BORIS TRIGGERS AN EARTHQUAKE
After she grants Boris’s request to shut down Parliament, Labour leader insists she meet with HIM to reconsider ‘unacceptable’ suspension
JEREMY Corbyn has launched an extraordinary attempt to drag the Queen into the politics of Brexit.
In an unprecedented move, the Labour leader yesterday demanded a meeting with Her Majesty in order to halt Boris Johnson’s plan to temporarily suspend Parliament next month.
Mr Corbyn reacted with fury after the Prime Minister announced that Parliament would be prorogued in the week beginning September 9, to allow for a Queen’s Speech on October 14.
He said there was a danger that the Royal prerogative powers, which allow the Prime Minister to suspend Parliament with the Queen’s assent, were ‘ being set directly against the wishes of a majority of the House of Commons’.
Mr Corbyn described the proposal as ‘completely unacceptable’, adding that it would ‘deprive the electorate of the opportunity to have their representatives hold the Government to account, make any key decisions, and ensure that there is a lawful basis for action taken’.
In a letter to Her Majesty, Mr Corbyn added: ‘In the circumstances, as the leader of the official Opposition, on behalf of all my party members and many other members of Parliament, I request you to grant me a meeting along with other Privy Counsellors, as a matter of urgency, and before any final decision is taken.’
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson made a similar request to the Queen, as did former Tory minister Anna Soubry.
Downing Street said the decision to suspend Parliament in the runup to a Queen’s Speech represented ‘the normal functioning of our constitution’. Officials also pointed out that Parliament is currently mired in the longest session since the English Civil War.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the demands from Mr Corbyn – but Palace sources were quick to stress last night that the Queen always strived to remain politically neutral.
It is understood that Mr Corbyn and Miss Swinson are likely to receive a response from Her Majesty. However while there was no guidance on the contents of the letter – as it would be private correspondence – it is likely to do little more than remind them of the Queen’s neutrality.
Yesterday afternoon, the Palace confirmed that she had signed off Mr Johnson’s request following an emergency meeting of the Privy Council at Balmoral, where she is taking her annual holiday.
Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg, Lords leader Baroness Evans and chief whip Mark Spencer flew to Balmoral for the meeting yesterday morning, allowing the decision to be signed off before the controversy gathered steam.
Constitutional experts pointed out that the Queen has a duty to act on the advice of her prime minister. Former Cabinet secretary Lord O’Donnell said: ‘The Queen had no choice. She has done exactly the right thing. It is really important that we keep the Queen above politics.’
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said Mr Corbyn was wrong to try to drag the Queen into politics and mocked his attempt to do so. Mr Duncan Smith said: ‘The idea that the Queen should overrule her prime minister on something as routine
‘She has done the right thing’
as a new session of Parliament shows a complete ignorance of the way our constitution works.
‘But it also shows he has been completely wrong-footed. Here we have a man who cannot stand the Queen and wants to get rid of her asking her to use constitutional powers he does not respect in order to overrule a democratically elected government. It is tokenistic nonsense.’
Tory MP Paul Masterton, who is against No Deal, dismissed suggestions that the Queen’s decision amounted to a coup.
He said: ‘We’re sitting next week. We’ll be sitting between EU Council [in mid- October] and the 31st. Is this confrontational? Yes. Is it controversial? Yes. Is it “suspending Parliament to force through No Deal on the 31st”? No. If new deal done, there’s time for MPs who want to stop No Deal to approve it.’
But former Labour frontbencher Kate Osamor, a close ally of Mr Corbyn, suggested Her Majesty should have blocked Mr Johnson’s request, saying: ‘The Queen did not save us.’
Miss Osamor later suggested that the monarchy should be abolished in the wake of the Queen’s decision to accept Mr Johnson’s request. She said: ‘The Queen should look at what happened to her cousin Tino ex King of Greece when you enable a Right-wing coup! Monarchy abolished!’
Last night, Downing Street sources pointed out that Labour MPs have been demanding a Queen’s Speech for months after branding Theresa May’s administration a ‘zombie government’ that had run out of legislation.
Governments typically hold a Queen’s Speech every year, with Parliament suspended for a few days beforehand. But the current session has been running since June 2017, making it the longest since the 17th Century.
Last night, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell accused the Prime Minister of putting the Queen in a difficult position.
He told Channel 4 News: ‘I do have sympathy for her. I’ve always had a lot of respect for the Queen, but I’m not a monarchist I’m a republican. The issue is, as the constitution now stands, she has to abide by what the Prime Minister brings to her.
‘It is the Prime Minister who has put her in this position and he shouldn’t have done that. I am a republican saying to the Prime Minister, just behave like a Prime Minister and not in this reckless and irresponsible way.’