Parliament's summer holiday could be extended 'to stop MPs plotting coup against Theresa May'
Disgruntled MPs 'less likely to oust Prime Minister during recess'
- Harriet Agerholm
- @HarrietAgerholm
-
Monday 26 June 2017 09:56 -
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Indy Politics
Indy Politics
MPs could have their summer holiday extended to three months under reported Conservative plans to stifle rebellion against Theresa May.
Parliament would rise sooner than the planned date of 20 July, while the September sitting would be scrapped, resulting in a summer break of as long as 12 weeks, according to the proposals.
The longer holiday was designed to reduce opportunities for disgruntled Tories to plot to oust their leader, The Sunday Times reported.
Scheduled to take place from 5 to 14 September this year, the week-long September sitting was introduced as a permanent feature in the Parliamentary calendar after complaints MPs spent too much time away.
But now the measure could be axed, risking a public backlash.
The longer holiday would ease protests from Conservative MPs, who had been told to spend more time in Westminster after the party lost its majority in the House of Commons.
Parliamentary arithmetic means the Tories are expected to rely on the 10 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MPs to vote legislation through.
UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures
1/50 4 July 2018
British police officers stand facing a residential property in Amesbury, England, Wednesday, July 4, 2018. British police have declared a "major incident" after two people were exposed to an unknown substance in the town, and are cordoning off places the people are known to have visited before falling ill.
AP
2/50 3 July 2018
England celebrate after beating Colombia on penalties in their round of 16 match at the World Cup in the Spartak Stadium, in Moscow.
AP
3/50 2 July 2018
Floral tributes left at Gorleston beach in Norfolk where a girl was fatally thrown from an inflatable
on Sunday, as an MP calls for bouncy castles to be temporarily banned in public areas.
PA
4/50 1 July 2018
A firefighter carries a water hose past sheep close to scorched moorland as it burns during a fire at Winter Hill, near Rivington.
Reuters
5/50 30 June 2018
People march in central London to mark the 70th anniversary of the NHS.
PA
6/50 29 June 2018
People look at the damage to the outside of a high-rise block in Wellington Way, Mile End, in east London, after a fire broke-out in a 12th floor flat.
PA
7/50 28 June 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May holds up a Belgium football shirt given to her by Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, center left, during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels. European Union leaders meet for a two-day summit to address the political crisis over migration and discuss how to proceed on the Brexit negotiations.
AP
8/50 27 June 2018
The full moon rises behind burning moorland as a large wildfire sweeps across the moors between Dovestones and Buckton Vale in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester on June 26. Firefighters fought the blaze throughout the night and into the 27.
Getty
9/50 26 June 2018
Prince William pays his respects during a ceremony commemorating the six million Jews killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust, in the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem.
Reuters
10/50 25 June 2018
Planes land at Heathrow airport ahead of the vote in parliament which decided Heathrow airport should have a third runway.
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11/50 24 June 2018
Harry Kane celebrates scoring his second goal and England's fifth with teammates during their World Cup group game against Panama. England won 6-1.
EPA
12/50 23 June 2018
Demonstrators at the People's March demanding a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in London, on the second anniversary of the 2016 referendum.
AFP/Getty Images
13/50 22 June 2018
Andria Marsh, 63, holds up photographs of her parents and her original British passport, following a Windrush service at Westminster Abbey in London. A service was held at the Abbey to commemorate the arrival to Britain of Caribbean migrants on the ship, Empire Windrush, 70 years ago. The migrants were recruited to rebuild post-war Britain.
EPA
14/50 21 June 2018
Revellers watch the sunrise as they celebrate the pagan festival of Summer Solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire. The festival, which dates back thousands of years, celebrates the longest day of the year when the sun is at its maximum elevation. Modern druids and people gather at the landmark Stonehenge every year to see the sun rise on the first morning of summer.
AFP/Getty
15/50 20 June 2018
Family members of those who died in Gosport War Memorial Hospital gather today after a public inquiry found that up to 650 patients died between 1989 and 2000 from lethal doses of opiate medication that was delivered “without medical justification”
PA
16/50 19 June 2018
Former TV presenter John Leslie leaves Edinburgh Sheriff Court, he is accused of putting his hand down a woman's trousers as they danced at her hen night.
PA
17/50 18 June 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May finishes speaking following visiting patients at the Royal Free Hospital in London. Ms May announced a new package of £20 Billion worth of funding for the NHS.
