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The Virtual House of Commons is a name given to a series of measures involving the United Kingdom's
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
, including the use of
video-conferencing Videotelephony, also known as videoconferencing and video teleconferencing, is the two-way or multipoint reception and transmission of audio and video signals by people in different locations for real time communication.McGraw-Hill Concise Ency ...
and the practising of
social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dis ...
. The measures were announced in April 2020 to help stop the spread of coronavirus during the ongoing pandemic.


Background

There were worries that the spread of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
would be accelerated by the number of people working in the
Parliamentary Estate The Parliamentary Estate is the land and buildings used by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The most notable part of the Parliamentary Estate is the Palace of Westminster, where the chambers of both houses of Parliament (the Commons and t ...
, including 650
Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
, around 800 peers and over 3000 members of staff. In addition, some of these members and staff have underlying health conditions, and many (especially peers) are over 70 years of age, putting them at higher risk according to the Government's advice. This posed a challenge, as - by law - votes, debates and meetings in parliament must take place in person. Coronavirus had already interrupted the work of Parliament, after some MPs and staff caught the virus and were forced to self isolate. Because of this, the Houses of Parliament were closed to visitors on 17 March. Some
Select Committees Select or SELECT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Select'' (album), an album by Kim Wilde * ''Select'' (magazine), a British music magazine * ''MTV Select'', a television program * ''Select Live'', New Zealand's C4 music program ...
had started to hold meetings behind closed doors, and limits on questions and the number of members allowed in the House of Commons chamber began to be introduced. After
COVID-19 lockdowns Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countri ...
were announced by UK Prime Minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
on 23 March, the House of Commons passed through emergency legislation designed to combat COVID-19, including measures such as the power to close non-essential businesses, restrict public events, and detain anyone judged to pose a risk of spreading the virus. The bill passed through the Commons on 23 March, before being sent to the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
on 24 March and gaining
royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...
on 25 March. After the emergency measures bill was passed, the
Leader of the House of Commons The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of t ...
,
Jacob Rees-Mogg Jacob William Rees-Mogg (born 24 May 1969) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset since 2010. Now a backbencher, he served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council f ...
presented a
motion In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and m ...
stating that parliament would break early for Easter recess on 25 March, and not reopen until 21 April.


Preparation

Many possibilities of what could be changed after recess were discussed. Options included: * Postponing non-essential business * Taking more votes orally, without the need to call a division * Letting MPs ask questions via a proxy * Reducing the number of MPs legally required to be present in order for votes to take place. There was even speculation that parliament would be shut down for longer than the agreed Easter recess. Some
Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
, including the Liberal Democrats' acting leader
Ed Davey Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2012 ...
, were unhappy that they did not have a mechanism to scrutinise the Government's response to the pandemic during recess. One hundred opposition MPs later wrote a letter to the
Clerk of the House of Commons The Clerk of the House of Commons is the chief executive of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 of the House of Commons of England. The formal name for the position held by the Clerk of the House of Com ...
John Benger to seek support in establishing a virtual parliament. The
Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...
,
Lindsay Hoyle Sir Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (born 10 June 1957)'HOYLE, Hon. Lindsay (Harvey)', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 ; online edn, Nov 201 Retrieved 31 December 20 ...
, had suggested extending divisions to 40 minutes to allow MPs to vote in smaller groups, and the parties had already agreed to limit the number of divisions that were called on legislation. The chair of the House of Commons
Procedure Committee The Procedure Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to consider the practice and procedure of the House in the conduct of public business. The committee is ...
,
Karen Bradley Karen Anne Bradley (''née'' Howarth, born 12 March 1970) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2018 to 2019, and has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Staffordshire Moorland ...
, wrote a letter to Hoyle stating that delaying or reducing divisions was unsustainable, and that the members of her committee were worried that MPs would be less able to express their opinions. During the recess, the House of Commons digital services team had been working to implement technology to enable sittings to take place virtually, and on 16 April the
House of Commons Commission The House of Commons Commission is the overall supervisory body of the House of Commons Administration in the United Kingdom. The Commission is a corporate body established by the House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978 (c.36). The Commission c ...
announced that parliament would move to 'hybrid proceedings', with provision for up to 50 MPs in the House of Commons chamber and a further 120 contributing remotely via
Zoom Zoom may refer to: Technology Computing * Zoom (software), videoconferencing application * Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display * Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...
, a video-conferencing facility.


