MPs will have to physically attend Parliament to vote after an amendment to extend remote voting during the Coronavirus crisis was defeated.
MPs from all parties had condemned the plan for being discriminatory for those MPs who still had to shield, and those who wished to minimise travel and the risk of returning from London to their communities as spreaders.
Rebecca Hilsenrath, Chief Executive of the European Human Rights Commission also slammed the move, saying: “that proceedings in Parliament must remain fully inclusive during the coronavirus pandemic”.
Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, Leader of the House of Commons, called the amendment “an injustice” to democracy. He told the chamber: “Voting while enjoying a sunny walk or whilst watching television does democracy an injustice. The solemn decisions we take together affect the lives of millions of people in this country. We ask members to vote in person for a reason because it is the heart of what Parliament is about.”
Valerie Vaz MP, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, said: “Jacob Rees-Mogg’s discriminatory proposals would result in two classes of MPs. Those who can physically attend and those unable to owing to the government’s own rules, including having an underlying health condition or shielding responsibilities.
“The abolition of the hybrid remote parliament which allowed all MPs to take part regardless of their personal circumstances is discriminatory and would not be acceptable in any other workplace.”
DR UK’s Head of Policy Fazilet Hadi said: “The government appears to have forgotten that it passed the Equality Act a decade ago which made it law that reasonable adjustment is made for disabled people in the workplace. Where is the reasonable adjustment for those MPs shielding because of health conditions and impairments who now have to choose between either failing their constituents by not voting because they are continuing to shield, or voting and risking death to exercise their democratic duty?”
The vote itself took 90 minutes, as MPs had to observe social distancing, and paves the way for a snake of queuing MPs up to one kilometre-long across the Parliamentary estate when votes need to take place going forward.
Jacob Rees-Mogg confirmed that those MPs unable to attend in person can now “question” remotely if they cannot vote. A government spokesman said that those who cannot attend in person can arrange seek an informal pairing, in which an MP who would have voted in the opposite direction also abstains from voting.