Rishi Sunak extends time to pass current crop of laws

Rishi Sunak has decided to give himself longer to pass laws that began their passage through Parliament under predecessor Boris Johnson.

Downing Street has confirmed the current parliamentary session, which had been expected to end next spring, will now be extended until autumn 2023.

A spokesman for the prime minister said it would enable the government to get through a "packed" agenda.

The move could help ministers pass laws including the Online Safety Bill.

The PM's spokesman also confirmed a current bill to limit strike action on public transport will be paused, whilst ministers look at widening its scope.

Mr Sunak has been facing pressure from his MPs to extend minimum service requirements for public services following an ongoing series of walkouts.

He has also promised to introduce legislation early in the new year to ban illegal immigrants from claiming asylum.

The bill is likely to prove controversial, with the UN and several charities saying it will breach international law - something denied by ministers.

The government's current legislative agenda, announced at the start of the current parliamentary session in May, included a bumper 38 laws that Mr Johnson intended to pass before spring next year.

But parliamentary time to get through the measures has been eroded due to leadership changes in the Conservative Party.

Mr Johnson was replaced by Liz Truss in September after a summer leadership race, before she was then replaced by Mr Sunak after 45 days.

Mr Sunak took power after a truncated four-day leadership race in October, without announcing any policies or giving any interviews.

He has since distanced himself from some of the pledges he made during his unsuccessful campaign to replace Mr Johnson over the summer.

Last month, his spokesman said he would be taking time to review "what is deliverable and what is possible" from what he promised to do.

The decision to prolong the current parliamentary session will now give ministers longer to pass laws making their way through Parliament.

This includes the Online Safety Bill, a complex law on internet regulation whose passage through the Commons was delayed earlier this month due to the government's decision to make changes to the bill.

It will now go through its final stages in the House of Commons early next year, before it begins its passage through the House of Lords.

It was thought peers would require several weeks to scrutinise the bill, setting up a race to get it through before the session was due to end in the spring.

The government would have been unable to "carry over" the bill in its current form into the next session, because it had already done this once before from a previous session of Parliament.

Mr Sunak has also faced some difficulties piloting the Levelling Up Bill through Parliament. Its passage was delayed last month after Tory rebels threatened to rebel over housing targets and onshore wind farms.

After the government offered concessions on these two issues earlier this month, however, it made its way through the Commons earlier this week. It is now expected to go to the Lords in the new year.