In the eye of our own political hurricane, it is time for all of us to stand up and be counted in the battle for British democracy, the very soul of our national identity.
We urge our supporters and friends to back Boris to the hilt in his fight to wrestle the UK from the clutches of the EU.The recent passage of the Benn-Burt Bill appears to bind the PM’s hands further by requiring the government to ‘seek and agree’ an extension of Article 50 beyond 31 October, yet by going further than the Cooper-Letwin Act, which merely mandated seeking an extension, Remainers have shot their own fox. The crux of the issue is the use of prerogative powers, which the Speaker claims are not affected. The same premise, however, cannot be applied to the second Bill/Act.When former PM, May, sought an extension beyond 29 March, her administration was entitled to use prerogative powers following the Miller case and passage of the Withdrawal Act. But the Benn-Burt Bill goes much further in mandating that the PM agrees an extension with the EU. This is clearly an invasion of the royal prerogative and the PM is right to insist this Bill does require Royal Assent before it can become law. Any such recommendation is within the gift of the PM alone; and significantly, he is entitled to withhold such recommendation. Moreover, that matter takes place on Monday 9th September, which coincidentally is the earliest date for prorogation of Parliament.
But why, we may ask, has this come to such a pass? The government could have laid down a barrage of amendments, yet chose to wave the Bill through the Lords without equivocation. The answer, I’m afraid, lies with Cabinet Secretary Sedwill, who, knowing that Boris is still obsessed with achieving a deal with the EU (despite all evidence to the contrary) misadvised him that Corbyn would support the call for a GE. We know now that such promises were illusory and without foundation.Without wishing to steal anyone’s thunder, there are prospects for the Bill to be fatally forestalled, absent of which, there is a final line in the redoubt. Since the Bill requires all 28 EU states (including UK) to assent to any further extension, it is by no means a given that such extension will be granted. In other words, what Parliament may propose, the EU may dispose or attach punitive terms. As the saying goes….Be careful what you wish for. Although it is not beyond the wit of the government to seek a second prorogation now that the two legal challenges have failed.
In such a scenario, Boris stands to win overwhelming support from the electorate. And should Labour want an election, he can make repeal of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act (FTPA) a pre-condition. Alternatively, if Labour opts to prolong their sitting till 2022, they are caught in a catch 22, whereby they lose badly now or be annihilated at the later date.The culling of 21 MPs, now 22 with Amber Rudd, is a silver lining that can only strengthen the government’s hand since only six have indicated they will fight the next GE as Independents. The quisling partridges have been flushed out of the covert and their prospects of survival range from slim to none. And Boris can afford to move writs for by-elections in their constituencies straight away as he has the protection of FTPA. Hence he does not need to seek accommodation from the Brexit Party, whose base of support is quite fragile anyway, though he does need to reform the Cabinet Office without delay and find better replacements for Sedwill and their existing legal team.
There is everything to play for in these most interesting times, though Boris needs to wake up fast and realise the EU has absolutely no incentive to offer the UK a sweetheart deal. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can contact us at William.@democracy17-4.org.
Be of good cheer!
Sir William Jaffray.
Chairman of Democracy17.4 membership association.
Www.democracy17-4.org.
Sunday 8 September 2019.
Opinions from the Unity News Network (UNN) editorial team & various contributors. | UNN always clearly distinguishes between news and opinion pieces and as an open minded outlet we publish views from a variety of people and organisation that do not necessarily reflect the views of UNN or its writers. Articles published under UNN Opinions are always opinion pieces and if published on behalf of a contributor will contain that authors name at the start of the piece.
