General election special – HE policy update for the w/e 13th December (2)

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The exit poll got it about right, after all.  So we don’t need to talk about hung Parliaments.  Whatever 2020 holds, it probably isn’t long evenings of votes in Parliament and “will they, won’t they” arguments about Brexit.  While the election was about many things, it has taken the place of a second referendum on Brexit.

There still will be arguments about Brexit, because having left in January; the big challenge will be the end of 2020 deadline for the deal to end transition.  Some suggest that with such a big majority, the PM will be to choose to extend that deadline (if the EU agree).  We’ll see.  And while not all the Conservative majority will support the PM on everything, he is unlikely to have to worry as much about the ERG ganging up with the opposition as he did when numbers were tighter.  And he doesn’t have to worry about the DUP either.

We won’t need to be such experts in Parliamentary procedure next year.  We are unlikely to see resignations, mass party expulsions and back bench rebellions.  The new speaker, to be confirmed next week, is a less divisive figure.  2019 was an extraordinary year for Parliament, but 2020 will be much less interesting. Politics will continue to be interesting outside Parliament, of course, with two leadership contests and the SNP reinforcing their mandate.

The local results

Dorset has remained blue.  You can see the detail for BCP here and Dorset here.

And the results more generally

The House of Commons library has an interactive map which you can look at through a range of filters.  The obvious one is the party, but try the gender or experience filters.   It all does gains and losses.  There’s more from the BBC

So what happens next?

Boris Johnson has gone to meet the Queen to be reconfirmed as PM this morning.

Various reports this morning that the reshuffle will be announced on Monday.  Chris Skidmore increased his majority in Bristol– but will he keep his job as Universities Minster or will we end 2019 with the third change to this role in a calendar year?  What about Gavin Williamson at Education?  And Andrea Leadsom at BEIS? The previous full list is here.

The House of Commons first meets on 17th December, according to their website.  They have to re-elect a speaker then.  Yes, I know they only just did that (on 4th November), when Sir Lindsay Hoyle, former Deputy Speaker, was elected.

  • If the MP who was Speaker before the general election is returned at the election [he was] and wishes to stand for re-election as Speaker, that decision is taken immediately. A motion is put before the House ‘that x do take the Chair of this House as Speaker’. If the question is challenged the decision is made by division. … If …the House votes against the appointment of the former Speaker, a contested election by exhaustive secret ballot must take place to choose a new Speaker. The ballot would then take place on the following day.

There will be another State Opening and another Queen’s speech.  Yes, I know we only just had one of those too…. It is held “on the first day of a new parliamentary session or shortly after a general election. The State Opening of Parliament 2019 took place on Monday 14 October.”.  That was the one after Parliament was prorogued (for the second time legally) to create a new session of Parliament.  It is usually an annual thing but Theresa May’s government had run a single session since 2017.

  • From the Guardian yesterday “The state opening of parliament will take place with reduced ceremonial elements, as was the case following the early general election in 2017. This is due both to the early general election and the proximity of the state opening to Christmas.

Boris Johnson said they would hold this on Thursday 19th December.  The plan would be to have the second reading of the EU Withdrawal Agreement bill on Monday 23 before Parliament goes into recess for the Christmas period (returning Monday 6 January).

Boris Johnson is aiming to enable the UK to leave the EU at some point before 31 January, followed by a budget during the week commencing 3 Feb. You can read about the PM’s 100 day plan here:

APPGs and Select Committees will begin to assemble in late January. Members must be elected to serve on Select Committees and these elections are planned for Friday 31 January.

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JANE FORSTER                                            |                       SARAH CARTER

Policy Advisor                                                                     Policy & Public Affairs Officer

Follow: @PolicyBU on Twitter                   |                       policy@bournemouth.ac.uk

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