House of Commons adjourned after four hours at 3.27pm because MPs have nothing to do

'Government has no vision, no new ideas and crucially no legislation to fill the Parliamentary timetable,' says one Labour MP

With the country 51 days away from its biggest constitutional upheaval in a generation and a raft of replacement legislation yet to be agreed, MPs might be expected to have a rather full agenda.

So news that members of parliament were invited to head home at 3.27pm on Wednesday – typically a busy day in the House of Commons – was met with some incredulity from many uninitiated with the vagaries of the lower house.

It also might appear odd given the Commons leader, Andrea Leadsom, just last week cancelled MPs’ week-long recess in February in order to make progress with critical legislation relating to Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.

But MPs ended the session on Wednesday just four hours after sitting at 11.30am as there were no further debates or votes scheduled by the government.

It is perhaps no surprise then that MPs this afternoon directed their frustration at ministers responsible for tabling substantive motions in the chamber.

Labour’s Diana Johnson said the situation was “bang out of order”, adding on her Twitter account: “Considering Brexit is just 51 days away this is totally irresponsible!”

The party’s Commons leader Valerie Vaz added: “This government has no vision, no new ideas and crucially no legislation to fill the Parliamentary timetable."

The chief whip of the SNP Patrick Gray also weighed in, claiming: “Seemingly the Tory government thinks there’s nothing worth debating or discussing.”

And Christine Jardine, a Liberal Democrat MP, added: “Brexit is looking like a colossal disaster and Parliament is finishing for the day when most people are only coming back from lunch. The country’s future is at stake, and it’s about time the national interest took priority.”

But the political logjam over Brexit appears to be putting the government’s legislation on hold in the aftermath of Theresa May’s deal being crushed by a historic margin.

And given the lack of an agreed deal at Westminster – or knowledge of what the deal will eventually entail – it is difficult for the prime minister to make progress with five Brexit-related laws, including the fisheries bill, the agricultural bill, and the financial services bill.

This is why in recent weeks cabinet ministers such as the foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt and the Commons leader, Andrea Leadsom, have suggested the government may need to delay Brexit by a few weeks in order to pass critical legislation – if Ms May eventually cobbles together a majority for an exit deal.

Asked about the adjournment of the Commons at 3.27pm, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: "The business of the House is set out in advance, there have been days recently where they have been working beyond midnight dealing with statements and with debates on Brexit.

"I think this week they have been dealing with some important domestic statutory instruments and other significant issues which are going to be debated in the coming days."

Asked if the situation was "embarrassing", they added: "There is a lot of work going on in relation to Brexit.

"We have not moved the motion to have February recess in order that MPs can have extra time to be dealing with Brexit and other domestic matters."

Elsewhere in parliament, some MPs remained to take part in debates in Westminster Hall - their second debating chamber - while proceedings in the House of Lords chamber began at 3pm and were predicted to run until 9pm.