This Week in Parliament #2: 19th of June - 25th of June

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A new format where we go through what happened this week in Parliament and look at what stood out, what was discussed and every exciting thing that happened that you need to know. Every week bills and motions are discussed and questions are asked and answered. It is the place where the Government is held to account and the Opposition holds people to account. Every week difficult decisions are made, and the question is; what happened This Week in Parliament?

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Monday 19th of June

This week started off with two items on the business paper, the second reading of the Religious Freedom Bill and the Questions to the Secretary of State for Justice. The Religious Freedom Bill was first introduced six weeks ago in the Commons by the Deputy Prime Minister, after passing the Commons and Lords once it returned to the Commons’ floor to be debated once more. The bill’s goals are to expand religious freedoms for all people in the United Kingdom, but also explains that the Monarch doesn’t have to adhere to the Anglican Church, but can adhere to every religion. Last time it almost got unanimous approval in both Houses, with only Sir Muffin5136, Sir tartar-buildup, Sir Britboy3456, and Sir Jas1066 voting against the bill. Everyone in the debate spoke in favour, even Muffin5136, who voted against it the last time. The Justice Secretary faced the Commons for the first time in their role, and he had to answer a lot of questions, ranging from prisons to abuse, to legal aid payments. He said in his answers that he would like to see more private sector involvement in the prison system, raising some eyebrows across the Chamber.

Tuesday 20th of June

Tuesday was a quiet day in the House of Commons with only the second reading of the Rutherford Fund Partnership (Operational Framework) Bill. The Bill is a further installment from the Government to invest in global economic development, specifically in science, research, and innovation. The Bill was proposed by Dame BlueEarlGrey, the Conservative Foreign Secretary, and it saw mostly positive responses, with only a negative response from the Shadow Secretary for Space, Science, Research and Innovation, Dame Faelif.

Wednesday 21st of June

On Wednesday the House of Commons had two pieces of business on the order paper, the second reading of the Railway Freight Connectivity and Modal Shift Bill, and the Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department. The Bill was brought forward by Leftywalrus, on behalf of the Official Opposition. The Bill saw opposition from the Transport Secretary who said that, “I am unable to support this bill in its current form, given it does not bring about investment nor does it identify the transport routes that need investment for railway lines to transport freight.” The Questions to the Home Secretary saw a wide-range of topics from immigration to the way police officers are handling mental health situations, but not a lot of difficult situations for the Home Secretary.

Friday 23rd of June

The Friday saw two bills being read and another set of questions, this time around to the Secretary of State for International Development. The first bill was the third second reading of the Inefficient Light Bulb Ban Bill, from Sir ruijormar, who was the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in the last Government. The debate was quite leaning in favour of the Bill, with only meneerduif, the Conservative Justice Secretary having doubts about the bill. The second debate was on the second third reading of the Northern Ireland (Social Security Consultation and Co-ordination) Bill. It was proposed by, cocoiadrop_, the former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and its goal is to end the necessary consultation on social security between the Northern Ireland Executive and the Westminster Government. It essentially gives Northern Ireland the power to set its own regulations on social security and it was met by positive responses from both sides of the Commons. The International Development Questions session was uneventful, especially since the Secretary of State was absent for most of the session and MPs were shouting questions in an effective echo chamber.

Saturday 24th of June

On Saturday two debates took place, the second reading of the Bank of England (Climate Change and Sustainability) Bill and the third reading of the Euthanasia (Amendment) Bill. The first bill aims to mandate the Bank of England to help combat climate change and it was greeted with positive responses mostly, except for two Conservatives who debated against this. They were arguing that it puts more restrictions on the Bank of England and that this isn’t something that the Bank should be dealing with. The Euthanasia Bill was a bill from the MRLP that saw more negative responses than positive, with only the Leader of Unity and the Secretary for SSRI, model-willem, defending the bill, it will be difficult to judge if it will receive enough votes to go to the House of Lords.

Sunday 25th of June

Sunday had two debates as well, the second reading of the West Midlands Metro Development Bill and the third reading of the Emergency Service Fast Track Mental Health Bill. The first bill was a project from the Government, put forward by the Transport Secretary, aiming to invest more into the railway system in the West Midlands, centred around Birmingham. It saw mostly comments from Government parties, who were of course in favour, except for the new Conservative member, model-AsherRothmans. The Emergency Service Fast Track Bill also received mostly Government members support, with only the aforementioned Conservative member and the new Leader of the Opposition debating against this bill, thus most likely passing the Commons this time.