Westminster is bracing for an all-timer case of summer recess whiplash today, as Parliament returns from its six-week break.
How so?
Well, cast your mind back to July 16, which was the last time MPs met in the House of Commons before they shuffle back in later today.
At that point, Sir Keir Starmer was still prime minister. Rachel Reeves was still chancellor. David Lammy was still foreign secretary, and… you get the idea.
Nigel Farage, meanwhile, wasn’t an MP at all, as he geared up for the Clacton by-election which provided much of the entertainment over recess.
It was only a month and a half ago, but it feels like it may as well be the Middle Ages.
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What can we expect when things kick back off?
As normal, the first day back for MPs starts relatively late in the day at 2.30pm. But it’s already looking like it might stretch on for a while.
First up today will be a speech from Andy Burnham, his first time speaking at the despatch box for more than 16 years.
We’re expecting him to set out his policy priorities, including greater public control of sectors such as water and measures to bring down the cost of living.
There’s scope for some big announcements if he wants to make them, too, since the PM is technically supposed to do that in front of Parliament rather than to the media or in online videos (as he did over the summer).
Then comes a moment we’ve spent much of the summer waiting for: new Justice Secretary Alex Norris setting out the government’s new approach to early release of prisoners.
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We got some extra detail on this over the weekend, with Burnham confirming the killers of PC Andrew Harper will stay locked up, and overnight, with Norris saying extra rooms in prison could be turned into cells.
After today’s theatrics are over, Wednesday will see Burnham tackle his first ever session of Prime Minister’s Questions.
He has previously said he wants ‘less division and less factionalism’ in politics – could that play out in his approach to the typically theatrical and combative PMQs?
And later in the month, on September 11, another moment that will undoubtedly capture headlines – the return of the Assisted Dying Bill to Parliament, now led by Labour MP Lauren Edwards.
So, plenty to be getting on with then.
Yes – and then there’s all the stuff in the pipeline we don’t know about yet, as well as plenty of Q&A sessions with government figures that could make some news.
But this return will last less than three weeks, before the House of Commons heads off for conference recess.
This can be disorienting, like a plane landing for a brief refuelling stop before quickly taking off again.
Except instead of fuel, it’s filling up with policy debates and sessions of ministerial questioning. In other words, the dream flight.
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