The government has made a mockery of parliament – it is time to stop acting so childishly and take responsibility

As the Liberal Democrat chief whip I would be willing to work with the government to ensure that parliament works smoothly and that all communities can be fully represented

At times of crisis, we look to those in positions of leadership to take responsibility. If the government feels so certain that ending the virtual parliament system was necessary, it must be accountable if things go wrong again.

In recent days, the government has sought – not for the first time – to pick a fight with parliament and democracy. When you run out of new ideas, you replay the old hits.

Given the mockery at the sight of MPs queueing hours to vote last week, you will not need me to tell you that the government has brought parliament back to physical proceedings. This went against its own public health advice to work from home where possible; it went against the pleas of the many members who are shielding or who are caring for relatives.

Indeed, it went against the wider pleas of those of us, in all parties, who have returned as demanded, but who nevertheless believe passionately in the right of all members and all communities to have equal representation in parliament, whatever their physical circumstances.

During one of the more heated exchanges last week, Angela Eagle called Jacob Rees-Mogg the worst leader of the House of Commons “in living memory”. There is a palpable frustration about a leader of the house – and a government – that appears more interested in wielding its parliamentary majority than in accepting accountability for how it wields that power. Rather than having any semblance of a workable plan ready, we instead witnessed the Rees-Mogg Covid conga.

Rees-Mogg, ever the man of the people, has done his best to belittle those who have expressed concerns. He has dismissed MPs who have physical difficulties or who are concerned about the spread of Covid-19 as being lazy or unwilling to do their job. What a slap in the face to any carer or to any person with a health problem who nevertheless feels that they have just as much to contribute as anyone else.

This indifferent posture is already having its consequences. The acknowledgement that public health comes second to the PM’s desire to project a return to “normality” is forcing unnecessary public health risks.

We have already had our first near-miss, just days in. I am relieved that the business secretary, Alok Sharma, has tested negative for the coronavirus, but the fact that someone with Covid-19 symptoms was wandering the corridors of Westminster is a worrying sign. During the greatest pandemic in a century, pressuring sick people to come to work and spread disease is a sign of something rotten at the top.

Make no mistake. While we might be extremely fortunate and this does not happen again, we have a right to ask who would take responsibility for a future coronavirus outbreak in parliament. There are no two ways about it: if an MP falls ill to Covid-19 or there is a spike in cases because of travel to and from London, then Rees-Mogg must be ready to take personal responsibility and resign.

The government says that the mess they have created is simply about ensuring that important legislation is passed. I do not believe that we should have to choose. Indeed, we had already started to vote online and pass legislation – both the immigration bill and the finance bill – before we abandoned the virtual parliament.

If “timetabling” is the issue, then there is a responsibility on all of us – government and opposition – to work together to find the best solution. There are actions we could take together to make sure that legislation gets enough time, while allowing virtual measures to avoid MPs criss-crossing the country.

As the Liberal Democrat chief whip, I would be willing to take up that responsibility and work with the government to ensure that parliament works smoothly and that all communities can be fully represented.

For that to work, however, we need a reminder that leadership is about more than just the exercise of power: it is about taking responsibility for the impact that your actions have on others. The leader of the house – and the government as a whole – must drop the childish attacks on parliament, and instead accept that the buck stops with them.

Alistair Carmichael is the Liberal Democrat spokesperson on Brexit and foreign affairs, its chief whip and the party’s MP for Orkney and Shetland