MPs get bonus two weeks holiday as Parliament breaks up early

MPs get bonus two weeks of holiday as Parliament breaks up early


MPs have got almost two weeks of extra holiday after Parliament ended its
year early because there are not enough new laws to debate.









The House of
Parliament Photo:
Alamy




By Rowena Mason, Political
Correspondent

3:46PM BST 25 Apr 2013


59 Comments




MPs now have more holiday than ever, with Parliament only sitting for around
150 days this year.


The frequent breaks are one of the reasons David Cameron has missed so many
of his weekly Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesdays.



MPs will not be back in Westminster for very long after they come back on May
8. They go on holiday again on May 22 for their Whitsun break of more than a
week. They then return on June 3 but leave again for their lengthy six-week
summer break on July 19.


They come back for two weeks in September and then have another three week
autumn break during party conference season.


Paul Flynn, Labour MP for Newport West and author of How to be an MP, said
the House of Commons now has an "really extraordinary" number of days when it is
not sitting.



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"We're off again now and we've only been back for recess for a week and a
half," he said. "The Government has clearly run out of ideas," he said.

However, Mr Flynn said it was better for MPs to be on recess than for
Parliament to make too many laws, which happened under the last Labour
government.

Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, also said it
was "ridiculous" that Parliament has "shut up shop again when so many of its
debates get curtailed by strict timetables and important bills have been rushed
through".

"The amount of time that the Commons spends in recess should be a huge cause
for concern as it prevents MPs from properly scrutinising the Government for big
chunks of the year.

"With this latest break so close to the local elections, many taxpayers will
be left wondering whether it is more about freeing up time for the politicians
go out knocking on doors in support of their political friends rather than
getting down to work in their constituencies.”

The prorogation comes after Margaret Hodge, a senior Labour MP, broke ranks
and criticised the House of Commons' lengthy holidays this week.

She said MPs could be seen as "lazy" for spending so much time away from
Westminster.