Opposition MPs failed to use the recall of parliament to hold Boris Johnson to account

It was quite extraordinary to see the prime minister looking commanding and effective in the Commons today, says John Rentoul

Boris Johnson, looking prime ministerial (Reuters TV)

Recalling parliament is an emergency measure designed to allow our elected representatives to keep the government up to the mark in a time of crisis. I am sorry to say that opposition MPs mostly failed to do so today. 

For Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition, it was obviously hard to subject the prime minister’s arguments to stringent tests because they agreed with each other. Even so, Starmer could have asked more penetrating questions, particularly about the vaccination programme, rather than simply repeating a familiar list of his demands. 

He started by asking Boris Johnson for a plan, which is the weakest request possible. He then asked for support for the “excluded” – the 3m self-employed not eligible for the Treasury’s scheme; he wanted the higher rate of universal credit to continue beyond April; he wanted more pay for key workers; he said the government should cancel BTEC exams rather than leaving it to schools and colleges to decide; and he asked some questions about testing people on arrival at airports.