The UK government’s plans to shut down virtual participation for parliament are unworkable and unacceptable, and it puts parliamentarians and staff in an impossible situation.
A small number of us on the SNP benches will be there to ensure the UK government is held to account, but like many others from all political parties, we don’t think we should be there at all.
It makes no sense to force MPs from across the UK to travel hundreds of miles to Westminster, when we know virtual participation works safely and effectively.
MPs have been summoned back to London by the UK government via Jacob Rees Mogg, Leader of the House, who is often dubbed MP for the 18th Century.
It is no secret he is a fan of tradition and he has tabled a motion in parliament to prevent the continuation of remote voting, arguing that democracy "would once again flourish”.
Only by doing this, he is creating a democratic deficit bigger than we have seen. Many colleagues from all political parties cannot come into work - members who are shielding, have caring responsibilities or who cannot travel. This UK government is disenfranchising them, and their constituents.
The current plans for how parliament will now proceed are a shambles, unravelling further by the day. For votes to take place, a queue of over a kilometre would be needed. I’m sure our constituents would wish us to use our time more effectively than creating a conga line through the Houses of Parliament.
The official advice during this pandemic is that those who can work from home, should. We’ve asked employers to be flexible, and the House of Commons should be too.
MPs were working effectively through a hybrid system with a small number of MPs present in the chamber and the others contributing remotely. Voting took place electronically, and meetings took place over conference calls. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked and it was much safer and fairer than what we now have in place.
I hope we can achieve a resolution that will see us return to a hybrid parliament that will allow all our colleagues to participate in questions, statements, debates and voting remotely. We should be in a position that we can do our jobs and protect everyone else by staying at home.
