The Guardian view on Parliament's return: in dark days, shine a light | Editorial
Ministers have governed by press conference for too long. MPs must start to hold them to account for their actions in the Covid-19 pandemic
Parliament's return this week is overdue. Since MPs left Westminster on 25 March, the country has been battered by the full force of the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 16,000 people have died. The health service has been stretched as never before. The economy has shuddered almost to a halt. Sweeping regulations have been introduced, affecting everyone. Normal life has been transformed. And the prime minister has been hospitalised.
In such a crisis, parliament would normally have been recalled far earlier. It should have happened this time too. The virtual proceedings that are expected to start on Tuesdaytomorrow could have been agreed in late March and implemented soon after, as has happened in businesses the world over. Parliament's absence has instead meant that, for nearly a month, all crucial decisions have been taken by ministers and officials behind closed doors.
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