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MPs who are vulnerable to Covid-19 are expected to be given special permission to continue to work remotely from parliament once MPs return from their late May break, HuffPost UK has learned.
The compromise plan being considered by Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg follows strong concerns from Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle that no member of parliament should feel disenfranchised by a return to more traditional working next month.
Rees-Mogg is due to update MPs on Wednesday on his intention to end the ‘hybrid’ practice of allowing any member to use Zoom calls and other technology to take part in question times, debates, select committees and even remote voting.
But with a significant number of Tory backbenchers worried about the consequences of the move, it is understood that the Commons leader will set out how special protections will work for MPs who have underlying health conditions, are over-70 or pregnant.
Allies of Speaker Hoyle were surprised at Rees-Mogg’s “bombshell” announcement last week that it was time to end the hybrid proceedings because the “virtual veneer of a parliament” had undermined proper debate and scrutiny.
The announcement, of his intention not to renew key standing orders to keep the hybrid working after the Whitsun recess, followed a private meeting with the Speaker in which no indication was given of a major change.
Hoyle has already made clear that he will suspend sittings of parliament if there are more than 50 MPs in the Commons chamber and Rees-Mogg is also determined to ensure current 2m social distancing rules continue to apply.
But many senior Conservatives including Sir Graham Brady and Sir Charles Walker believe the Commons should set an example to the country that life is slowly returning to normal with a ‘physical’ parliament once more.
Public Health England advisers will be closely involved in the protocols. “The Speaker is not going to do anything that they are not happy with,” one source said.
Discussions are ongoing between the Speaker and Rees-Mogg but the expectation is that there will be exemptions to allow some MPs to keep using remote working.
“Rather than switch off the hybrid capability completely, there should be the capacity to keep it going in limited,” one insider said.
Tory chief whip Mark Spencer has been firm in private meetings that the hybrid experiment cannot continue in its current form, partly because it is more difficult to maintain party discipline remotely.
Although there is set to be some flexibility for remote working, votes will have to be done in person, albeit with physical distancing. Those who cannot come into parliament will be expected to ‘pair’ with Opposition MPs, rather than be allowed a proxy vote.
One of the biggest reasons for requiring most MPs to be present is the need to increase the number of hours and days worked to get Brexit and other major legislation, such as the Domestic Violence Bill, passed.
A shortage of Commons broadcasting staff means that the parliamentary day has to be short, and that the House can for only sit three days a week.
After June 2, the Commons will sit its normal long days, four days a week, although private members bills may be deemed ‘non essential’ and therefore Friday sittings will not take place in coming weeks.
Conservative MPs’ WhatsApp groups have been packed with debate on the issue in recent days, with many split over the plans. The divisions don’t follow political lines, with some on the Right of the party unhappy at what they see as a premature return to traditional working.
“We’ve got a leadership role and the country needs reassurance that things are slowly returning to some kind of normal,” one of Rees-Mogg’s supporters said.
Another MP said a major driver for the change was to force SNP and Labour MPs to turn up in person. “It’s too easy for them to vote against us without putting in any effort to be here,” they said.
Labour MPs accept that the SNP are using the modernised techniques to stay away from a parliament they ultimately want no part of, but stress that many Labour members want to come in and have actually been ordered to stay at home.
Labour backbenchers say that all MPs have seen their constituency caseloads increase because of the Covid-19 crisis, and that they and their staff can sometimes better cope by working with a hybrid chamber.
One Tory said that they agreed a return to normal working was desirable but some flexibility was key. “As long as we make clear this is temporary, why not keep some hybrid elements for those who need them? We’ve got a bloody big parliamentary majority, what are we so afraid of?”
Another Conservative MP added: “The PM is the one who has told the public ‘stay at home if you can work at home, go into work if you can’t’. We have shown we can work at home with Zoom and everything else, so why do we need to all go into work?”
An ex-minister said: “I see no reason why both [virtual and physical] couldn’t continue to operate. We need to set an example that people who are shielding or vulnerable shouldn’t be forced back to their places of work if they can continue at home.
“We need to celebrate the diversity of parliament, not challenge it out of existence. We need to make sure those who are vulnerable are not forced to choose between endangering themselves or disenfranchising their constituents.”