Boris Johnson is seeking to suspend parliament again for Queen’s speech
Just days after the Supreme Court ordered MPs to return to work, the British Prime Minister is seeking to suspend parliament again next week.
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Boris Johnson is seeking to suspend parliament again next week in a move likely to infuriate British MPs over the delayed handling of the Brexit process.
Just days after the Supreme Court ordered MPs to return to work, the British Prime Minister will ask Queen Elizabeth II to prorogue parliament on Tuesday for several days.
The proposed move would allow for the Queen’s speech — a traditional procedure marking the beginning of a new session of parliament — to take place on October 14 ahead of the crucial EU summit on October 17-18.
“I want to deliver on the people’s priorities,” Mr Johnson said in a statement. “Through a Queen’s speech, the Government will set out its plans for the NHS, schools, tackling crime, investing in infrastructure and building a strong economy.
“We will get Brexit done on October 31 and continue delivering on these vital issues.”
It comes after the UK’s highest court handed down a humiliating smackdown to Mr Johnson last month, ruling his decision to prorogue parliament for five weeks was unlawful and prevented parliament from carrying out its duties.
Parliament was reinstated soon after, but according to parliamentary procedures, the current session still needs to be brought to an end.
Mr Johnson’s latest move will likely be less controversial as it is a shorter period of time but will infuriate Remainer MPs who insist they must be able to scrutinise the Government over Brexit.
It comes as Mr Johnson has finally unveiled his proposed plan to leave the EU — and it removes the controversial Irish backstop.
In a letter to the European Commission’s president Jean-Claude Juncker, Mr Johnson said the backstop was “a bridge to nowhere” and outlined a fresh, five-point plan for how to tackle Britain’s exit from the EU on October 31.
“This government wants to get a deal, as I am sure we all do. If we cannot reach one, it would represent a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible,” he wrote.
Under Mr Johnson’s plan, Northern Ireland would stay in the European single market for goods but leave the EU customs union.
That removes the backstop that would have prevented a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland but effectively kept Britain in a temporary customs union with the EU.
“Taken together, these proposals respect the decision taken by the people of the UK to leave the EU while dealing pragmatically with that decision’s consequences in Northern Ireland and in Ireland,” Mr Johnson wrote.
The key to the plan will be creating an “all-island regulatory zone on the island of Ireland”.
“For as long as it exists, this zone would eliminate all regulatory checks for trade in goods between Northern Ireland and Ireland by ensuring that goods regulations in Northern Ireland are the same as those in the rest of the EU,” the plan states.
Mr Juncker said there were “problematic points” in the proposed withdrawal deal, but EU negotiators would now “examine the legal text objectively”.
Originally published as Boris Johnson is seeking to suspend parliament again for Queen’s speech