Getty
18/50 17 June 2018
Competitors begin the race after a rolling start during round two of the 2018 Championship, the F1H2O UIM Powerboat World Championship Grand Prix of London, at the Royal Victoria Docks.
Getty
19/50 16 June 2018
Fire fighters attend the scene of a second fire at Glasgow's School of Art four years after part of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed building was destroyed by fire. The blaze spread to nearby buildings including the Campus nightclub and O2 ABC music venue
Christopher Flyvbjerg / SWNS.com
20/50 15 June 2018
Dean of Westminster, John Hall, accompanied by first wife Jane Hawking, watches as daughter Lucy Hawking, places flowers at the site of the internment of the ashes of Stephen Hawking in the nave Westminster Abbey. The world renowned physicist and author of A Brief History of Time, died early in the morning of 14 March 2018, at the age of 76. Professor Hawking's ashes will be laid to rest close to Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.
Getty Images
21/50 14 June 2018
British singer Robbie Williams performs during the opening ceremony of the 2018 World Cup at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
REUTERS
22/50 13 June 2018
Prince Charles uses a power drill during a visit to the Owenkillew Community Centre in Gortin, as part of his tour of Northern Ireland.
Getty
23/50 12 June 2018
England manager Gareth Southgate, his players and coaching staff pose for the official England squad photo ahead of traveling to the World Cup in Russia.
The FA
24/50 11 June 2018
Play was suspended during the match between Lancashire and Essex as an Air Ambulance landed on the pitch after one of the spectators was taken ill on day three of the Specsavers County Championship, Division One match at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester.
PA
25/50 10 June 2018
Marchers hold up banners as they gather to mark 100 years since women won the right to vote in the UK.
Getty
26/50 9 June 2018
The parade makes its way up The Mall from Horse Guards Parade to Buckingham Palace, central London, following the Trooping the Colour ceremony, as the Queen celebrates her official birthday.
PA
27/50 8 June 2018
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with British Prime Minister Theresa May at the G7 Leaders Summit in La Malbaie, Quebec.
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28/50 7 June 2018
Brexit Secretary David Davis, right, and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox leave 10 Downing Street. Prime Minister Theresa May held an emergency Brexit cabinet meeting in an attempt to resolve tensions over the UK's Irish border plan.
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29/50 6 June 2018
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May welcomes Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Downing Street.
Reuters
30/50 5 June 2018
British fashion designer and environmental campaigner, Dame Vivienne Westwood delivers an anti-fracking letter to 10 Downing Street in London.
EPA
31/50 4 June 2018
New images issued by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry of the kitchen in flat 16 where the fire started on June 14 last year. Seventy-one people were killed after the fire tore through the housing block in Kensington.
Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA
32/50 3 June 2018
Bishop of Southwark Christopher Chessun and members of the public attend a commemoration service on the first anniversary of the London Bridge terror attack. Britain held a national minute of silence on June 3, one year on from the London Bridge terror attack that killed eight people and injured dozens more.
AFP/Getty
33/50 2 June 2018
William Buick ridding Masar celebrates crossing the line and winning the Investec Derby race on Derby Day at Epsom Downs.
Getty
34/50 1 June 2018
Traffic passes anti-Brexit signs on the County Derry/Londonderry Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Irish Republic. Northern Ireland could be given joint EU and UK status and a 'buffer zone' on its border with the Republic, under new plans being drawn up by David Davis, according to reports.
EPA
35/50 31 May 2018
Eleanor Crossey Malone displays an abortion pill packet after taking a pill as abortion rights campaign group ROSA, Reproductive Rights Against Oppression, Sexism and Austerity distribute abortion pills from a touring bus in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Flouting Northern Irish governmental laws which forbid the use of abortion pills the group are also protesting outside offices belonging to the main political parties in the province. Women in Northern Ireland have been prosecuted for buying abortion pills over the internet and it is illegal for a woman to have an abortion unless in special circumstances unlike the rest of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland voted in favour of pro-choice last week in a referendum.
Getty
36/50 30 May 2018
West Midlands Police officers carrying out scene searches near to where a 15-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in Wolverhampton.
PA
37/50 29 May 2018
A view at Westminster Abbey from the medieval Triforium that is hosting an exhibition in London. The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries, set more than 16 meters, (52 feet) above the Abbey floor in the medieval Triforium, will open to the public for the first time on June 11, displaying over 300 treasures from the Abbey's collection which will tell the rich thousand-year history of the institution at Westminster Abbey.