Implementation

Parliament resumed on 21 April, with a limited number of MPs attending in person to pass the legislation to implement the new system. The Commons chamber was fitted with TV screens to enable sitting members to view those attending virtually, and party whips discouraged MPs from attending in person. The hybrid set-up only includes statements, urgent questions and
Prime Minister's Questions Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every W ...
, but the House of Commons Commission said that the system would be extended to debates should the system "be judged satisfactory and sustainable". In May 2020, this was extended to include remote voting. Lindsay Hoyle has said that the measures would only be temporary, despite some pressure to reform parliament's procedures. He also stated that members should dress appropriately and be aware of their surroundings when participating online. On Wednesday 22 April 2020, the House of Commons sat virtually for the first time in its 700-year history. Leader of the Opposition
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras s ...
made his debut at Prime Minister's Questions, against
Dominic Raab Dominic Rennie Raab (; born 25 February 1974) is a British politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Secretary of State for Justice, and Lord Chancellor since October 2022, having previously served from 2021 to ...
, who was deputising for the Prime Minister. MPs who were in the chamber had to conform to strict social distancing measures, including sitting at least 2 metres apart. Other MPs were able to phone in from home, despite some technical issues. The former
Scottish Secretary The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ...
David Mundell David Gordon Mundell, (born 27 May 1962) is a Scottish politician and solicitor who served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Scottish Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Du ...
was "unable to connect", and
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
backbencher
Peter Bone Peter William Bone (born 19 October 1952) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Deputy Leader of the House of Commons in 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wellingborough since 2005. He campaigned for Brexi ...
was muted when he lost connection. Some security concerns were raised about the use of
Zoom Zoom may refer to: Technology Computing * Zoom (software), videoconferencing application * Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display * Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...
, but the House of Commons Commission said that they had been advised by the National Cyber Security Centre that Zoom would be appropriate “if the installation and the use of the service is carefully managed”. MPs later voted to implement remote voting technology, despite issues relating to verification and security. Speaker Lindsay Hoyle stressed that the measures would be temporary, but the SNP's
Tommy Sheppard Thomas or Tommy Sheppard may refer to: * Thomas Sheppard (cricketer) (1873–1954), English cricketer * Thomas Sheppard (MP) (1766–1858), Whig (and then Conservative) Member of Parliament (MP) for Frome *Sir Thomas Sheppard, 1st Baronet (died 182 ...
suggested that it should be used as part of a move to fully-virtual sittings. MPs trialled the technology by participating in mock votes, including questions such as "That this house prefers Spring to Autumn". After the proposals were endorsed by the Procedure Committee, the first virtual vote took place on 11 May 2020, to pass a motion to renew the hybrid proceeding measures. This was followed the next day by a vote on an amendment to the Agriculture Bill, where a number of MPs voted against the bill by mistake, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. This led Labour's Shadow Environment Secretary
Luke Pollard Luke Pollard (born 10 April 1980) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport since 2017. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, he has been Shadow Minister for the Armed For ...
to ask the Government's deputy chief whip
Stuart Andrew Stuart James Andrew (born 25 November 1971) is a Welsh politician serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society since September 2022 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities s ...
"How many members of the Cabinet voted the wrong way?", to which Andrew replied: "Just the one. He's a very busy man".


