THE UK "zombie parliament" could rise early to enable MPs to campaign longer for the General Election, Westminster sources have suggested.
Under the 2011 Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, the Houses of Commons and Lords are due to be dissolved on Monday March 30. But MPs are said to be impatient to spend more time in their constituencies, campaigning to save their seats in what is regarded as the most unpredictable election in modern memory.
Senior sources have suggested Parliament could be dissolved on Thursday March 26 or even on Tuesday March 24.
At Westminster, it has become noticeable that many MPs, particularly Scots, are leaving the Commons on Wednesday night after spending just over two days in London. Come Thursday, the palatial precincts are much quieter than normal.
The level of parliamentary business is beginning to dry up with the famous green benches often bereft of MPs for some debates. On Monday, the Commons rose at the unusually early time of 5.46pm; the Lords adjourned not long after at 7pm.
Last week, the Commons ended its daily sessions at 8.54pm, 7.30pm, 7.49pm and 5.31pm. It did not sit on Friday.
One MP said: "We'll have the Budget on March 18 and a few days of debate and that will be it."
A few extra days of campaigning could enable the parties to publish their election manifestos early ie before the Easter holiday rather than after it.
Last week, Michael Gove, the Chief Whip, branded the notion that Westminster had become a zombie parliament as "total rubbish", saying it was "working harder, sitting longer and has achieved more than any for years".
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