Government to ask Queen to prorogue Parliament

[-:Undertaker:-]

It's quite refreshing to have a government with a strategy and not just waving a white flag. I'm interested to see whether the opposition will manage to push through their legislation in time. If I remember rightly, their last legislation was done super quick so it might be possible but that was with a government only feebly opposing it. Might be harder if this government will take more extraordinary lengths to slow things down

If they do manage to pass something, hard to imagine how at the moment. They can demand the Prime Minister request an extension, but that doesn't mean he has to accept the terms of an extension. Ultimately, although they are trying, the House of Commons practically cannot act as the executive - it can only remove an executive and replace it with another.

All this said, Number 10 have said they will advise the Queen to refuse to grant Royal Assent to the bill if it manages to pass so let us hope that they mean what they are saying, unlike the previous PM who was walked all over. Yes it'll create an enormous shit storm on Twitter and in north London as the prorogation did, but the Remainers are kicking conventions over left, right and centre so who cares.

"The truth is that 650 MPs cannot make policy. Only the government can do that. The role of parliament is not to govern but to scrutinise those who do. That is especially the case with the treaty-making power."https://t.co/PXeToIovMx

— Rt Hon Steve Baker MP FRSA 🗽 (@SteveBakerFRSA) August 30, 2019

[Inseriousity.]

By all accounts, they're struggling to decide what the terms of the extension would be. For example, if they just asked the Prime Minister to ask for one, Boris could legally ask for a 6 hour extension and that'd be kosher. So they have to be more specific but they can't agree what the extension should be for. I imagine that this divide+conquer strategy is exactly what they were aiming for.

Isn't that refusing Royal Assent thing just journalistic speculation? Part of the problem of following this story is that it all happens in the westminster bubble and they just start speculating about what could happen rather than what actually will. I am not convinced they'll let it get that far tbh. The prorogation thing is fairly easy to defend and constitutionally above board (longest Parliament with little to do, its only 4 days, this is what always happens, other PMs have done it etc etc) whereas vetoing a Bill you disagree with is more suspect.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Amusing to see the would-be heads of the Government of Remainer National Unity so popular.

Part of me wants to see a Lab-SNP-Lib Dem-Green-SDLP-Change UK government just to see the electoral bloodbath that would follow lmao.

On who would make best Prime Minister:

B. Johnson: 45%
J. Swinson: 19%
J. Corbyn: 17%

via @Survation, 29 - 30 Aug

— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) August 30, 2019

By all accounts, they're struggling to decide what the terms of the extension would be. For example, if they just asked the Prime Minister to ask for one, Boris could legally ask for a 6 hour extension and that'd be kosher. So they have to be more specific but they can't agree what the extension should be for. I imagine that this divide+conquer strategy is exactly what they were aiming for.

Indeed.

I read they were looking into inserting an amendment clause into the EU Withdrawal Act forbidding No Deal, but how can that be possible when our departure from the EU isn't based solely on domestic law? They cannot amend the EU treaties and change the terms of Article 50.

Isn't that refusing Royal Assent thing just journalistic speculation? Part of the problem of following this story is that it all happens in the westminster bubble and they just start speculating about what could happen rather than what actually will. I am not convinced they'll let it get that far tbh. The prorogation thing is fairly easy to defend and constitutionally above board (longest Parliament with little to do, its only 4 days, this is what always happens, other PMs have done it etc etc) whereas vetoing a Bill you disagree with is more suspect.

Apparently it is being explored by Number 10.

It makes sense constitutionally as Acts are meant to be passed by governments, if they seize control of the order papers and push one through against the government then that is breaking convention and is a constitutional unknown. I hope they do it if they need to. Fight fire with fire.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexwickham...treme-measures

[-:Undertaker:-]

As @Inseriousity; said, so nice to have discipline back.

I would also tell any of them thinking about it that they can forget any peerages.

++BREAKING++

Dominic Cummings has notified Conservative MPs that if they vote for the extension legislation next week, they will be "automatically deselected" before the next election via Conservative Central Office "even if their local organisations stand by them".

Incredible.

— Nick🇬🇧🇪🇺🇺🇦 (@nicktolhurst) August 31, 2019

Dominic Cummings said 'no one cares' when Grieve and Blair go on television and talk about parliamentary process

He highlighted how Bill Clinton's approval ratings rose during 1996 election despite the Monica Lewinsky scandal, saying it was an obsession of the Washington bubble

— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) August 30, 2019

[dbgtz]

nice to know were being run by unelected bureaucrat dominic cummings

[-:Undertaker:-]

Gove on Marr this morning confirming without confirming that the government would ignore/find a way around any law passed.

