The Daily Telegraph - 29.08.2019

Anti-Brexit

protesters break

through barriers

outside the Houses

of Parliament. Left,

Brexit supporter

John Stephen took

his message to the

gates of Balmoral

DAV ID GAUKE

‘This is a dangerous

precedent’

NICOLA STURGEON

‘Boris Johnson is acting

more like a dictator

than a prime minister’

DOMINIC GRIEVE

‘The Prime Minister’s

decision is deeply

questionable and pretty

outrageous’

JO SWINSON

‘It is a dangerous and

unacceptable course of

action’

I

n almost 400 years no

parliamentary session has lasted as

long as this one. It is, therefore, only

right that it is prorogued and a new

session begun. Respected

parliamentarians such as Valerie Vaz

and Chris Bryant have called for this to

happen and Keir Starmer confirmed to

the Today programme that: “Obviously

Parliament has to be suspended or

shut down when you have an election

or we have a new parliamentary

session.”

The abnormality is not that it is

happening now but that it has not

happened before.

The State Opening of Parliament is

an event of symbolic grandeur that

indicates the importance of the

challenges ahead and allows a

government, and especially a new one,

to set out its priorities.

There will be no stronger indication

of the Prime Minister’s determination

to make good on his commitments and

to prove his strength of leadership.

This Queen’s Speech will focus on

helping the NHS and fighting violent

crime. It will set out plans to build

infrastructure and to support science.

It will seek to cut the cost of living.

By doing so, the new Prime Minister

is responding directly to the vote for

Brexit, which sought to restore the

power to our nation’s democratically

elected government to concentrate on

improving what Disraeli called the

“condition of the people”. This is the

essence of government overshadowed

by Brexit, it is time it returned to

centre stage.

Yet this will not stop debate on the

Our constitution is robust.

No harm will come from

respecting the will of voters

Jacob Rees-MoggMogg

Step one: A vote

of no confidence

has to be called

by the leader of

the Opposition

and requires a

simple majority

to pass.

Step two: If a

vote of no

confidence

passes, there is

then a 14-day

period in which

either the

Government

must win a

second vote of

confidence or an

alternative

government

must win a vote

of confidence.

Step three: If

neither of these

happen, then the

prime minister

must give the

Queen notice

that there will be

a general

election and it is

in their power to

set the date.

Counted out What happens

in a vote of no confidence?

great constitutional conundrum of our

time. Lords and Commons alike will

have the opportunity to debate the

broad scope of this programme even

as the crucial European Council

meeting, to be held on Oct 17-18, takes

place.

The Government’s firm desire is to

reach an agreement and then to pass a

Withdrawal Agreement Bill as the

main priority following the speech,

but this depends on the outcome of

the council.

Holding the State Opening on the

14th means MPs will be able to vote on

the 21st and 22nd in the full knowledge

of the state of play.

A new session enhances debate and

democratic decision-making. By

convention, votes on the Queen’s

Speech are of the first order of

importance, so the Government will

need to convince people that it has

robust Brexit and domestic policies.

This overarching approval of a

government, normally given annually,

is one of the ways the Commons shows

it supports the legislative agenda. It is

also a challenge for those who accept

the 2016 referendum as a concept but

reject its result. In 2017 the major

parties agreed to deliver on the

people’s vote, but now they seek to

thwart it.

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. Every one of these

had comfortable parliamentary

majorities, often backed by those who

now cry out that following a plebiscite

is undemocratic. This is untrue and

unconstitutional. As AV Dicey,

arguably the most influential

constitutionalist, said, all conventions

have “one ultimate object, to secure

that Parliament or the Cabinet ... shall

in the long run give effect to the will ...

of the nation”.

Every established political party has

had to contend with differing opinions

among both its members and its voters

while the idea of leaving has worried

those who fret about the nation’s

capabilities.

Fortunately, the British constitution

is a robust and flexible one. It can bend

to the passing storm as it has done over

previous centuries.

There is nothing that is happening

now that does not have a historic

precedent and a happy outcome.

Uncodified yet well understood, it

allows for a balance between the

various powers of the State who

exercise their control on behalf the

people.

In this beautifully crafted system,

no harm ever came from respecting

the will of the voters.

Jacob Rees-Mogg is the Leader of the

Commons

The Daily Telegraph Thursday 29 August 2019 *** 3

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