A minister from Andy Burnham’s newly formed government could face parliamentary questioning this week, should a Conservative initiative gain support from peers.
The Tories are pushing for a debate in the House of Lords to scrutinise the Prime Minister’s policies, following the adjournment of MPs for their summer recess last week.
Mr Burnham, who assumed leadership on Monday, succeeding Sir Keir Starmer, has pledged the most significant shift in British politics in four decades.
However, he is now being urged to "come clean" regarding his intentions for the UK by Lord True, the Tory shadow Lords leader. Lord True is set to table a motion in the Lords on Tuesday, which, if passed, would pave the way for a debate on Wednesday.
Lord True stated: "Andy Burnham is running scared of Parliamentary scrutiny because he hasn’t done the hard work to craft a coherent plan for Government. He and his party have gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid having to answer basic questions from MPs by letting the House of Commons go home for the recess and leaving the public in the dark."
He added: "That is why we are asking ministers to answer questions in the House of Lords – which is still sitting – and come clean about their intentions for the country. We will consider any reasonable proposal from Government that allows parliamentary scrutiny of the new Prime Minister’s briefing and declarations about his policies. Our democracy relies on the Government being held accountable, and the Conservatives will fight to make sure that happens."
This move follows previous criticism from the Tories when an Opposition Day, typically used by non-government parties to select debate topics, was cancelled by the then-government.
That cancellation made way for a general debate on Iran and a statutory instrument related to national security.
Last week, shadow Commons leader Jesse Norman had also indicated his party’s intention to propose a Commons debate to delay the summer recess until Monday, July 20, specifically "to enable the new prime minister to make a statement about his plans for Government." However, Commons Leader Sir Alan Campbell defended the agenda change, noting he had not seen the Conservatives’ draft Opposition Day motion.
