It might be parliamentary recess but there has been no shortage of political news to report

While the pre-pandemic bustle is yet to fully re-emerge, greater numbers of MPs, advisers and journalists have been gradually getting back to their offices in SW1, writes Ashley Cowburn

The Houses of Parliament have been returning to normal in the past few months (Getty)

In the past few months, life in Westminster has been slowly returning to normal as Covid restrictions ease. While the pre-pandemic bustle of the estate is yet to fully re-emerge, greater numbers of MPs, advisers and journalists have been gradually getting back to their offices in SW1.

But it didn’t last too long. As with every summer parliamentary recess, politicians have vacated the building once again and headed back to their constituencies (or further afield) before returning at the beginning of September for a new session. A few MPs linger around at various points, but for the most part there’s a skeleton crew of journalists and advisers, alongside the Commons staff who have worked on the estate throughout the pandemic to keep the building ticking along.

Following the easing of the vast majority of Covid restrictions on 19 July, in-person briefings for Westminster journalists have also restarted. They will continue throughout the summer months, albeit on a less frequent basis.

It’s now a hybrid affair: some journalists dial in to a teleconference (as was the case for all from March 2020), while the vast majority quiz the prime minister’s official spokesperson in person. While the sessions are on-the-record, they are not televised. A reminder: No 10 hired Allegra Stratton as the prime minister’s press secretary last year to front White House-style televised briefings and renovated No 9 into a media suite to the tune of £2.6m, before scrapping the plans entirely.

Despite what is known as “silly season” in the trade, it’s fair to say over the past few years there hasn’t been a shortage of news – even during recess. My first experience of recess in The Independent’s politics team (I started just before the EU referendum) involved the fallout from the Brexit vote, the Conservative Party electing Theresa May as David Cameron’s successor, and Jeremy Corbyn fighting a leadership challenge.

In the summer of 2017, there was a sense Ms May’s government could collapse at any moment after her ill-fated election gamble, Brexit dominated the summer after the Chequers summit in July 2018, and Boris Johnson was settling into his first days as prime minister in July 2019. The coronavirus pandemic dominated the agenda last year and, to a large part, continues to do so.

While you will occasionally hear tales of “silly season” with stories focusing on alpacas, there are already signs that the recess period could be about to get a lot busier: the prime minister has called emergency meetings of the Cobra committee to discuss the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and a recall of parliament has been announced.

Yours,

Ashley Cowburn

Political correspondent