This week, Parliament entered ‘Recess’, essentially a summer break for the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Recess takes place a few times over the year, including Christmas, Easter and Summer. It gives the Parliament staff chance to have time off just like any regular holiday in a ‘normal’ job.
This week, Parliament will be shut until June 5, giving MPs a solid week’s holiday.
It begs the question of how many of them will spend their time off. Keir Starmer has probably gone on a quest to find his personality and Jacob Rees-Mogg will probably spend most of the week shopping for a new top hat.
The point of recess is simply to give staff a break, there’s no doubt that soon enough, we will wish they never came back from their holidays.
MPs also had a makeshift recess during the King’s Coronation period which means they’ve had more time off than ever this year. 17 weeks not working, yet they’re still on well over £85,000 a year.
Let’s not get too bogged down in that debate though. The Government will still be working and its not like the news will simply dry up for a week, but it just means that Rishi Sunak will get a week of relaxation rather than having to think about how he’ll defend Suella Braverman again… bliss.