Labour MP Catherine McKinnell has expressed her disappointment that government won’t debate the many online petitions that have reached the threshold, including the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) extension petition which has received over 118,000 signatures – and still climbing.
Catherine McKinnell, Labour MP, said:
“On behalf of the millions of people waiting to have their petitions debated, I am disappointed that the government hasn’t made it possible for debates to continue virtually while Westminster Hall has to close.
“The Petitions Committee will continue to take action on petitions, including taking evidence, speaking to petitioners and holding our own virtual sessions, but I hope that in the coming weeks the Government will bring forward plans to make sure that the petition debates can restart as soon as possible, and including as many MPs as possible.”
Speaking to the House of Commons, Ms McKinnell added:
“Hybrid debates may not be perfect, but surely the Leader of the House – who I know considers himself a champion of Parliament – would accept that some form of debate taking place safely, either in hybrid form or entirely virtually, is better than no debate at all.”