After what appeared to be a promising start, Boris has turned out to be what so many claimed he was, egocentric, shallow, unable to seek consensus, bullying and divisive. In other words an appalling prime minister. His whole game plan is in ruins and his government paralysed by an opposition alliance led by Corbyn, much […]
The Ruling that the government has not broken any law by its prorogation of parliament is in line with this blog’s position that this is a political, rather than a legal issue. An uncodified constitution which relies on convention, practice, precedent and some statutes, is hard to pin down in closely balanced disputes, of which […]
At first it looked quite good. A decisive, focused government, a prime minister with a mission, willing to take control and make decisions, a charm offensive at the G7, positive noises around Europe and the promise to listen by the EU, to any new GB proposals on the backstop and not least, the proclamation by […]
This is a holding blog in the middle of mounting commotion in the media, in Westminster, on the streets and in the courts. There is no doubt that the move to prorogue parliament to pave the way for a Queen’s Speech took the opposition by complete surprise. But it is also true that the strength, […]
The suspension, or proroguing, of parliament by the Queen would never have been approved by her, if it violated the constitution, because her many advisers and lawyers would have cautioned against it. Moreover it is following precedent and practice appropriate to the formation of a new government at a time of year when it is […]
Like the German smash through the Ardennes in 1940, scattering the Allied armies hither and thither which nobody saw coming, this proroguing of parliament followed by a Queen’s Speech establishing the new government’s credentials and programme for the country post Brexit, has caught all Westminster on hop. With a punch which makes the combined opposition, […]
It depends on your point of view. The kindly gesture from Merkel backed up by Macron that Boris had 30 days to come up with a workable and legal alternative to the backstop seemed to some as a chink of light and a sign that at last the wall of refusal so skillfully built by […]
I use the plural because there are so many. Brexit, Constitution, Ireland, Parliament, underfunding of Public Services, Social Care are just the main centres of a gathering storm. So far the Boris government has had a pretty free rein with parliament in recess. The new team of campaigners and ministers surrounding him have kept up […]