Would the government abide by a new law from MPs to delay #Brexit? #marr asks the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove https://t.co/4yDchmzhSs pic.twitter.com/fA2b7Ci3e0

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) September 1, 2019

The Sunday Times was reporting there are a number of ways around that Number 10 are looking at including;

- The PM requests extension but then vetoes the extension in the EU Council.
- The PM requests extension but requests Hungarian PM Orban vetoes it in the EU Council.
- The PM requests an extension, but doesn't have any obligation to accept the terms.
- The PM requests an extension of an hour.
- The PM threatens to veto all EU business if extension is agreed.
- The PM advises the Queen not to sign the extension into law.

Hard to see how it is possible to legislate around all of those possibilities.

[dbgtz]

And here's Michael Gove on Marr
"Proroguing parliament in order to try and get no deal through I think would be wrong...It would not be true to the best traditions of British democracy."

(h/t @laurencesleator for this one!) pic.twitter.com/vqdtJT14sF

— Daniel Kraemer (@dcakraemer) August 28, 2019

[-:Undertaker:-]

Looks like Number 10s threat of deselection is working with some.

Could be very tight if a handful of Tory Remainers vote for, and a handful of Labour Leavers vote against.

I heard that Remainer MPs want to extend to May 2020 - another 9 **** months of this. Are they insane? I have a friend who voted Remain, and even his reaction was WTF. As he said, if they're not going to vote for the only deal on the table (3 times rejected) then what more is there to do for another 9 months? 500 hours of parliamentary debate on this and there's not a majority for anything in the House of Commons - other than the majority in the country that was to Leave the European Union.

NEW: A Tory MP has told BuzzFeed News their whip informed them tonight that any MP who does not vote with the government this week will immediately have the whip withdrawn and be deselected

The MP thinks this includes anyone who abstains on the anti no-deal legislation

— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) September 1, 2019

Spoken to a couple of remain Tory MPs today who will be backing the govt this week under threat of having the whip withdrawn

One says they are “appalled” at the government — but adds that passing legislation to stop no-deal will mean an election and a greater chance of no-deal

— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) September 1, 2019

One anti-no deal Tory MP predicts the rebels will fail this week

But says that if Johnson survives until prorogation, they hope MPs will then have a straight two-way choice between a deal and no-deal and end up backing a deal at the last moment. (This MP was not Theresa May)

— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) September 1, 2019

Confirmed: No10 has decided Philip Hammond, David Gauke, Dominic Grieve and co will have the Conservative whip withdrawn if they do not vote with the government on Tuesday https://t.co/oDlRoBfG0m

— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) September 1, 2019

And now the odious Blair creature wades in.

Remainers running away from democracy again. They’re losing and they know it. https://t.co/O4U7zzllM2

— Tom Harwood (@tomhfh) September 1, 2019

[-:Undertaker:-]

Well today the PM threatened a General Election if the House of Commons votes tomorrow to again break convention and seize control of the HoC timetable. It is being treated as a Confidence issue, so if the government loses tomorrow then on Wednesday they will pre-empt the extension legislation and table a Vote of No Confidence which will trigger a General Election if two-thirds of MPs vote for it as expected.

Any Tory MP voting to change the timetable/extension has been told they will lose the whip, effectively ending their careers. Big day tomorrow.

To show our friends in Brussels that we're united in our purpose, MPs should vote with the govt against Corbyn’s pointless delay.

I want everybody to know, there are no circumstances in which I will ask Brussels to delay. We are leaving on 31 Oct, no ifs or buts. 🇬🇧

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) September 2, 2019

💥 NEW: 8 Tory MPs have confirmed they will rebel and lose the whip > Gauke, Stewart, Greening, Burt, Harrington, Sandbach, Grieve, Letwin

Undecided: Lidington, Vaizey, Brine

Unconfirmed: Hammond x2, Clark, Clarke, Bebb, Soames, Lee, Gyimah, Miltonhttps://t.co/rzHUSQs7Xl

— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) September 2, 2019

The behaviour of politicians in refusing to accept a democratic vote, I genuinely never thought we would sink this low as a country. Depressing.