THE UK PARLIAMENT is closed.
After rejecting Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s second attempt to force a general election, parliament was suspended in the early hours of this morning.
There were angry scenes in the House of Commons as the procedure took place. Rebellious MPs sang, chanted and attempted to block Speaker John Bercow from entering the House of Lords.
This past week saw a group of cross-party MPs seize control of the Commons to force through a bill aimed at blocking a no-deal Brexit, veteran Tory MPs ejected from the Conservative Party and Jacob Rees-Mogg lie supine across Commons leather.
So what happens now?
MPs are due back in parliament on 14 October for what’s known as the Queen’s Speech, which officially opens the House of Commons once again.
Three days later on the 17th, EU leaders will gather for a crucial summit in Brussels. It should become clearer at this point if Johnson intends to take Britain out of the EU with a deal or without a deal.
Johnson had promised MPs a vote on his Brexit strategy scheduled for 21 and 22 October.
But, of course, there is the Benn Bill, which was passed into law yesterday. That bill is designed to extend Article 50 and prevent the UK from leaving the EU without a deal. It would push the current Brexit deadline of 31 October to next year at the earliest.
One of the conditions of the bill is that Johnson must either seek MPs’ approval for a withdrawal deal or their approval for a no-deal Brexit by 19 October.
Neither of those seem likely outcomes.
If Johnson has done neither of these by then, he must request a Brexit extension from the EU until 31 January 2020, the bill states.
Johnson, however, has said that he’d rather be “dead in a ditch” than demand an Article 50 extension. He has also said he’d follow the law, though.
All in all, after a week of rejections, ejections and rebellions, today is the beginning of the calm before the proverbial.
In the meantime, the Labour Party is gearing up for its annual conference which will take place in Brighton from 21 to 25 September.
Two days later on the 27th, the Conservative Party will descend on Manchester for its assembly.
Amidst all that, it’s being suggested the UK and EU could still do a deal, with the return to the table of a Northern Ireland-only backstop providing a possible solution to the impasse – coupled with an expanded role for Stormont.
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