'Everything has stalled' - MPs get time to talk

MPs voting on legislation - an increasingly rare sight at Westminster.

A few years ago, there was a bit of a fuss when St David's Day came and went at Westminster without MPs holding their traditional debate on Welsh affairs.

Under the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition, the debate was then relegated to Westminster Hall, the House of Commons' satellite debating chamber.

It has since been restored to the Commons but only as "backbench business" - MPs have to persuade their colleagues on the Backbench Business Committee to allocate precious parliamentary time for it.

But parliamentary time is no longer so precious. This year's backbench debate was cancelled due to snow. But now it is back on - in government time - on March 19.

Plaid Cymru had not chosen a topic for debate in the Commons for three years. Until last week, when time suddenly became available. They could probably have had a whole week's debate if they asked nicely.

You could be forgiven for thinking the government had run out of things to do, or at least ways to fill parliamentary time. But then with so much Brexit-related legislation to pass, surely that can't be the case?

'Inactive'

Brexit may be the biggest story in town - and keeping the House of Lords up into the early hours - but key votes have been postponed. Matt Chorley of The Times gave this assessment: "Ministerial panic at the prospect of defeat over Brexit and key domestic policies has created the most inactive parliament for at least two decades.

"Analysis by The Times shows that the number of votes held in the nine months since the general election, when Theresa May lost her majority, is lower than after every election won by David Cameron and Tony Blair."

There will of course be plenty of Brexit votes to come - they can't be postponed forever, but currently, as one Welsh MP put it: "Everything here has stalled."

The chancellor has delivered his (low-key) Spring Statement, the prime minister will face MPs' questions tomorrow and select committees continue to scrutinise. Opposition debates are held but Conservative MPs don't take part in any votes. Constituents still want their problems sorted out but there's a definite lull in the day-to-day Westminster sausage factory

We are (of course) still waiting for a decision on the proposed Swansea Bay tidal lagoon. Business Secretary Greg Clark told MPs on Tuesday morning that "The particular Swansea proposal was very much more expensive, more than twice as expensive as the Hinkley nuclear power station, for example."

That's disputed by the company behind the proposal, which argues that support from the Welsh Government should lower the overall cost. The lagoon's fortunes have ebbed and flowed as politicians and officials have examined the proposal. Despite Greg Clark's warning over cost I sense in Whitehall a fresh willingness to look at the numbers again before taking a final decision.