
Should MPs’ long Commons recesses be replaced with a fixed annual leave allowance?
The Commons has no fixed leave allowance for MPs. Parliament sets its own recess dates each session, and the 2026-27 calendar includes a summer recess from 16 July to 1 September, a conference recess, and a Christmas break from 17 December to 5 January. The Commons sits about 150 days a year. Recesses are not formal holidays: MPs use them for constituency work, surgeries and ministerial duties.
1 Opinion
It's about time our MP's experienced the same working calendar as the everyday people they represent.