Why Parliament and Brexit must take precedence over this year’s party conferences – The Yorkshire Post says
After all, MPs are due to return to Westminster on September 3 when Boris Johnson will have had a chance to finesse his options in the aftermath of his first meetings with world leaders as Prime Minister.
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Hide AdAnd it will also give Remain-inclined MPs the chance to come up with a strategy of their own – misgivings on all sides about Jeremy Corbyn mean that the Opposition leader is still not assured of success if he goes ahead and tables a no confidence vote in the Government next month.
Not only does he need to win over Tory rebels, but Mr Corbyn appears to be struggling to convince the cohort of former Labour MPs who have left the Parliamentary party for whatever reason that he could do a better job than Mr Johnson.
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Hide AdYet, given the proximity of the October 31 deadline and the possibility of Mr Johnson’s team triggering a constitutional crisis by attempting to circumvent Parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit if necessary, the more sensible move would be to agree now to scrap the three-week recess which is due to begin in mid-September to accommodate the party conferences.
For years, it has become increasingly incongruous that the House of Commons should adjourn for these annual fundraisers for the main parties when there are so many areas of policy, from Brexit to social care, which are in urgent need of Parliamentary attention.
There is no reason why these conferences can’t take place at weekends when the Commons and Lords don’t usually sit. And when public trust in politics is already so fragile, it will be even more unforgivable if Parliament is idle at the very time when voters will be expecting MPs and peers to working round-the-clock to resolve Brexit once and for all.