Section:GDN 1N PaGe:1 Edition Date:190829 Edition:01 Zone:S Sent at 28/8/2019 21:19 cYanmaGentaYellowb
Outrage as Johnson
suspends parliament
Heather Stewart
Jessica Elgot
Kate ProctorRebel MPs from across the spectrum
are gearing up for a historic parlia-
mentary clash next week after Boris
Johnson announced plans to suspend
parliament for a critical fi ve-week
period in the run-up to Brexit.
Tories and opposition MPs engaged
in a series of hastily convened con-
ference calls yesterday in a last-ditch
eff ort to prevent a no-deal outcome,
after the prime minister confi rmed
he had obtained permission from the
Queen to prorogue parliament.
The surprise decision provoked
widespread fury, with the Speaker,
John Bercow, describing it as a “consti-
tutional outrage”. Lord Kerslake , the
former head of the civil service, said
Whitehall would have to think care-
fully about whether to put ministers’
instructions into eff ect. “We are reach-
ing the point where the civil service
must consider putting its stewardship
of the country ahead of service to the
government of the day,” he said.
In a letter to MPs, Johnson claimed
the suspension would allow him to
focus on his domestic priorities of
funding the NHS and tackling violent
crime, and parliament would have
“ample” time to debate Brexit – but it
was widely seen as a bid to curtail MPs’
chances to bind his hands.- Senior EU fi gures were taken aback,
with the Brexit coordinator, Guy Ver-
hofstadt, calling the move “sinister”. - A petition against the suspension of
parliament rapidly exceeded 800,
signatures. - Jeremy Corbyn protested against the
move in a letter to the Queen.
Parliament will now sit for little
more than a week from Tuesday before
breaking until 14 October, when a new
Queen’s speech will take place, set-
ting out what Johnson called “a bold
and ambitious domestic legislative
agenda for the renewal of our coun-
try after Brexit”.
In practice, given MPs do not sit on
most Fridays, they are only likely to
lose four to six sitting days. They would
have been due to hold a conference
recess in any case, from 12 September
until 7 October. But Johnson’s gambit
squeezes the time available for rebel
MPs to act. Their numbers have been
boosted by the sackings of members of
the “Gauk ward squad”, including the
former chancellor Philip Hammond,
who is expected to spearhead next
week’s eff orts.
“At a time of national crisis, par-
liament must be able to meet to hold
the government to account and to
represent our constituents and it is
profoundly undemocratic to shut par-
liament down to stop it doing its job,”
Hammond said yesterday.
“We are determined parliament
will show its resolve to stop a no-deal
Brexit. To be perfectly frank, a number
of my colleagues would have preferred
to wait until the 30 days that the prime
minister has talked about was up and
move in late September. That will now
not be possible. We will have to try to
do something when parlia-
ment returns next week.”
2 The cross-party rebel alliance
agreed to focus on fast-tracking leg-
islation aimed at mandating the prime
minister to request an extension to
article 50 if he failed to strike a new
Brexit deal by mid-October.
The fresh scramble to prevent
a no-deal Brexit came on a day of
extraordinary drama, as:- The leader of the House of Com-
mons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, flew to
Balmoral to receive the Queen’s for-
mal approval for the prorogation plan
at a meeting of the privy council. - Sterling tumbled by more than a cent
against the US dollar as investors inter-
preted Johnson’s ploy as heightening
the risks of a no-deal Brexit. - Queen agrees to prime
minister’s request to
prorogue parliament for
critical fi ve-week period - Alliance of rebel MPs
prepare last-ditch bid
to avert no-deal Brexit
as time runs out - Speaker John
Bercow condemns
surprise decision as a
‘constitutional outrage’
‘A n a ff ront to democracy’.
MPs from all sides
denounce prime minister
News Page 4 ‘At times like these what
the country needed was
a delusional narcissist’
Sketch John Crace Page 5 ‘Johnson’s move represents
a grotesque abuse of the
country’s highest offi ce’
Journal Leader comment
Page 2 Inside
Polly Toynbee Journal
‘This PM is ready to
destroy anything
that threatens his
ambition’
▲ Boris Johnson announcing his plan
to prorogue parliament during a day
of high political drama
PHOTOGRAPH: UK GOVERNMENTThursday
29 August 2019£1.60 for subscribers
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