Suspension and return to physical proceedings

On 12 May, Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg announced that Parliament would move back to meeting in person "as quickly as possible" after the
Whitsun Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the ...
recess on 2 June. He stated that MPs should "set an example" and return to working in Westminster, as the Government had recently announced that certain groups of people may restart work from 13 May. This was met with widespread anger from opposition parties, with a Labour spokesperson stating that it contravened the Government's own public health advice, as the message was still to work from home if possible. In addition, it was pointed out that MPs from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would be contravening rules set out by their respective devolved governments, which require the public to stay at home; and even if the law changed, it would be very difficult to get to London due to the geographical distance and lack of transport services. Despite this, Scottish Secretary
Alister Jack Alister William Jack (born 7 July 1963) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Scotland since 2019. A member of the Scottish Conservatives, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dumfries and Galloway since 2017. Ear ...
said that he would travel down from his Dumfries and Galloway constituency to take departmental questions, stating that his position as a key worker allowed him to do so, and that the Palace of Westminster was being made "Covid-safe". The Government later defended its decision, stating that the measures were only ever intended to be temporary; and the current arrangements did not allow for sufficient scrutiny, nor did they allow for the government to progress its legislative programme. The next day, Speaker Lindsay Hoyle put the Government's hopes of reintroducing a physical parliament into doubt, when he told MPs that he would suspend sittings if social distancing were not adhered to. He also said that voting would take longer if it had to take place in person, in some cases up to an hour. This was welcomed by some opposition MPs, who pointed out that the government was only intending to reopen parliament in order for backbench MPs to support Johnson at Prime Minister's Questions, as he was seen by many to be struggling without a supportive crowd.


Return to Westminster

Despite Hoyle's warning, the Government pressed ahead with its plans to reinstate fully-physical proceedings. On 2 June 2020, MPs returned to the Commons to vote on the suspension of Hybrid Proceedings. Due to
Public Health England Public Health England (PHE) was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in England which began operating on 1 April 2013 to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. Its formation came as a ...
's advice that the division lobbies normally used for voting were unsafe, MPs had to form a kilometre-long queue (dubbed the 'Mogg Conga' by Labour whip
Nick Brown Nicholas Hugh Brown (born 13 June 1950) is a British Independent politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne East since 1983, making him the fifth longest serving MP in the House of Commons. He is the longest ...
) around the
Parliamentary Estate The Parliamentary Estate is the land and buildings used by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The most notable part of the Parliamentary Estate is the Palace of Westminster, where the chambers of both houses of Parliament (the Commons and t ...
to maintain social distancing, before casting their vote in the Commons Chamber. The first vote, on an amendment tabled by Procedure Committee chair Karen Bradley took 44 minutes to complete (around three times longer than normal), and ended in victory for the government. Despite widespread opposition from MPs, the Government won the vote. Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended the strategy, stating that the public were doing the same when they went shopping. Critics of this plan, including the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said that it would risk disenfranchising MPs who were shielding from Coronavirus due to health or old age, as they could not travel to London to attend in person. The next day Johnson confirmed that MPs unable to attend for 'medical reasons' could elect a proxy to vote on their behalf, but would not be allowed to vote virtually. Concerns were also raised about the safety of
Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic A number of different systems of classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom exist. These schemata have been the subject of debate, including about the nature of ethnicity, how or whether it can be categorised, and the relationship betw ...
MPs, who are twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than white people. MPs representing constituencies in the
Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...
and
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
also complained of the travel times of up to 18 hours required to reach London due to flight restrictions. The
Public and Commercial Services Union The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is the sixth largest trade union in the United Kingdom. Most of its members work in UK government departments and other public bodies. History The union was founded in 1998 by the merger of th ...
, who represent many parliamentary staff, later stated that they were considering balloting members for industrial action, due to numerous complaints about unsafe working conditions. Calls were renewed for the Virtual Proceedings to be re-instated when
Business Secretary The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The incumbent is a mem ...
Alok Sharma Alok Sharma (born 7 September 1967) is a British politician who served as the President for COP26 from 2021-2022. Resigning his previous position as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in order to lead COP26, he re ...
fell ill with suspected COVID-19 after giving a statement to the Commons on 3 June 2020. Sharma had earlier that day been in close contact with Johnson, as well as Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Shadow Business Secretary
Ed Miliband Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliban ...
, the latter having passed a glass of water to Sharma during the statement. He later tested negative for the virus.


