House Business during the Pandemic

I am sorry, but I cannot answer the hon. Gentleman’s question because I do not really understand ...

After the scenes of the Secretary of State sweating at the Dispatch Box were seen on television, ...

Yes, I agree with my hon. Friend in all respects but one, which is that this is just one part of ...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I will give way once more, and then at that point I will want to make some progress.

The right hon. Gentleman says that we work beyond this House, which obviously we do, but does he ...

I do absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman. That is why I have never made any secret of the fa...

To avoid inadvertently spreading the virus, should not the advice be that we should all wear face...

Long before the coronavirus pandemic, several people told me that my appearance would be improved...

That was just your wife.

Don’t take me there.

The principle—the important constitutional principle that is at stake ...

The right hon. Gentleman is a jolly fellow and I am enjoying his speech, but some very serious is...

It was my decision to make an application, but it was Mr Speaker’s decision to grant the applicat...

In response to the point that was just made by the hon. Member for Winchester (Steve Brine) about...

Having committed ourselves to virtual or hybrid proceedings, it would have been sensible to make ...

Before I call the Leader of the House, I should warn Members who are planning to speak, lest they...

I listened with great interest to the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael), ...

My right hon. Friend refers to the work that we have done, but it is no different from—in fact, i...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right on that, which is one reason why I argue that we should try to...

Does the Leader of the House not agree that not allowing MPs who are shielding to participate ful...

I think the hon. Lady is not looking fully at what shielded MPs will be able to do. They will be ...

Listening to the Leader of the House, I am curious to know whether he could give us an example of...

Even the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland, who applied for and received this debate, has...

I give way to my neighbour, the Member for Bath.

On the subject of snail pace, was the voting we were doing last week not much slower than the vir...

Snails do not go anything like as fast as we went in that queue, and I really do not think Member...

My constituents in Stoke-on-Trent Central are getting back to work, and they are worried about jo...

My hon. Friend makes a good point. There is a great deal going on in the world and, thanks to the...

The right hon. Gentleman’s concern was that virtual debates were preventing the Government from g...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who is an assiduous attender of Parliament and very thoughtf...

I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way to an intervention—something that could not be done i...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, because that is a crucial point. Even with the social distancing...

I think Disraeli also said that a Conservative Government were an “organised hypocrisy”, as I am ...

If we are batting back and forth Disraelian quotations, he also said:

“A sophistical rhetor...

We are talking about swiftness and queuing. The people of Wolverhampton have been queuing for the...

I have a great deal of sympathy with that view, but the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland...

I am sure that most of us appreciate that we are not here to talk about Parliament. We are here t...

I am a bit puzzled as to why the right hon. Lady is contributing to the debate if she does not wa...

No, keep going.

That is very gracious, but customarily, if Members sit on the Benches chuntering, they might give...

Order. Just because the hon. Member for Brighton, Kemptown was doing something wrong does not mea...

Thank heavens, Madam Deputy Speaker, that we have you as Chairman of Ways and Means, to keep us i...

My right hon. Friend talked about the Zoom Parliament being inadequate. In education—I am former ...

I entirely agree, and my hon. Friend makes the right comparison all ways round. I have noticed wi...

I absolutely accept that it is not a system I would want to use indefinitely, but it is right for...

I am afraid I thought the right hon. Gentleman was in error when made that point in his introduct...

The right hon. Gentleman says that he wants a level playing field, but he has agreed to have virt...

I am not sure that that point was worth waiting for. [Laughter.] I do not wish to be unkind—it is...

One of the problems with the two motions that the Leader of the House tabled last week is that th...

The hon. Gentleman makes a very good point, and I can assure him that it is under consideration. ...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

If the hon. Gentleman wishes me to.

I remember the debates only a few years ago when the right hon. Gentleman and others were very sc...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that point. The Chief Whip is not in his normal seat, so ...

I thank the Leader of the House for once again giving way. He is very generous with his time. I h...

