Westminster is busy waiting for the general election. Politics is, therefore, in a holding pattern. Many Tory MPs have given up on winning their seats, which partly explains their rampant ill-discipline. Rishi Sunak can’t spend time winning over the public because he’s so busy balancing the various factions in his party. The small sparks of genuine disagreement between the Conservatives and Labour – over whether growth comes from tax cuts or investment, for instance – have drifted away.
Instead, the drama in parliament over the past few weeks has been driven by the war in Gaza and the pro-Palestinian protests. Labour faced a rebellion in the House of Commons on the issue of calling for a ceasefire before the Speaker intervened. Anderson’s comments were initially in response to the protests. Meanwhile, MPs I’ve spoken to say that threats against them from pro-Palestinian activists have shot up since 7 October.
Last week’s parliamentary chaos put MPs’ safety atop the agenda. Some members will tell you that the threats won’t stop until language in the Commons becomes more civil. This argument assumes bullies and trolls are inspired by what politicians say. Harriet Harman has suggested parliament return to Covid-style voting systems to allow threatened MPs to work from home. Given that neither of the main parties supported an immediate ceasefire before last week, and that there was broad consensus in parliament, there’s doubt over whether this explains the threats.
Other MPs, particularly Conservatives, argue they should not have to change their behaviour. It is their job to robustly scrutinise each other’s ideas, to speak freely without fear. They say it is the police’s responsibility to protect parliamentarians.
In that vein, the government has allocated £31m for more police patrols outside MPs’ offices as well as private security and training. The Speaker has welcomed the proposals.
Meanwhile, the Home Secretary James Cleverly has questioned the pressure the pro-Palestinian protests are placing on the police. A recent report estimates the cost of policing the weekly demonstrations is £25m. “They have made a point and they made it very, very loudly and I’m not sure that these marches every couple of weeks add value to the argument,” Cleverly told the Times. “They’re not really saying anything new.”
Cleverly seems to be saying that he will happily stump up £31m to ensure MPs can do their job, but he is not willing to spend £25m to enable marchers to exercise their right to protest. Indeed, the government is considering increasing the notice period protesters have to give to the police. And here is the inconsistency: the government wants to have it both ways. Either the police are there to protect the democratic process, or not.
This piece first appeared in the Morning Call newsletter; receive it every morning by subscribing on Substack here.
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