PM Queues: MP's fury as he says new voting move turns him into a 'Parliamentary eunuch'

A Conservative has slammed a new voting procedure in the House of Commons - saying it has effectively disenfranchised both him and his constituents.

Rob Halfon who represents Harlow has said he's effectively been turned into a "Parliamentary eunuch" by the new rules, introduced by the leader of the house and fellow Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg.

MPs intending to vote in the Commons on Tuesday will be made to form huge, winding queues through Parliament after the government dropped virtual proceedings, forcing Members to attend in person if they wish to participate.

The government scrapped a hybrid system - in place since the end of April -which enabled parliamentarians to either attend the Commons in person or contribute to proceedings from afar via Zoom.

The system allowed those who are 'shielding' - people considered clinically vulnerable to Covid-19 - to participate in proceedings without causing risk to their health.

But Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has insisted MPs must return to physical-only proceedings, claiming the ability to scrutinise had been diminished by the hybrid system.

The move has been followed by an outpouring of anger from MPs across the House who say their "democratic rights are being snipped away".

But speaking to ITV News Anglia political correspondent Emma Hutchinson, Mr Halfon, who has been shielding for the last ten weeks said he was being denied his democractic rights

St Albans Lib Dem MP Daisy Cooper also tweeted her anger at the move.

Labour MP Margaret Hodge, 75, described the move as "damaging" and said it will "limit accountability & create a toothless Parliament".

But Mr Rees-Mogg has argued that democracy would “once again flourish”, having been “curtailed under the hybrid halfway house” which allowed MPs to take part in debates and vote remotely while up to 50 were in the chamber.

And he insisted that the government is working to establish how shielding MPs could continue to take part.

But the proposal has faced fierce criticism – with the Electoral Reform Society warning it poses a “real threat for democratic representation and political equality” if extremely vulnerable MPs are unable to vote.

Labour and opposition parties have tabled an amendment to the motion seeking to retain remote voting.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has said that – if MPs need to vote on Tuesday – they will do so by filing past the left side of the despatch box table to vote Aye, and to the right side to vote No.

Votes on subsequent days will be carried out under the arrangements agreed by MPs on Tuesday.

Sir Lindsay said it was “clear” that the House cannot conduct divisions safely via the usual voting lobbies, as it would be “difficult to maintain social distancing”.

MPs will be asked to only attend the chamber when they are listed to be called to speak during a particular proceeding.

Cambridge Labour MP Daniel Zeichner also blasted the new system after the first two votes today, branding it a "ludicrous situation,

He said:

His Labour colleague Clive Lewis, MP For Norwich South, described it as dystopian.

Mid Norfolk Conservative MP George Freeman claimed his Parliamentary colleague was trying to take parliament back to the 18th Century.