Claire Fox

A ‘Zoom parliament’ is bad for democracy

(Getty images)

Is the new normal here to stay? For the sake of our parliamentary democracy, let’s hope not. 

There is little doubt that holding the Government to account has been made harder by the imposition of restrictions during the pandemic. During the Covid crisis, politicians have been too keen to treat parliament as a normal workplace; the truth is that it isn’t and never will be. 

If ever there was a good excuse for an ‘us versus them’ rule exemption, surely it would have been to honour the public by ensuring scrutiny and pushback against the Government removing people’s liberties so easily. Instead, parliamentary proceedings have taken the hybrid form of in-person and Zoom proceedings. This is an unhappy compromise for which we are all worse off.

For too long now, grass-roots activists have been denied the right to look parliamentarians in the eye

At the very time when the Executive needed to be prodded, probed and interrogated over the hundreds of statutory instruments controlling every aspect of public life, Parliament was reduced to stultifying and formulaic set speeches; there was little ability for peers or MPs to push each other for clarity or to dig deeply into ministers’ answers or explanations. What has been lost in the process is the meaningful, interactive spontaneity that is so vital to the lifeblood of Parliament. Our democracy has suffered as a result.

Even as ‘freedom day’ approaches on 19 July, it seems likely there will be a slothful return to spontaneity in Britain. Here, Parliament is no exception. The green and red benches will have to wait until at least September until they are busy. Yet even in the week before the Commons and Lords head into summer recess, there are plenty of worrying developments that need our fullest attention; renewed talk of vaccine certification, and surprise votes on mandatory vaccines for care workers, are just two high-profile examples.

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