Lisa Nandy joins calls for virtual parliament to be reinstated

Over the past few weeks, MPs had been allowed to vote online and speak remotely via video conference app Zoom.

But the procedure was brought to an end on Tuesday, June 2 after MPs voted down the idea in favour of a return to physical voting. MPs were pictured lining up in snaking queues around the Palace of Westminster, as they waited to enter the House of Commons.

The vote was won by 261 votes to 163, a majority of 98.

Opposition MPs renewed calls for the virtual voting to be reinstated, with Labour's shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy saying "reckless doesn't even begin to describe" the scrapping of the system a day earlier.

Ministers are likely to face further questions over their decision to end virtual voting in the Commons after Business Secretary Alok Sharma, who appeared visibly ill while in the chamber on Wednesday, was tested for Covid-19.

After Commons authorities undertook a deep-clean, a spokeswoman for the MP said he would self-isolate after he "began feeling unwell" while delivering the second reading of the Corporate Governance and Insolvency Bill.

Ms Nandy responded to the news in a tweet, saying: "This is just awful. The government stopped MPs from working from home and asked us to return to a building where social distancing is impossible. MPs are travelling home to every part of the country tonight. Reckless doesn’t even begin to describe it."

A message from the Editorial Director, Gillian Parkinson:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy when you pop out for your essential shop or subscribing for delivery.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: "Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role."

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:

You can subscribe for delivery by contacting us at [email protected] or calling us on 0330 4033004 for details of a participating newsagent near you.