Speakers pledge to develop closer inter-parliamentary links

In a meeting via Zoom, Sir Lindsay Hoyle told Speaker Dmytro Razumkov that the use of video conferencing had been ‘the saviour of Parliament’.
The topic came up as the two Speakers discussed how they had managed to keep their legislatures running during the Covid crisis.

Speaker Razumkov said while his Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, had continued to operate during the pandemic, it had suffered two outbreaks and 35% of Ukraine’s MPs had been laid low by the virus - including himself.

Sir Lindsay said his sympathies went out to the people of Ukraine who have died. ‘Hopefully, once the vaccination kicks in, we can all get back to normality,’ he said.

‘The big benefit we have had is the ability to use Zoom, which has allowed parliamentarians to operate from their homes - rather than having everyone come in, which has been the saviour of Parliament and helped to stop coronavirus coming into the House,’ he said.

Speaker Razumkov said his Parliament had not had to lockdown, but legislation did not allow for meetings to be held via video conferencing.

He said he hoped both countries could deepen the Ukranian-British inter-parliamentary dialogue, despite the challenges of Covid, adding: ‘It is important to discuss many aspects of international cooperation at the inter-parliamentary level.’

Both Speakers said they hoped to be able to visit each other physically, with Sir Lindsay telling his counterpart: ‘We would love to see you in London and within the UK Parliament as well, and hopefully, our friendship can be built on that.’

Speaker Razumkov added: "The last visit of the Speaker of the House of Commons to Ukraine took place 20 years ago. I think this trend needs to be changed.”

Image: Information Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat