Boris Johnson considering suspending parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit
Boris Johnson is considering shutting down parliament at the end of October to stop MPs blocking a no-deal Brexit.
According to Sky News, the plan would involve Johnson, if he wins the race to succeed Theresa May as Prime Minister, scheduling a Queen’s Speech for the beginning of November.
It is conventional for MPs to be sent home from the Commons for up to a fortnight before the speech, in which the monarch sets out the laws the government plans to pass in the upcoming parliamentary session.
If Parliament is not in session leading up to the Brexit negotiation deadline extension of 31 October, it would prove difficult to block the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Guto Bebb, the Tory MP for Aberyconwy who is standing down at the next election in protest at the party’s direction of Brexit, said he had heard of the plan being circulated in Whitehall.
He told Sky News: “I read consideration is being given in the Boris camp for proroguing parliament without a deal.”
A Johnson campaign source told the broadcaster: “A number of ideas are under consideration, including this one.”
The threat of a no-deal Brexit seemed to increase on Tuesday when former attorney general Dominic Grieve admitted blocking such a move would “technically…be quite difficult”.
Grieve, who has been at the forefront of trying to stop the UK leaving the EU without an agreement, acknowledged it may be down to Tory MPs vote against their own government.
“As I’ve said on many occasions in the last 12 months, if the government persists in trying to carry out a no-deal Brexit I think that administration is going to fall,” he said.