I believe it is fair to say that the Scottish Parliament has not got remote voting. The voting st...

If scrutiny of the Government is as important to the Leader of the House as he tells us, does he ...

The Prime Minister has made many announcements to Parliament, and the ministerial code is absolut...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

It would be a particular pleasure to give way to the hon. Lady.

The right hon. Gentleman really should not caricature people worried about the exclusion of MPs w...

I am sorry that the hon. Lady does not want people to be caricatured, because I have a feeling th...

Those who are shielding cannot participate in this debate because it is an emergency debate, in w...

It is a very good point, and a fair point for the hon. Gentleman to make, but you will see, Madam...

rose—

rose—

Of course I give way to the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine), and then I will c...

I thank the right hon. Member for giving way, but does he understand the frustration of so many o...

I am not unsympathetic to the concerns that the hon. Lady expresses. That is why the House author...

Does my right hon. Friend share my frustration and that of my constituents that at a time when th...

My hon. Friend makes an extraordinarily good point. The right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland...

I do not pretend to be a historian like my right hon. Friend, but I am sure that during the blitz...

I am entirely in agreement. We must lead by example because we are leaders in our community.

The point to which I am yet to hear an answer from the Leader of the House is that he has promote...

The right hon. Gentleman makes a point with which I have a great deal of sympathy. I would remind...

Like Conservative Members, I do not think that Parliament is at its greatest when we spend our ti...

The hon. Gentleman has now made two interventions, so I wonder why he is suddenly so concerned ab...

The Leader of the House talks at great length about responsibilities. As Members of this House, w...

The hon. Gentleman allows me to pay tribute to Marianne Cwynarski, who is in charge of these affa...

It has been 30 minutes now.

The hon. Lady complains that I have been speaking for 30 minutes. I have a very happy memory from...

I hear plenty of chuntering from the Opposition Benches, and I would like to point out that many ...

I reiterate the point that a debate is about interventions. It is how we test the argument of the...

Before I call Valerie Vaz, may I say that there are a lot of people who wish to participate in th...

I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for applying for the Standi...

The Chairman of Ways and Means announced a five-minute limit on contributions from Back Benchers,...

If I may say, as Chair of the Procedure Committee, I always relish the opportunity to discuss pro...

I pay tribute to the Chair of the Procedure Committee. I think that both sides of the House would...

I thank my hon. Friend, who is a member of the Committee, for his kind words and his point about ...

Order. I call Patrick Grady.

7.1 pm

I congratulate the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) on securing the deba...

I broadly support the return of Parliament in person, but a balance has to be struck between our ...

There is a practical consideration here. Many of those with an immediate family member who is vul...

I am pleased that the right hon. Gentleman makes that point, which I believe is true, because it ...

My right hon. Friend is correct, but there is another issue to do with childcare. As we are key w...

My right hon. Friend is exactly right and makes that point very well. What is unique to us is tha...

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

I will not, because I have only 30 seconds left. The House has not had the opportunity to decide ...

It is clear that the return to Parliament last week was chaotic, rushed and ill-thought-through. ...

I will start by saying that I agreed wholeheartedly, and almost entirely, with the right hon. Mem...

That we are here today is frankly ridiculous. A lot of resources went into creating the virtual P...

As a member of the Procedure Committee, I am pleased to speak in this debate. When I put my name ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not, because of time.

From the outset, it has been clear that more virtual proceedin...

We have a Leader of the House of Commons who operates by diktat, rather than by agreement or cons...

I want to focus on two points that the Leader of the House and the Prime Minister have spoken abo...

When the advice to the country was, “Continue working from home if at all possible”, this Governm...

I have some sympathy with the comments of a couple of Conservative Members about the fact that at...

I call Chris Bryant, who must finish by 7.49 pm.

7.45 pm

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I want to be able to participate, because there are so many issues ...

I am very grateful to all hon. and right hon. Members for their contributions to the debate. In r...

I am suspending the House for five minutes. Please maintain social distancing as you leave the Ch...