Lindsay Hoyle calls for parliament’s party conference recess to be shortened
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the House of Commons Speaker, has said the upcoming parliamentary recess period for the party conference season should be cut short.
Hoyle today said the recess, which is due to start at the end of next week and end on 17 October, “can well be cut short … that would be my expectation and hope”.
It comes after Number 10 yesterday said it was looking into reducing this year’s recess after disruption to the parliamentary timetable caused by the Queen’s death.
Prime Minister Liz Truss is facing multiple crises in her first days in ofice and wants to be able to bring legislative solutions to parliament as fast as possible.
There are already plans to make MPs sit for a day longer next week, before party conference season begins, to ensure chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng can deliver a mini-budget.
Under the current schedule, the parliamentary recess will continue for almost two weeks after the end of the Conservative party conference on 5 October.
Labour’s conference ends on 28 September and the Liberal Democrats have cancelled their conference.
Yesterday, Number 10 said: “We are looking at changing the recess dates.”
Kwarteng’s fiscal statement next week is expected to outline the costs of the recent package to freeze household energy bills, along with further details of the help for businesses.
He is also set to announce billions of pounds of tax cuts, including a cancellation of this year’s 1.25 percentage point increase in National Insurance.