Three judges at The High Court in Scotland have ruled that Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament as unlawful.
They said unanimously that Johnson’s suspension of Parliament is unlawful “because it had the purpose of stymying parliament”.
However, they made no actual order against the UK government as the Scottish judges have given direction that the UK supreme court should provide the final decision next week.
The three judges will release the full reasoning behind the judgement on Friday and the government plans to appeal.
Naturally, Remainer MPs have called for the immediate cancellation of the prorogation, with some protesting at Parliament.
Since there was no order to open Parliament from the judges, the protest was a political stunt.
Last week the High Court in London had already dismissed a similar case, with the appeal already heading to the Supreme Court.
Why is this prorogation controversial?
John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, said:
“Shutting down Parliament would be an offense against the democratic process and the rights of Parliamentarians as the people’s elected representatives.”
Far-left Labour Party deputy leader Tom Watson tweeted that the prorogation was an:
“utterly scandalous affront to our democracy”.
Remainers have claimed Boris Johnson is suspending Parliament to stifle debate about Brexit and to run the clock down before 31st October 2019.
Prorogation of Parliament: Comment
For most of the five weeks of the prorogation, Parliament would not have been sitting anyway!
The suspension of Parliament is usual during the September party conference season until mid-October.
Additionally, a Queen’s Speech commonly occurs every year, while it’s normal to suspend Parliament beforehand.
The government sets out its legislative agenda during the Queen’s Speech, and it marks the start of a new parliamentary session.
Theresa May allowed the last parliamentary session to go on for far too long because of her dithering and ineptitude.
So, there’s nothing sinister about this prorogation.
All these court cases confirm that Remainers are desperate to stop Brexit. It is they who must be stopped, not Brexit.
