North MPs risk becoming “second class” if the virtual parliament continues after the coronavirus crisis, it has been claimed.
During the first day of the new arrangements in the Commons on Wednesday, screens were installed to allow 120 MPs to join debates via the Zoom video-conferencing tool.
Calls have been growing for elements of the system to remain after the crisis is over.
Writing in Politico, the Western Isles SNP MP Angus MacNeil said that keeping a virtual parliament, and especially remote voting, could cut the number of “unnecessary journeys” by half for MPs, and enable them to attend more constituency events.
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross MSP Gail Ross made similar suggestions when she announced her plans to stand down in February, citing the “demands” of travelling to Edinburgh from her home in Wick several days each week.
But Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael has now sounded a note of caution about such a move, warning it could end up disadvantaging northern Scotland.
The Liberal Democrat chief whip told the Press and Journal: “The changes that we have introduced now are the easy stuff, because we had to do it, but for the future, there should be opportunities to hold on to some of the changes put in place now.
“The sort of thing I am thinking of is at the moment MPs who are on parental leave, or who are maybe too ill to go to parliament, can’t take part in proceedings.
“We’ve had proxy voting for them but that was a fairly minimal step.
“Now we know that we can use video conferencing, for example, for select committee meetings, and the world still turns on its axis.
“So that is the sort of change that we should be holding on to.
“But I still think MPs should be expected to attend unless there is a good reason for them not to.
“Video conferencing where one person is in a remote location while everybody else is at the table has its limitations.
“I represent island communities, which can be easily marginalised by government and frequently are.
“You don’t want to make that worse by allowing distance to turn Highlands and Island MPs into some second class citizens. We need to be a bit cautious.”
The northern isles MP added: “You are elected as a member of parliament so you should expect to be spending time in parliament.
“If there is a good reason that you can’t be there, you should still be able to represent your constituents.
“But you shouldn’t be allowed to opt-out and give your constituents a less effective representation just because you don’t like spending time away from home.”
Mr Carmichael added that he would want to see if remote voting worked, but that he had concerns.
“I wouldn’t want to be sitting in Orkney when there is a crunch vote on a big issue, trying to get my broadband to work,” he said.
Western Isles SNP MSP Alasdair Allan said it was important to strike the right balance.
“Island-based MSPs are in a totally different situation to anyone else when it comes to travel,” he said.
“For example, I usually have to leave home around 3.30pm one day just to get to a committee meeting in Edinburgh the next morning. The trip home at the end of the week generally involves an overnight stay
“Fortunately, my whips have recognised that this is all close to impossible to do just now, and that the likely alternatives by sea, bus and train, take very significantly longer. For the last few weeks I have had permission to work from home.
“Because of coronavirus, the Scottish Parliament is now looking into proxy voting. Having the flexibility to attend just one committee remotely, or vote by proxy once a week, would make a huge difference to the amount of time I get to spend in the constituency.
“Some travel would of course be unavoidable. Only so much can be done online, and we wouldn’t want to see a situation where MSPs were routinely absent from Parliament post-coronavirus.
“But proxy voting does make sense for MSPs who are stormbound, unwell, bereaved, or on maternity or paternity leave.
“There is a balance to be struck and, once this crisis is over, I think the Scottish Parliament should trial different proxy and remote meeting options to see if we can get it right.”
