Don’t Try to Sideline Parliament on Brexit, Speaker Warns Tories
Don’t Try to Sideline Parliament on Brexit, Speaker Warns Tories
(Bloomberg) --
House of Commons Speaker John Bercow had a warning for Conservative leadership candidates who are threatening to take Britain out of the European Union with no deal: Don’t think you can sideline Parliament.
Dominic Raab, a pro-Brexit candidate, suggested on Wednesday that he could suspend the House of Commons in order to force through a no-deal Brexit against the wishes of members of Parliament, if necessary.
Government minister Mel Stride was asked repeatedly to rule out such a course of action during a question and answer session in the Commons on Thursday but he told MPs that it was a decision for whoever becomes the next prime minister. That prompted Bercow to intervene.
“Parliament will not be evacuated from the center stage of the decision-making process on this important matter,” Bercow told the Commons. “That’s simply not going to happen. It’s just so blindingly obvious that it almost doesn’t need to be stated -- but apparently it does.”
It is not clear how the House of Commons could stop a determined prime minister from suspending Parliament -- or “proroguing” as it’s known -- and forcing the U.K. out of the European Union without a deal.
That’s alarming opposition MPs, as well as more moderate Conservatives, some of whom predict it would prompt a constitutional crisis -- and possibly a swift vote of no-confidence in the government. Rivals for the leadership have piled in to criticize the threat. International Development Secretary Rory Stewart told ITV late Wednesday such a move would be "illegal," as well as "unconstitutional" and "undemocratic."
On Thursday, three other candidates to succeed May weighed in on the debate. Andrea Leadsom told Sky News she would "certainly not" take the course of action advocated by Raab, saying it wouldn’t be workable. Home Secretary Sajid Javid dismissed the notion as "rubbish" and "anti-British," and Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged colleagues to join him in ruling out the idea.
“Attempting to prorogue Parliament to deliver a no-deal Brexit is neither serious not credible,” he said in a letter posted on Twitter, pointing out that Parliament would be unable to pass legislation that’s needed to leave the EU if it was suspended. “I rule out such a course of action.”
--With assistance from Alex Morales.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Emma Ross-Thomas, Stuart Biggs
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