The House of Commons returns next week – and not a moment too soon for some in government. After a summer in which Nigel Farage has dominated the airwaves, Labour is keen to try and move the news agenda onto their preferred choice of subject. With rumours swirling about a reshuffle, No. 10 will be keen to try and promote some of the shiny new Starmtroopers elected last year. After 12 months of learning the ropes, many are keen to get their hands on a red box.
But not all in parliament are happy with how proceedings are being conducted. In recent months, Mr S has heard cross-party grumblings about the House of Commons Table Office. The men and women who work here are tasked with ensuring parliamentary questions are in shape-shape order. Yet some in the Reform and Conservative parties have questioned why so many of their submitted questions are being ‘carded’. This is the process whereby a question is returned to an MP because it is unclear or breaks procedural rules. Foul play? Or simply an excess of bad questions?
Helpfully, an answer to a parliamentary question by Kevin Hollinrake last month sheds some light on the data. One in five questions submitted thus far in this current parliament have been ‘carded’ – compared to just over in ten at the beginning of the last parliament. Perhaps poor parliamentary etiquette is to be expected when over 50 per cent of the MPs are new to the House. Hopefully, the freshers find their feet soon and the number starts to fall….
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