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There will be no Prime Minister’s Questions today as the House of Commons is on recess for party conference season.
Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer normally face off every Wednesday, debating the biggest issues of the past week. The televised sessions also give the public an opportunity to judge the two leaders as they vye for popularity ahead of the next general election.
When is the next PMQs?
Parliament broke up on Tuesday 19 September ahead of the various party conferences, and will return from its near month-long break on Monday 16 October.
This means the next PMQs will be on Wednesday 18 October, at its usual time of midday.
The Commons has a number of recesses throughout the year, with the next beginning on Tuesday 19 December for Christmas. MPs will return for the new year on Monday 9 January.
When are the party conferences?
The Liberal Democrats’ annual conference took place in Bournemouth and finished on Tuesday.
The Conservative Party conference will be from 1-4 October in Manchester.
Labour’s conference starts the following weekend, from 8-11 October in Liverpool.
The Greens are having their conference in Brighton from 6-8 October.
What’s happening in politics today?
Ministers could be prevented from making major policy announcements when the House of Commons is not sitting, after Rishi Sunak’s controversial U-turn on net zero and possible scrapping of the northern leg of HS2.
The Prime Minister drew anger from Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle last week when he revealed, during parliamentary recess, that he was pushing back the date of the ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035.
Sir Lindsay is expected to issue a similar rebuke if, as expected, Mr Sunak scraps or delays the HS2 Birmingham to Manchester leg after growing concerns about spiralling costs.
The Speaker wrote to Mr Sunak expressing dismay that MPs had not had the opportunity to debate the net-zero U-turn.
A spokesperson for the Speaker’s Office said: “If the Government doesn’t proactively explain its policy on HS2, Mr Speaker will do what he can to ensure the House gets to consider it at the earliest opportunity.”
Meanwhile, independent school headteachers have warned that they could be forced to end partnerships with their state school counterparts under Labour’s plans to add VAT to private school fees.
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged that a Labour government would strip private schools of their tax-exempt status and charge VAT on school fees.
Labour estimates the 20 per cent tax on school fees could raise £1.7bn to spend on lifting educational standards across the state sector.
But private school leaders have told i they are currently drawing up contingency plans for the Labour policy to potentially land as soon as soon as next year, and that they would consider all options to avoid hiking fees for parents, including cutting back on their work with state schools.