The Queen and Prorogation

**This blog was first posted on LinkedIn on 29th August 2019** There is much discussion about the decision of Boris Johnson to prorogue Parliament and what it means for the role of the monarchy. To prorogue Parliament means that one session of Parliament ends, and another begins when it meets again. While prorogued, Parliament does…

One Meaningful Vote Too Far: Is Bercow Right?

On Monday, the Speaker, John Bercow, has made a major intervention into the Brexit process. By ruling that the government cannot bring back the “same or substantially the same motion” any chance of Meaningful Vote III this week has practically disappeared. Bercow stated: “If the government wishes to bring forward a new proposition, which is…

PMQs: The Challenge for Corbyn

Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 12noon sees the return of a fixture that some hate to miss. It’s Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQs). While to some this may appear to be people just shouting at each other, PMQs serves a useful purpose. It is one of the ways in which the Prime Minister and the government are…