What
happens next in parliament after supreme court ruling?
Boris
Johnson has arrived back in the UK to face anger after the supreme court ruled
prorogation was unlawful
Martin
Farrer
Wed 25 Sep
2019 11.56 BSTFirst published on Wed 25 Sep 2019 05.51 BST
MPs
returned to Westminster on Wednesday after the supreme court ruled that Boris
Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament for five weeks was unlawful. But what
will happen and will it make any difference to Brexit?
What’s
happening with parliament on Wednesday?
The
president of the UK’s highest court, Lady Hale, announced on Tuesday that
“parliament has not been prorogued”. The unanimous judgment of all 11 justices
was that it was for parliament – and particularly the speakers of both houses -
to decide what to do next. Commons Speaker John Bercow said that parliament must
be reconvened as a “matter of urgency” and MPs began sitting at 11.30am. The
usual Wednesday session of prime minister’s questions would not take place, he
said, although there would be opportunities for MPs to hold the government to
account via urgent questions.
So if
there’s no PMQs, will Johnson have to face questions at the dispatch box?
Jeremy
Corbyn brought forward his party conference speech to Tuesday afternoon so he
could be back in Westminster by Wednesday, presumably hoping to drive home Johnson’s
discomfort across the floor of the Commons. On Wednesday morning, it was
confirmed that Johnson would appear before the Commons.
What does
it mean for Brexit?
Corbyn was
meeting the leaders of the Scottish Nationalists, Lib Dems and other opposition
parties on Tuesday night to work out how to exert maximum pressure to achieve
their number one goal: making sure Johnson cannot escape the legal obligation
set out in the Benn-Burt bill to delay Brexit if he has not reached a deal of
any description by 19 October. Johnson has always insisted he will not request
an extension of article 50 and may be hoping that the EU summit on 17 October
will provide a breakthrough.
Government
ministers have repeatedly dodged questions about whether they think there are
loopholes they could use to avoid complying with the Benn legislation. But it
would risk another potentially humiliating legal battle with the courts if
Johnson chose to go down that route. In a hint he could have another go at
suspending parliament he said there was a “good case for getting on with a
Queen’s speech”.
Does any of
this make an election more likely?
Johnson
would like to have an election as soon as possible, but he has failed to force
the necessary legal instrument through parliament. As he put it, “we have a
parliament that is unable to be prorogued” and “doesn’t want to have an
election”. The opposition parties don’t want an election until Johnson has
asked for the Brexit extension. Their calculation is that Johnson will be
weakened by doing so because he has made delivering Brexit on 31 October “come
what may” the totem of his prime ministership. They can therefore go to the
country portraying him as someone who has failed to deliver his promises.
Isn’t Tory
conference next week?
Johnson’s
party is expected to gather in Manchester from Sunday for four days, but it is
unclear whether the Commons will still be sitting – meaning MPs will be
required to be in Westminster. The government is expected to table a motion to
secure a short conference recess. If MPs reject this, then the conference would
go ahead while parliament sits, adding to the sense of chaos. Party chairman
James Cleverly said on Tuesday that “of course” the conference – which the
Tories hope to use to make a string of pre-election announcements – would go
ahead.
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