Coronavirus: End of remote voting could see MPs form 1km-long queue in parliament

Image:MPs will now be required to vote in person



MPs are set to return to parliament on Tuesday but will no longer use the "hybrid" system for debates they had last month.


MPs have criticised the government's decision to scrap parliament's virtual proceedings on their return to Westminster - with suggestions it could force them to form a one kilometre-long queue when voting in the House of Commons.

On Tuesday, MPs are set to return to parliament after their Whitsun recess but will no longer use the "hybrid" system for debates they used prior to their break.


That system permitted only a maximum of 50 MPs to enter the Commons chamber in person, while up to 120 could join debates remotely via the Zoom video conferencing app.

Image:Parliaments 'hybrid' proceedings have been ended Pic: UK Parliament/ Jessica Taylor

However, Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg wants to now end those arrangements and revert to the chamber's traditional proceedings.

The government tabled a motion on Monday to lay out the requirements for a new voting system to replace the remote voting that was permitted last month.


Ministers want MPs to revert to voting in person, albeit in a way that is compliant with Public Health England (PHE) guidelines on social distancing.


MPs are expected to be asked to vote on the plans on Tuesday.

In a new report, the House of Commons procedure committee predicted that if 400 out of 650 MPs took part in a vote, it could mean a socially distanced queue for a division as long as 800 metres if all those MPs wanting to vote joined at once.

It has been suggested such a queue could snake throughout the parliamentary estate.

Labour MP Chris Bryant, who unsuccessfully stood for election as Commons Speaker last year, predicted - if all 650 MPs were required to vote - then the socially distanced queue could be 1.3km long.

"There's no way that is safe," he said.

"It's utterly, utterly preposterous. Why are we so, so hidebound that we cannot adapt to an international global pandemic and a national crisis?

"This parliament should be the best at adapting, not the worst."

Image:Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Commons could 'do so much better' Pic: UK Parliament/ Jessica Taylor

Mr Bryant also expressed fears that those MPs who are still being advised to "shield" themselves during the coronavirus crisis will now no longer be able to take part in Commons proceedings.

"That disenfranchises lots and lots of constituencies and communities up and down the land," he added.

Tory MP Robert Halfon, the chair of the Commons education committee, has previously warned of an "apartheid parliament" if virtual proceedings are ended.

Mr Halfon, who has a form of cerebral palsy and is currently shielding, told The House magazine: "It is not a parliament for survival of the fittest, it's a parliament for everybody."

Ellie Reeves, Labour's shadow solicitor general, said she had obtained "urgent legal advice" that showed - if MPs were classed as regular employees - the return of parliament's normal proceedings "would likely amount to discrimination on grounds of disability, age, sex and/or pregnancy under the Equality Act".


In an article for PoliticsHome on Monday, Mr Rees-Mogg said the virtual parliament proceedings had "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," he added.

The cabinet minister continued: "For those MPs with underlying health conditions who have been told to shield or are receiving specific government advice about their health, the government is working with the House authorities to see how they can continue to contribute to proceedings within the House.

"This situation will remain under review while the views of others, including the procedure committee, will be sought."

Responding to Mr Rees-Mogg's article, Lib Dem MP Jamie Stone told the Commons Leader: "I'm a carer for my wife. You're asking me to choose between the health of my family and abiding by your poxy stubbornness.

"I choose to fulfill my duties as a husband and family man."

By contrast to the Commons, the House of Lords is developing a new online voting system for peers which is expected to be ready by the middle of the month.

"We're developing rapidly a brand new, secure online voting system for the House of Lords," a spokesman said.

"Peers will be able to vote at the touch of a smartphone screen or on a laptop or other device."

This week from today to Thursday, Dermot Murnaghan will be hosting After The Pandemic: Our New World - a series of special live programmes about what our world will be like once the pandemic is over.

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