Use in other legislatures


Within the United Kingdom

The
National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...
was the first legislature to introduce virtual sessions, with the first meeting taking place on 1 April, including statements from ministers and questioning from senior opposition figures. The following week a representative sample of 28 AMs, around half of the total number of members, were able to take part and (for the first time) vote, thanks to the implementation of an electronic voting system. Welsh health minister
Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething (born 15 March 1974) is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician serving as Minister for the Economy since 2021. He previously served as the Minister for Health and Social Services from 2016 to 2021. He has been the Membe ...
faced criticism and calls to resign after he swore at colleague Jenny Rathbone while taking part in a virtual meeting. The Scottish Parliament conducted First Minister's Questions online, with questions being asked by the leaders of the four opposition parties. After this was deemed successful by Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh, the sessions were expanded to include the quizzing of other ministers, with questions being asked by a selection of 19 MSPs, to provide a party balance similar to the full parliament. The reforms have been popular with several rural representatives, with
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross Caithness, Sutherland and Ross (Gaelic: ''Gallaibh, Cataibh agus Ros'') is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering the northern part of the Highland council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first pa ...
MSP Gail Ross saying that she might reconsider her decision to leave the house at the next election if the virtual proceedings were continued. The
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
has also made a move to semi-virtual proceedings, starting with oral questions and statements. Peers are using
Microsoft Teams Microsoft Teams is a proprietary business communication platform developed by Microsoft, as part of the Microsoft 365 family of products. Teams primarily competes with the similar service Slack, offering workspace chat and videoconferencin ...
to participate (as opposed to
Zoom Zoom may refer to: Technology Computing * Zoom (software), videoconferencing application * Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display * Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...
, which is used by the Commons), although the first two sessions were held in private. There was also discussion about whether peers would receive their normal expenses for
working from home Remote work, also called work from home (WFH), work from anywhere, telework, remote job, mobile work, and distance work is an employment arrangement in which employees do not commute to a central place of work, such as an office building, war ...
, one option being that they are paid half-rate, which is what they currently receive for work away from parliament. Parliamentary select committees are using video-conferencing as well, with most members phoning-in from home.


In foreign legislatures

Many parliaments across the world have closed to outsiders and asked non-essential staff to work from home where possible, including in France and the Netherlands, while others are using thermal imaging to detect the virus on entry to parliamentary buildings. Committees of members are being suspended or moved online, although some (such as the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
) currently lack the technology for electronic voting. Some parliaments closed completely for a time, such as in Canada, while others have reduced the number of representatives present (examples include
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
). Meanwhile, Hungary has been taking extreme measures, allowing Prime Minister
Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian politician who has served as prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has presided over Fidesz since 1993, with a brief break between ...
to rule the country without consulting MPs.


See also

* COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom * 2020 in United Kingdom politics and government *
Coronavirus Act 2020 The Coronavirus Act 2020 (c. 7) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that grants the government emergency powers to handle the COVID-19 pandemic. The act allows the government the discretionary power to limit or suspend public ga ...
* House of Commons of the United Kingdom


References


External links


Coronavirus: Changes to practice and procedure in the UK and other parliamentsfull report
at the House of Commons Library
Compilation of Parliamentary responses to Coronavirus
at the Inter-Parliamentary Union {{COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories House of Commons of the United Kingdom COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and government structures 2020 establishments in the United Kingdom United Kingdom responses to the COVID-19 pandemic