Johnson wants to suspend Parliament. Time for Pride’s Purge 2019 version
It is reported that Prime Minister Johnson wants to extend the Commons recess for Party Conferences to 14th October to allow MPs less time to stop a hard Brexit.
As the New Statesman’s Stephen Bush notes if the move is about anything in the real world it is about Johnson further positioning himself for an early election
One of the things that the opposition leaders agreed on 27th August was a Commons vote next week to cancel the Parliamentary recess. If they can win that Johnson may be in trouble.
The whole thing has of course set off those who are sometimes labelled the extreme centre, into a further round of fulminations and that will no doubt be reflected in the media in the next few days where such opinion has plenty of space.
Even so Johnson attempting to stop Parliament from sitting when it should be, albeit for a few days (unless the conference recess was suspended) remains an affront to Parliamentary democracy which the Tories are supposed to be the upholders of.
Time then perhaps for a 2019 version of Pride’s Purge though I don’t think the army or actual imprisonment will be required this time.
Colonel Thomas Pride with troops on 6thDecember 1648 stood at the entrance to Parliament and forcibly stopped MPs who were loyal to the King rather than to Parliament, from entering the building,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride%27s_Purge
Boris Johnson is not King whatever he may think, but there is an issue about MPs who stand in favour of Parliamentary Democracy and those who back its suspension.
Of course a General Election would be the democratic way forward here, sooner rather than later. That wasn’t something that was available in its post-1832 form in 1648
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