Remainers are angry because Boris has upped the stakes
Boris has made his move and things are about to get interesting. The government will prorogue parliament from the 12thSeptember to the 14th October when it will present a new Queen’s Speech. This is government determined to stay on the front foot and force its opponents on the defensive.
Remainers are angry, but are they really mad about? Is it perhaps because they have spent so much time talking, arguing, disagreeing, considering their options, plotting, having meetings and starting new groupings and parties that they’ve been outmanoeuvred once again?
There’s a lot of hysteria on social media that seems to have erupted due to a slight misunderstanding of what’s happening here. Parliament is not being shut down in a dictatorial coup. Cut through the hyperbole and the angry exchanging of threats and this amounts to the government limiting the time that MPs have available to work against the no-deal policy. It does not stop them responding entirely.
Essentially the government is manipulating the constitution to help them deliver a policy that faces fierce opposition in parliament. The prorogation being proposed is about a week longer than the planned 3-week party conference recess. It’s cynical and ruthless, yes, but it’s nothing new. It’s normal to have a Queen’s speech when there is a new PM with a new agenda and it’s normal to prorogue beforehand.
MPs will still have from the 2nd September to the 11th and from 14th October to the 31st to legislate to prevent no deal. The Queen’s Speech also provides the opportunity to propose amendments and to vote against the government. A no confidence vote is still a possibility as a last resort. Remainers simply just need to get their act together.
Frankly, the manufactured outrage about the misuse of the constitution and parliamentary convention is a bit rich. The Remainers alliance, such as it is, have had no qualms about working with the Speaker to play fast and loose with Parliamentary convention to pursue their own agenda. The difference is there is now a government in place willing to play the game and up the stakes. This is now a political battle to the grisly end.
Remainers have had ample chance to act but aside from some minor victories they have failed, and the Brexit bus has rolled on. Never forget that ever single Remainer bar one voted to trigger Article 50, endorsing our secession from the EU and setting the clock ticking. A great many of them then chose to spurn three opportunities to prevent no deal by… voting for a deal! They are hold some responsibility here.