AP
38/50 28 May 2018
People enjoy the hot weather on Bournemouth Beach during bank holiday Monday in Dorset.
PA
39/50 27 May 2018
Chris Ashton of the Barbarians scores against England at Twickenham.
Getty
40/50 26 May 2018
Lightning strikes over the city of London.
Reuters
41/50 25 May 2018
Rory Mcilroy took the clubhouse lead in to round three of the BMW PGA championship at Wentworth.
Action Images via Reuters
42/50 24 May 2018
Alastair Cook batting against Pakistan during the first test match of the summer at Lord’s cricket ground, London.
Getty
43/50 23 May 2018
Home Secretary Sajid Javid speaking at the annual conference of the Police Federation of England and Wales at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham.
PA
44/50 22 May 2018
Felix, two,sits next to messages and flowers left in Manchester, ahead of the Manchester Arena National Service of Commemoration at Manchester Cathedral to mark one year since the Manchester attack.
PA
45/50 21 May 2018
Marcio and Andreia Gomes, parents of Logan Gomes, arrive for a commemoration hearing at the opening of the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster, in London.
Reuters
46/50 20 May 2018
Brackley Town celebrate after winning The Buildbase FA Trophy Final after they beat Bromley on penalties at Wembley Stadium.
Getty
47/50 19 May 2018
Actress, Meghan Markle, reaches Prince Harry at the altar in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for their wedding service.
Getty
48/50 18 May 2018
Workers from the Covent Garden branch of TGI Fridays on a picket line outside the restaurant as they strike in a dispute over pay. Members of Unite are taking action on Friday in a row over tips and payment of the minimum wage.
PA
49/50 17 May 2018
A police officer talks to a homeless man in Windsor ahead of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
PA
50/50 16 May 2018
Wing Commander John Butcher, Commanding Officer of 617 Squadron, left, jokes with Britain's last surviving 'Dambuster', Squadron Leader George "Johnny" Johnson, during an event to mark the 75th anniversary of the 'Dambusters' raids, at RAF Coningsby. The Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight was hoping to fly one of the two remaining Avro Lancaster bombers over the Derwent and Ladybower reservoirs, but high winds prevented the aircraft from taking off. 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the formation of the RAF and the 75th anniversary of the 617 Squadron Dambusters operation. The Dambuster raids, or ''peration Chastise' was an attack on German dams on 16-17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, using an innovative 'bouncing bomb', which skimmed on the surface of the reservoir before hitting the dam wall and exploding.
Getty
1/50 4 July 2018
British police officers stand facing a residential property in Amesbury, England, Wednesday, July 4, 2018. British police have declared a "major incident" after two people were exposed to an unknown substance in the town, and are cordoning off places the people are known to have visited before falling ill.
AP
2/50 3 July 2018
England celebrate after beating Colombia on penalties in their round of 16 match at the World Cup in the Spartak Stadium, in Moscow.
AP
3/50 2 July 2018
Floral tributes left at Gorleston beach in Norfolk where a girl was fatally thrown from an inflatable
on Sunday, as an MP calls for bouncy castles to be temporarily banned in public areas.
PA
4/50 1 July 2018
A firefighter carries a water hose past sheep close to scorched moorland as it burns during a fire at Winter Hill, near Rivington.
Reuters
5/50 30 June 2018
People march in central London to mark the 70th anniversary of the NHS.
PA
6/50 29 June 2018
People look at the damage to the outside of a high-rise block in Wellington Way, Mile End, in east London, after a fire broke-out in a 12th floor flat.
PA
7/50 28 June 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May holds up a Belgium football shirt given to her by Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, center left, during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels. European Union leaders meet for a two-day summit to address the political crisis over migration and discuss how to proceed on the Brexit negotiations.
AP
8/50 27 June 2018
The full moon rises behind burning moorland as a large wildfire sweeps across the moors between Dovestones and Buckton Vale in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester on June 26. Firefighters fought the blaze throughout the night and into the 27.
Getty
9/50 26 June 2018
Prince William pays his respects during a ceremony commemorating the six million Jews killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust, in the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem.
Reuters
10/50 25 June 2018
Planes land at Heathrow airport ahead of the vote in parliament which decided Heathrow airport should have a third runway.
