in this debate won't be able to.
#virtualParliament
Procedurally this may be orderly but its sharp practice. By pulling business the govt has created time for a debate but there's no call list which governs the order of speakers and presence in the chamber. And it looks like
@Valerie_VazMP
wasn't told about it.
#virtualParliament
0
16
25
2
45
77
This once again reveals the extent to which the govt of the day can exercise an unacceptable degree of control over how the
@HouseofCommons
works. Only the govt can recall Parliament & only the govt can move a motion to facilitate full resumption of virtual proceedings. (11/12)
4
20
75
🧵1/ In his final newsletter of the year
@pmdfoster
suggests if you're interested in the
#REUL
Bill then you should read the evidence that I and
@SirJJKC
gave last month to the
@UKHouseofLords
Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee.
4
49
73
The
@CommonsLeader
argues that the virtual Parliament is no longer necessary and a return to wholly physical proceedings at Westminster is the best solution as MPs will no longer have to make compromises in scrutiny and more time will be available
2
16
71
Its not a perfect solution for interventions but during debate on groups of amendments a Peer can email the clerk if they wish to speak after the minister. Members are called to speak in order of request & the Minister is called to reply each time.
2
10
72
A temporary Order could have been agreed as a stand-by, in case it was needed, to facilitate a resumption of full virtual proceedings, to be implemented at the discretion of the Speaker. The
@HansardSociety
recommended this in the Summer. (4/12)
3
12
71
7/ And how would you determine a ‘competence’ threshold for MPs? To
@Peston
's credit he does at least acknowledge the difficulty.
4
3
73
The complaints ring a bit hollow when many of the same MPs...
➡️were happy to ram the EU Withdrawal Act and the EU Future Relationship Act through Parliament when it suited them.
➡️ have done little to demand improvements to scrutiny of SIs, treaties and the UK-EU Joint Cmtt. 2/
1
13
71
Today, amidst the political turmoil, the Energy Prices Bill (to implement the Energy Price Guarantee & Energy Bill Relief Scheme) will go through all its
@HouseofCommons
stages in just 1 day, only 5 days after it was published. It's an incredibly important Bill so here's a 🧵1/
3
38
65
At his press conference
@BorisJohnson
kept referring to advice, but his govt produced a Statutory Instrument setting out the legal restrictions on our movement. It states ‘no person may leave the place where they are living without reasonable excuse’ (1/7)
1
37
65
All of which is a very nerdy (& lengthy!) way of saying tonight is not just about human rights, asylum/ immigration & Rwanda, important as they all are. It's also about high stakes constitutional principles and practical politics, not just for today but for years to come.
3
12
65
⬇️This is why MPs need to get serious about reforming parliamentary scrutiny of delegated (aka secondary) legislation. Brexit & Covid have shown it to be one of the most important constitutional issues of our time. See the
@HansardSociety
review:
@DavidGauke
Like most in sw1 you haven't noticed the important SECONDARY legislation changes pushed thro last year, which we barely discussed publicly so MPs wdn't get over-excited. That's already improving things regardless of what happens with next phase
60
7
26
0
22
64
As
@Brigid_Fowler
writes, inadequate scrutiny of the
#WindsorFramework
hasn't 'just happened’. If MPs don't demand stronger scrutiny practices as a matter of course, they can't expect to find those practices in place when there's suddenly an item of business that concerns them.3/
1
12
65
The only way currently for MPs to take part in a debate on Covid-SIs or a Bill enshrining a deal with the EU will be to travel to Westminster in Tier 4. Is this wise given the PMs statement about the severity of the situation and the announcements in Scotland & Wales? (3/12)
1
16
63
Note for tomorrow: resigning ministers can seek permission from the
@HouseofCommons
Speaker to make a ‘personal statement’. If so it would usually follow other statements but it could follow oral questions (which would be after PMQs if they do it tomorrow).
1
29
64
In short, the Delegated Powers Cmtt are not happy at all with the
#REUL
Bill and their report provides Peers with plenty of ammunition for the 2nd Reading debate on Monday 6/2.
1
24
62
If the
@HouseofCommons
is recalled, due to
#Covid
or negotiations with the EU, there's no provision for virtual proceedings to apply to legislation. MPs can vote via proxy on SIs or a bill, but they can only participate in a debate on legislation if they are in the Chamber (2/12)
1
14
61
If you want an example of how government has excessive control over the
@HouseofCommons
agenda, and what MPs can debate and when, this is an excellent one.
1
14
62