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Conservative MPs have “never worked harder”, the chancellor has claimed following accusations Rishi Sunak is presiding over a “zombie parliament”.

The average length of a Commons sitting day has been shorter this parliamentary session than any other in the past 25 years, according to analysis by the Financial Times.

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But Jeremy Hunt insisted on Friday that constituency work was the most important part of an MP’s job, and parliamentarians were working harder than ever in their seats.

The chancellor told reporters: “I think that there are lots of things people want from their MPs but more laws being passed is probably not top of the list.

“I think the most important thing is how hard MPs are working in their constituencies, and I would say, certainly when it comes to Conservative MPs, I’ve never seen a parliament where Conservative MPs have worked harder than this parliament to do the right thing for their constituents.”

The prime minister’s official spokesman said the government was delivering “a packed legislative agenda” with 26 bills introduced in the current session and remained “committed to facilitating debates on critical issues”.

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MPs’ jobs involve more than speaking and voting in the Commons chamber, and include participating in other parliamentary business such as select committees and helping constituents.

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Jeremy Hunt claimed Conservative MPs have ‘never worked harder’. Pic: PA

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But the FT’s findings have led to accusations that the current session is a “zombie parliament”, with little legislative work being done and the Commons often rising early.

The average duration of a Commons sitting day in the current parliamentary session, which started in November, has been seven hours and nine minutes – a record low since New Labour came to power in 1997, the newspaper found.

On 5 March, the day before the budget, the Commons sat for less than four and a half hours.

But even before the current session, Labour had criticised the government for a lack of parliamentary business.

In June last year, after the Commons had sat on one day for less than three hours, the then shadow leader of the house Thangam Debbonaire asked: “How are Tory ministers spending their time?

“Because they are clearly not delivering in their departments. Are they racing home to watch daytime TV instead?”

At the time, a Number 10 spokesperson denied this was the case, saying there were “a number of important pieces of legislation going through the House”.

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Why Boris’s best mate is off to Reform

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Why Boris's best mate is off to Reform

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.

Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.

Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

The trial is part of Project Acacia, an initiative from the RBA exploring how digital money and tokenization could support financial markets in Australia.

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Starmer and Macron agree need for ‘new deterrent’ to stop small boat crossings

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Starmer and Macron agree need for 'new deterrent' to stop small boat crossings

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the need for a “new deterrent” to deter small boats crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister met Mr Macron this afternoon as part of the French president’s state visit to the UK, which began on Tuesday.

High up the agenda for the two leaders is the need to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel, which Mr Macron said yesterday was a “burden” for both the UK and France.

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The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.

Sir Keir is hoping he can reach a deal for a one-in one-out return treaty with France, ahead of the UK-France summit on Thursday, which will involve ministerial teams from both nations.

The deal would see those crossing the Channel illegally sent back to France in exchange for Britain taking in any asylum seeker with a family connection in the UK.

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However, it is understood the deal is still in the balance, with some EU countries unhappy about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.

French newspaper Le Monde reports that up to 50 small boat migrants could be sent back to France each week, starting from August, as part of an agreement between Sir Keir and Mr Macron.

A statement from Downing Street said: “The prime minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street this afternoon.

“They reflected on the state visit of the president so far, agreeing that it had been an important representation of the deep ties between our two countries.

“Moving on to discuss joint working, they shared their desire to deepen our partnership further – from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment.”

It added: “The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.

“The prime minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.

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“The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.”

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, seized on the statement to criticise Labour for scrapping the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan, which the Tories claim would have sent asylum seekers “entering the UK illegally” to Rwanda.

He said in an online post: “We had a deterrent ready to go, where every single illegal immigrant arriving over the Channel would be sent to Rwanda.

“But Starmer cancelled this before it had a chance to start.

“Now, a year later, he’s realised he made a massive mistake. That’s why numbers have surged and this year so far has been the worst in history for illegal channel crossings.

“Starmer is weak and incompetent and he’s lost control of our borders.”

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