Section:GDN 1N PaGe:6 Edition Date:190829 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 28/8/2019 20:57 cYanmaGentaYellowbl
- The Guardian Thursday 29 Aug ust 2019
(^6) National
Politics
The economy
Pound slumps
again on news
of suspension
Prorogation
Just another
Brexit twist
or a threat to
democracy?
What is prorogation?
Prorogation is a formal mechanism
to end a session of parliament,
normally lasting only a short time
until proceedings begin again with
a new Queen’s speech. It means
parliament’s sitting is suspended
and it ends all current legislation
under discussion.
It is normal for this to happen
every autumn. The current
parliamentary session, which began
in June 2017, is the longest in almost
400 years.
So is this just normal
procedure?
There are a number of highly
irregular factors at play here. For
prorogation to last more than a
month is unprecedented in recent
times. For example, since the 1980s
prorogation has typically lasted less
than a week.
The fi ve-week suspension from
mid-September, however, with
MPs returning to Westminster on 14
October, does include a three-week
period that would typically be a
recess anyway – three weeks during
which the Liberal Democrat, Labour
and Conservative party conferences
are held.
The length of the prorogation will
clearly have the eff ect of narrowing
rebel MPs’ options – they have two
weeks less in parliament to pass any
legislation against a no -deal Brexit.
Why does Boris Johnson
say he is doing this?
The prime minister has rejected
claims his decision is designed to
block MPs from considering ways
to thwart his Brexit plans after he
was accused of mounting a “coup”
against parliament. N o 10 said there
would be “ample time” for MPs to
debate Brexit either side of the EU
summit on 17 October.
He says the move will allow him
to “bring forward an ambitious new
legislative programme for MPs’
approval ”.
Can MPs vote against
prorogation?
No. Parliament is due to go on a
three-week conference recess
anyway in the second week of
September and there had been
suggestions MPs would vote against
holding this recess, or any attempt
to extend it. However, proroguing
parliament is not voted on by MPs so
cannot be stopped in this way.
How does the privy council
come into this?
The request to the Queen and the
proposed timetable was made at a
Richard Partington
The pound f ell sharply after Boris
Johnson announced plans to suspend
parliament for fi ve weeks.
Sterling was under sustained sell-
ing pressure as the prime minister’s
move was revealed, falling by more
than a cent against the US dollar to
trade below $1.22 , and by almost as
much against the euro, to € 1..
As the pound slumped to the lowest
level in six days against the dollar on
the global money markets, the prime
ministers’ plan set alarm bells ringing
for business leaders.
Craig Erlam , a senior market analyst
at the fi nancial trading fi rm Oanda,
said: “This isn’t the fi rst we’ve heard
of these dirty tactics but it was maybe
hoped that such un democratic meas-
ures would not be needed or used.
Either way, it certainly caught markets
off guard.”
The pound remains more than 17%
down against the dollar compared
with the eve of the EU referendum
in 2016, with a fall of about fi ve cents
against the dollar this year.
Johnson’s move to shut down par-
liament was viewed by the City as
sharply raising the chances of no-deal
Brexit, in a development that econo-
mists warned could strike a hammer
blow for growth at a time when the UK
is already coming under pressure as
the world economy slows.
Seema Shah, chief strategist at the
investment management company
Principal Global Investors said: “From
an economic point of view, actively
pursuing a no-deal Brexit through sus-
pending parliament is tantamount to
actively pursuing a recession.”
Business leaders warned that parlia-
ment needed to avoid no-deal Brexit
to prevent major disruption for fi rms.
Adam Marshall , the director general
of the British Chambers of Commerce,
said that companies felt Westminster
was playing an endless game of polit-
ical chess while the future and the
health of the UK economy hung in
the balance.
“Despite the noise, none of the
events of the last few days have given
businesses greater confi dence ... Given
this, it is essential for government and
its agencies to further boost support
for businesses through any scenario,”
he said. “Once again, businesses will
have to try their best to prepare for an
unclear future as the political process
goes down to the wire.”
Labour and the unions said a no-
deal Brexit could prove disastrous
for firms and harm employment
prospects. Len McCluskey, general
secretary of the Unite trade union, said
that the future hung in the balance for
jobs at major UK manufacturers.
“Boris Johnson’s plan to shut par-
liament is nothing short of a no-deal
Brexit coup which imperils the live-
lihoods of millions of workers and
the future prosperity of communities
across our nations,” he said.
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