PA
11/50 24 June 2018
Harry Kane celebrates scoring his second goal and England's fifth with teammates during their World Cup group game against Panama. England won 6-1.
EPA
12/50 23 June 2018
Demonstrators at the People's March demanding a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in London, on the second anniversary of the 2016 referendum.
AFP/Getty Images
13/50 22 June 2018
Andria Marsh, 63, holds up photographs of her parents and her original British passport, following a Windrush service at Westminster Abbey in London. A service was held at the Abbey to commemorate the arrival to Britain of Caribbean migrants on the ship, Empire Windrush, 70 years ago. The migrants were recruited to rebuild post-war Britain.
EPA
14/50 21 June 2018
Revellers watch the sunrise as they celebrate the pagan festival of Summer Solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire. The festival, which dates back thousands of years, celebrates the longest day of the year when the sun is at its maximum elevation. Modern druids and people gather at the landmark Stonehenge every year to see the sun rise on the first morning of summer.
AFP/Getty
15/50 20 June 2018
Family members of those who died in Gosport War Memorial Hospital gather today after a public inquiry found that up to 650 patients died between 1989 and 2000 from lethal doses of opiate medication that was delivered “without medical justification”
PA
16/50 19 June 2018
Former TV presenter John Leslie leaves Edinburgh Sheriff Court, he is accused of putting his hand down a woman's trousers as they danced at her hen night.
PA
17/50 18 June 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May finishes speaking following visiting patients at the Royal Free Hospital in London. Ms May announced a new package of £20 Billion worth of funding for the NHS.
Getty
18/50 17 June 2018
Competitors begin the race after a rolling start during round two of the 2018 Championship, the F1H2O UIM Powerboat World Championship Grand Prix of London, at the Royal Victoria Docks.
Getty
19/50 16 June 2018
Fire fighters attend the scene of a second fire at Glasgow's School of Art four years after part of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed building was destroyed by fire. The blaze spread to nearby buildings including the Campus nightclub and O2 ABC music venue
Christopher Flyvbjerg / SWNS.com
20/50 15 June 2018
Dean of Westminster, John Hall, accompanied by first wife Jane Hawking, watches as daughter Lucy Hawking, places flowers at the site of the internment of the ashes of Stephen Hawking in the nave Westminster Abbey. The world renowned physicist and author of A Brief History of Time, died early in the morning of 14 March 2018, at the age of 76. Professor Hawking's ashes will be laid to rest close to Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.
Getty Images
21/50 14 June 2018
British singer Robbie Williams performs during the opening ceremony of the 2018 World Cup at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
REUTERS
22/50 13 June 2018
Prince Charles uses a power drill during a visit to the Owenkillew Community Centre in Gortin, as part of his tour of Northern Ireland.
Getty
23/50 12 June 2018
England manager Gareth Southgate, his players and coaching staff pose for the official England squad photo ahead of traveling to the World Cup in Russia.
The FA
24/50 11 June 2018
Play was suspended during the match between Lancashire and Essex as an Air Ambulance landed on the pitch after one of the spectators was taken ill on day three of the Specsavers County Championship, Division One match at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester.
PA
25/50 10 June 2018
Marchers hold up banners as they gather to mark 100 years since women won the right to vote in the UK.
Getty
26/50 9 June 2018
The parade makes its way up The Mall from Horse Guards Parade to Buckingham Palace, central London, following the Trooping the Colour ceremony, as the Queen celebrates her official birthday.
PA
27/50 8 June 2018
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with British Prime Minister Theresa May at the G7 Leaders Summit in La Malbaie, Quebec.
Rex Features
28/50 7 June 2018
Brexit Secretary David Davis, right, and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox leave 10 Downing Street. Prime Minister Theresa May held an emergency Brexit cabinet meeting in an attempt to resolve tensions over the UK's Irish border plan.
Getty
29/50 6 June 2018
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May welcomes Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Downing Street.
Reuters
30/50 5 June 2018
British fashion designer and environmental campaigner, Dame Vivienne Westwood delivers an anti-fracking letter to 10 Downing Street in London.
EPA
31/50 4 June 2018
New images issued by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry of the kitchen in flat 16 where the fire started on June 14 last year. Seventy-one people were killed after the fire tore through the housing block in Kensington.
Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA
32/50 3 June 2018
Bishop of Southwark Christopher Chessun and members of the public attend a commemoration service on the first anniversary of the London Bridge terror attack. Britain held a national minute of silence on June 3, one year on from the London Bridge terror attack that killed eight people and injured dozens more.
AFP/Getty
33/50 2 June 2018
William Buick ridding Masar celebrates crossing the line and winning the Investec Derby race on Derby Day at Epsom Downs.
Getty
34/50 1 June 2018
Traffic passes anti-Brexit signs on the County Derry/Londonderry Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Irish Republic. Northern Ireland could be given joint EU and UK status and a 'buffer zone' on its border with the Republic, under new plans being drawn up by David Davis, according to reports.
EPA
35/50 31 May 2018
Eleanor Crossey Malone displays an abortion pill packet after taking a pill as abortion rights campaign group ROSA, Reproductive Rights Against Oppression, Sexism and Austerity distribute abortion pills from a touring bus in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Flouting Northern Irish governmental laws which forbid the use of abortion pills the group are also protesting outside offices belonging to the main political parties in the province. Women in Northern Ireland have been prosecuted for buying abortion pills over the internet and it is illegal for a woman to have an abortion unless in special circumstances unlike the rest of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland voted in favour of pro-choice last week in a referendum.
Getty
36/50 30 May 2018
West Midlands Police officers carrying out scene searches near to where a 15-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in Wolverhampton.
PA
37/50 29 May 2018
A view at Westminster Abbey from the medieval Triforium that is hosting an exhibition in London. The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries, set more than 16 meters, (52 feet) above the Abbey floor in the medieval Triforium, will open to the public for the first time on June 11, displaying over 300 treasures from the Abbey's collection which will tell the rich thousand-year history of the institution at Westminster Abbey.
AP
38/50 28 May 2018
People enjoy the hot weather on Bournemouth Beach during bank holiday Monday in Dorset.
PA
39/50 27 May 2018
Chris Ashton of the Barbarians scores against England at Twickenham.
Getty
40/50 26 May 2018
Lightning strikes over the city of London.
Reuters
41/50 25 May 2018
Rory Mcilroy took the clubhouse lead in to round three of the BMW PGA championship at Wentworth.
Action Images via Reuters
42/50 24 May 2018
Alastair Cook batting against Pakistan during the first test match of the summer at Lord’s cricket ground, London.
Getty
43/50 23 May 2018
Home Secretary Sajid Javid speaking at the annual conference of the Police Federation of England and Wales at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham.
PA
44/50 22 May 2018
Felix, two,sits next to messages and flowers left in Manchester, ahead of the Manchester Arena National Service of Commemoration at Manchester Cathedral to mark one year since the Manchester attack.
PA
45/50 21 May 2018
Marcio and Andreia Gomes, parents of Logan Gomes, arrive for a commemoration hearing at the opening of the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster, in London.
Reuters
46/50 20 May 2018
Brackley Town celebrate after winning The Buildbase FA Trophy Final after they beat Bromley on penalties at Wembley Stadium.
Getty
47/50 19 May 2018
Actress, Meghan Markle, reaches Prince Harry at the altar in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for their wedding service.
Getty
48/50 18 May 2018
Workers from the Covent Garden branch of TGI Fridays on a picket line outside the restaurant as they strike in a dispute over pay. Members of Unite are taking action on Friday in a row over tips and payment of the minimum wage.
PA
49/50 17 May 2018
A police officer talks to a homeless man in Windsor ahead of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
PA
50/50 16 May 2018
Wing Commander John Butcher, Commanding Officer of 617 Squadron, left, jokes with Britain's last surviving 'Dambuster', Squadron Leader George "Johnny" Johnson, during an event to mark the 75th anniversary of the 'Dambusters' raids, at RAF Coningsby. The Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight was hoping to fly one of the two remaining Avro Lancaster bombers over the Derwent and Ladybower reservoirs, but high winds prevented the aircraft from taking off. 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the formation of the RAF and the 75th anniversary of the 617 Squadron Dambusters operation. The Dambuster raids, or ''peration Chastise' was an attack on German dams on 16-17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, using an innovative 'bouncing bomb', which skimmed on the surface of the reservoir before hitting the dam wall and exploding.
Getty
DUP leader Arlene Foster told The Belfast Telegraph on Monday her party was close to striking a historic "confidence and supply" deal with the Conservatives.
The Tories are seeking to finalise the agreement ahead of a crucial vote on the Queen's Speech on Wednesday.
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