The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, will face direct questions in the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat sources and those close to the parliamentary authorities claim.
The new session of Deputy Prime Minister’s Questions will be introduced because Clegg, though he holds a wide remit in the new coalition, does not speak in the Commons under the current arrangement. This will be demonstrated this afternoon in clashes between David Cameron and Harriet Harman during the Queen’s Speech debate.
Some parliamentary authorities have been urged to reform PMQs, moving it to Thursdays to encourage MPs who tend to leave the Commons towards the end of the week. But sources say that a session of Deputy PM’s Questions will have a similar effect.
Clegg himself is said to favour such a move. It is believed that although no official decision has been made by the Speaker, Thursday is being looked at as the day for DPMQs.