COVID-19 UK Political Analysis by Tim Hames – 4th September 2020

In ordinary circumstances, the return of Parliament in September does not make that much of a splash outside of the Westminster Village itself. This is in part because it is not in session for long before returning to recess once again. In the typical year, the House of Commons resumes business in the second week of September for at most ten whole sitting days before it adjourns for three weeks to allow for the party conference season. It would thus come back again around the second week in October but often shut up shop once more to allow for a “half term” break to occur. It would then return once again only for there often to be a mini-break of five days or so in November. This was an historical anomoly relating to the fact that traditionally the Queen’s Speech has been held in November and it was helpful to shut the Palace of Westminster down for a few days in order to prepare the place for the occassion. Since the passage of the Fixed-Term Parliament Act in 2011, however, there has been no Queen’s Speech in November but the short holiday remained stubbornly in the schedule. Only after that would the House sit continuously until shortly before Christmas. This was not the sort of performance that was likely to assist in the national productivity challenge. Last year, of course, even this level of activity was not witnessed because an election was called and Parliament did not sit from early November until the middle of December (and then but for a few days).

This year is very different on multiple fronts. The House of Commons returned on September 1, a week earlier than is the norm. There will be no party conference recess because those events will be shorter and virtual in 2020 (at some considerable cost to the party funds of all concerned). It is not clear whether or not there will be a Half Term (although most insiders assume that one is likely). The curious mid-November break has finally been removed from the calendar. The House will thus largely sit from now until the Christmas holidays, albeit still attempting to abide by the rules of social distancing. For the UK Parliament this is an extremely long session indeed. This has knock-on effects in Whitehall as ministers will need to devote more time to parliamentary duties this year. All in all, the next four months promise to be intense and potentially very contentious.