Speaker’s fury at Sunak over HS2 and net zero announcements could lead to Parliamentary reform

Ministers could be prevented from making major policy announcements when the House of Commons is not sitting after Rishi Sunak’s u-turn on net zero and possible scrapping of the northern leg of HS2.

The Prime Minister sparked fury from the Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle last week when he revealed during recess that he was pushing back the date of the ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035.

Sir Lindsay is also expected to issue a similar rebuke if, as expected, Mr Sunak scraps or delays the HS2 Birmingham to Manchester leg after growing concerns about spiralling costs.

The Speaker has no powers to recall parliament under these circumstances, and can only do so on instruction from the Government.

But a spokeswoman for Sir Lindsay said any change in the rules on recall could be made by Parliament, following consideration by the Commons Procedure Committee.

If Mr Sunak makes a second major policy announcement while the House is in recess, it is likely to fuel calls for the Procedure Committee to look at changing the rules on recall.

The Labour Party has said it would always put parliament first when significant decisions were being announced if they were in government, but a source said a possible rule change to protect future parliaments could be looked at.

Sir Lindsay wrote to Mr Sunak expressing dismay that MPs had not had the opportunity to debate the net zero u-turn.

A spokeswoman for the Speaker’s Office said: “If the government doesn’t proactively explain its policy on HS2, Mr Speaker will do what he can to ensure the House gets to consider it at the earliest opportunity.”

This could involve the granting of an Urgent Question when the Commons returns after the current conference break on 16 October.

Asked about the issue of recall, the spokeswoman added: “It is a matter for the House to determine any change in the recall rules, probably after consideration by the Procedure Committee.”

Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell said: “There is no clearer illustration of Rishi Sunak’s weakness than the fact that the Prime Minister is flailing around making policy shifts after putting Parliament into recess. He’s running scared of his divided Party with piecemeal plans that don’t stand up to scrutiny.

“Whilst the Conservatives trash our democracy and damage the standing of Parliament, Labour respects the role of MPs in holding the Government to account on behalf of the public.”