[The Times], Boris Johnson suspends parliament to thwart no-deal Brexit rebels

We’ll bring down government, say MPs as Ruth Davidson announces she will quit as Scottish Tory leader

Boris Johnson pushed Britain to the brink of a constitutional crisis yesterday after asking the Queen to suspend parliament in a move that could thwart attempts to stop a no-deal Brexit.

The prime minister surprised Tory rebels and opposition parties by announcing plans to prorogue parliament for a month before a Queen’s Speech on October 14, the longest suspension for more than 40 years.

The move dragged the Queen into a political dispute as Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, wrote to her urging her to overturn Mr Johnson’s decision.

Opposition parties and Conservative MPs will have as little as four days when parliament returns next week to push through legislation that will force Mr Johnson to seek an Article 50 extension. This morning Ken Clarke, the Conservative MP, described the suspension as absurd and said that he would serve in a caretaker government under Jeremy Corbyn to avoid the “childishly disastrous mistake” of crashing out.

Speaking of Mr Johnson, he added: “He has just given in to the fanatic element of his followers and decided to go hell for leather. I hope it will bring together the sensible majority of parliament who will find some alternative.”

At least five Tory rebels have indicated that they are prepared to vote down the government under a confidence motion as a “last resort” in an attempt to stop Mr Johnson taking Britain out of the European Union without a deal. In a blow to the prime minister Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, is expected today to resign having clashed with Mr Johnson over his plans.

Ms Davidson was one of the few success stories of the 2017 election for the Conservatives, when they leapt from one seat to 13 in Scotland. She is expected to cite the pressures of motherhood as her reason for resigning but has said that she could not support no-deal. Downing Street has drawn up a battle plan to frustrate rebels and opposition parties. In the event of losing a confidence vote Mr Johnson is prepared to refuse to resign, instead calling a general election after Brexit.

No 10 has also taken legal advice on whether the prime minister can ignore MPs and refuse to request an extension of Britain’s EU membership. In another move under consideration the government would delay seeking royal assent for any legislation requiring an Article 50 extension until parliament had been prorogued, in effect killing the bill.

Eurosceptic peers would be enlisted to “filibuster” in the Lords and delay proceedings so that rebels ran out of time to get their legislation through parliament.

Government sources told The Times they were confident that the rebels and opposition would not have enough time to pass legislation to stop a no-deal Brexit. Although MPs could still try to block no-deal after the Queen’s Speech, the timing would be very tight and they might not have an opportunity until after votes on the speech had been held on October 21-22. By that point a key meeting of European leaders on October 17-18 would already have passed.

Mr Johnson said yesterday that his plans for a Queen’s Speech were “emphatically” not about Brexit and that he had instead focused on legislating for his domestic priorities such as the NHS, crime, improving infrastructure and cutting the cost of living.

However, John Bercow, the Speaker, said that it was “blindingly obvious that the purpose of prorogation now would be to stop parliament debating Brexit”.

Mr Bercow, who will be instrumental in any attempts to stop a no-deal Brexit, said: “Shutting down parliament would be an offence against the democratic process and the rights of parliamentarians as the people’s elected representatives.”

Mr Johnson told cabinet ministers that there was a “good chance” of both a deal and a no-deal Brexit. Amber Rudd, the work and pensions secretary, urged Mr Johnson to tell No 10 to tone down its “parliament versus the people” language amid concerns that it could lead to a “very nasty” general election.

Geoffrey Cox, the attorney-general, assured colleagues that the move to prorogue parliament was both legal and constitutional. Last night Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the Commons, blamed MPs who had approved triggering Article 50 but then not backed the Brexit options for Mr Johnson’s decision. “There is no constitutional crisis except that caused by those who voted for the referendum, then supported the use of Article 50 and backed the Withdrawal Act,” he wrote in The Daily Telegraph.

This morning Mr Rees-Mogg told the Breakfast programme on BBC One that there would be “a lot of time to debate before October 31” and that the outrage over the suspension of parliament was “phoney”.

He added: “All these people who are wailing and gnashing teeth know that there are two ways of doing what they want to do. One is to change the government and the other is to change the law. If they do either of those that will then have an effect.

“If they don’t have either the courage or the gumption to do either of those then we will leave on the 31st of October in accordance with the referendum result.”

He also criticised Mr Bercow, saying: “It is not constitutional for the Speaker to express his opinion without the direction of the house.”

Mr Corbyn and Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat leader, both wrote to the Queen directly urging her to reverse her decision to consent to the prorogation of parliament. Mr Corbyn said: “The first thing we’ll do is attempt legislation to prevent what he’s doing, and secondly we’ll challenge him with a motion of no confidence at some point.”

Some Labour frontbenchers threatened last night to “occupy parliament” in the event that it was prorogued, even though the move would be purely symbolic.

Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, told protesters outside parliament: “If this was a Latin American country it would be called a coup.”

President Trump said that Mr Corbyn would find it “very hard” to succeed in winning a confidence vote.

Philip Hammond, the former chancellor, said that the move to shut down parliament was “profoundly undemocratic”. He added: “It would be a constitutional outrage if parliament were prevented from holding government to account at a time of national crisis.”

Dominic Grieve, a former attorney-general, said: “I think it’s going to be very difficult for people like myself to keep confidence in the government.”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/boris-johnson-suspends-parliament-to-thwart-no-deal-brexit-rebels-9sscnc2dl