Petition · past parliament
Create a 'Nightingale' Parliament to restart democratic debate during COVID-19.
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
Establish a 'pop-up' Parliament (like the Nightingale Hospitals) in an exhibition centre based on the design of the Bunderstag or Scottish debating chamber. Individual seats and desks with microphones spaced according to social distancing rules with Cabinet and Speaker in a position of prominence.
Nightingale Hospitals addressed the need to provide rapid care facilities, the same could be done for a 'pop-up' Parliament. This would allow 'chamber based' debate to resume in a safe, clean, modern, high tech environment. Exhibition centres in the UK are largely based near good transport hubs of bus, rail and road. They have on-site hotels and other essential facilities. With the Palace of Westminster not fit for purpose, perhaps this could also provide a long term model for the future?
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Parliament has been able to sit while observing social distancing rules, with Members of both Houses able to participate remotely if shielding. It is therefore not clear what your proposal would achieve.
You could start a petition either calling for Parliament to be moved to a specified location, or for it to sit in a variety of locations around the country, if that is what you want to happen.
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you find out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/
You could start a petition either calling for Parliament to be moved to a specified location, or for it to sit in a variety of locations around the country, if that is what you want to happen.
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you find out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/
Timeline
| 17 May 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 28 Jul 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
28 Jul 2020
Follow this petition
Sign in to get an email when the government responds, a debate is scheduled or held, or the petition closes.
Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.