Cook puts radical reform plan for House to Cabinet

Commons

Memebers of Parliament will be given a four-day week but have their long summer break curtailed under proposals to be put before the Cabinet to modernise the Commons.

Robin Cook, the Leader of the House, will ask colleagues to approve the changes, including an end to most late-night sittings, as part of a radical overhaul of the rules that have governed Parliament for centuries.

Mr Cook will underline his reputation as a moderniser with proposals for the Commons to sit no later than 7pm every evening, to slash the summer recess and to hand out more powers to select committees.

Commons hours are now likely to be fixed at 9.30am to 7pm, possibly with a later vote on Wednesdays, rather than 10am to 5pm, as was initially proposed.

Under the plans, the current three parliamentary terms will be replaced with four shorter terms that would end the current three-month break that MPs normally benefit from each year. There will be sittings in September, which until now has been a "dead month' in the run-up to party conferences.

The Commons would begin its business earlier than the present 2.30pm start, with a Wednesday morning sitting and Prime Minister's Question Time at noon.

Mr Cook put some of the changes to the Cabinet last week but was told ministers needed more time to consider the changes that could reduce some of their control over Parliament.

The reform agenda being pushed by the Leader of the Commons comes as the Administration Committee discusses new moves to lift the ban on women MPs breastfeeding in committee or inside the chamber.

Mr Cook unveiled most of the changes when he addressed MPs at the weekly meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party at Westminster yesterday.

The proposals were considered at last Thursday's cabinet meeting. At that meeting, the main point of debate was Mr Cook's plan for a "business committee" of the house. This body would have set the agenda for the Commons weeks in advance.

Despite the demand for a rewrite from Tony Blair, the proposals would mark a considerable success for Mr Cook, the former foreign secretary who is determined to be remembered as the man who modernised Parliament to bring it more into line with public needs and perceptions.

There will also be greater emphasis on debates in Westminster Hall, the secondary debating chamber, where select committees will consider reports into government performance and behaviour. Previously, MPs have rarely had the chance to debate such reports.

Mr Cook is due to report the details of his plans to the All-party Modernisation Committee of the Commons, of which he is chairman, with the official report expected just before Christmas.

The proposals will then go to a vote on the floor of the Commons next year, when MPs, who are to be offered a free or "conscience" vote, are expected to approve them.

Mr Cook has decided to go ahead despite disquiet among some MPs – mainly from constituencies outside London and the Home Counties – who say that the proposals mean they will not be able to return home in the evenings.