The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, the Constitution Unit of University College London, the Hansard Society and the Public Law Project has produced a joint briefing on the marginalisation of the House of Commons, highlighting the lack of parliamentary scrutiny and the absence of government accountability during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Lexis®Library update: The briefing highlights the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the functioning of parliament and on the enactment of legislation. It also emphasises the need to prioritise the full restoration of parliamentary democracy and MPs participation rights, as restrictions are eased across the UK.
The briefing highlights ways in which the government has marginalised MPs and the core functions of the House of Commons. These include:
- the erosion of parliamentary control, due to emergency legislation being passed
- the erosion of parliamentary control, with the introduction of more regulations with little or no scrutiny
- the increase in the contingency limit during the pandemic without the need of prior parliamentary approval
- the denial of MPs’ equal participation rights
- wholesale and unnecessary use of proxy votes
This content was first published by LNB News / Lexis®Library, a LexisNexis® company, on 29 April 2021 and is published with permission. Further information can be found at: www.lexisnexis.co.uk.
