Liz Truss is right that our ethical standards system is complex and fragmented & the most important thing is for public office holders to ‘understand the difference between right & wrong’ BUT that does not mean a new PM can safely dismantle that system… theguardian.com/politics/2022/… … her comments conflate her own integrity & the question of whether ethical regulators in general are valuable and important…

On Tuesday, some MPs will attempt to secure an answer to the question of whether Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament - something he has denied...

A thread 🧵 on contempt of/for the House of Commons.. The PM’s allies will dismiss this move as political theatre & it is true it is unlikely the PM will be held to be in contempt of Parliament given his government’s majority, although the move will force some Conservative MPs who have remained silent to publicly support Johnson…

Spoke to @MishalHusain on @BBCr4today this morning about the row over Boris Johnson’s renovations of No.11 - some key points... ... the @ElectoralCommUK are looking into whether any rules have been broken - this area is complex so we need to wait to hear what they have to say...

Apparently the govt will whip its MPs tomorrow to vote for its motion abolishing remote voting on the basis that it is essential for govt business to restore in person sittings, & that a vote for the procedure committee amendments is a vote against getting Brexit done... ... so much for protestations from @Jacob_Rees_Mogg that getting MPs back to Westminster is about restoring proper scrutiny. It seems the govt is worried that it won’t get all its manifesto and Brexit bills through as rapidly as it wants with the House sitting virtually...

This article is mystifying - lots of assertions about how the Commons sitting in person during the coronavirus pandemic will be better, assertions which are at best debatable and at worst palpably untrue... a (long) thread...

https://twitter.com/thehouselive/status/1267418522956816384

“One of the advantages of the return to physical proceedings is that the total numbers on the estate will not increase significantly” If it is an advantage not to increase no.s, then why increase them AT ALL? Hybrid sittings keep numbers as small as poss so are more advantageous

For those who had better things to do at 6.53am (😴) than listen to me on @BBCr4today a quick thread on my points: I would be very surprised if the Speaker allowed the Government’s ‘meaningful vote’ motion today (caveat - I have been ‘very surprised’ by John Bercow before...)... ... my interpretation is that the House’s ‘same question’ rule applies (you can’t ask the House the same question twice in one session). The wording of the motion today is not exactly the same as Saturday’s but it is ‘the same fundamental proposition’...

Your ears are saved as I have been binned from @BBCr4today this morning because the Corbyn interview ran on, so what might I have said...? ... This was a dramatic verdict on the limits of government power

It establishes that the PM does not have unfettered power to suspend parliament because Courts can take a view on legality on decision to prorogue...

Suspending Parliament to prevent democratically elected representatives from making a decision you suspect they wish to take would amount to a coup against Parliament and risk bringing the Queen into a terrible conflict...

https://twitter.com/steven_swinford/status/1136321562917965826

...Proroguing Parliament is a prerogative power of the Executive - given effect formally by the Queen on advice of the Privy Council - part of our unwritten constitution which has worked in past because governments have not abused the power because it would undermine trust...

I have not seen emails but implication of impropriety in this article seems wrong to me and based on misunderstanding of whole concept of parliamentary procedure and role of clerks...

thetimes.co.uk/article/35b951… Procedure is intended to facilitate the proceedings of the House. It is not fixed but has evolved over time to reflect decisions of the House, rulings from the Chair and precedent. At any given time it reflects how the House has chosen to conduct itself...

Full text of the letter sent by current and former House of Commons staff calling on the House of Commons Commission to allow historic allegations of bullying to be investigated and remove MP involvement in the process of determining complaints, as recommended by Dame Laura Cox The significance of this letter should not be underestimated- it’s deeply counter-cultural for House staff to speak out in this way - it demonstrates the depth of their frustration with MPs response to the Cox report