The Darkest Day for British Democracy since 1640 Looms

kent f OBE wrote:

Isn’t he trying to achieve what we democratically voted for?…while suspension seems barmy because none of us have experienced it( or at least I certainly have no recollection of it happening)….isn’t he trying to stop ineterferrnce by suspension?

Ms K, the majority of people did not vote for no deal. If the people ever voted to restore capital punishment, it doesn’t mean that you can use that vote to claim they support hanging for shoplifting. It’s the most extreme version, wasn’t on the ballot. Many brexit voters in 2016 would have voted for no deal with all the grim consequences, I’m sure, but many, many would never have voted for that.

But it’s moving beyond Leave or Remain. It’s about whether we live in a democracy or not. Brexiteers and Remainers in the country at large are becoming united on this, according to polls. The outrage across the country – large numbers of people in cities and small towns across the nation – is about the decision of the government to push Parliament out of the decision-making process by closing it down.

There’s a reason people are calling this a threatened coup.  The government has prorogued without Parliament’s agreement. When Parliament prorogues every year, then MPs cease to be MPs for a few days. It’s not like going into a recess for the summer or the party conference, and it’s rarely for more than a few days only, never for more than a couple of weeks or so. But this is for 5 weeks in the middle of a national crisis.

This threatened to become a much graver crisis today when Michael Gove refused to say whther the government would agree to send legislation mandating an extension of the Brexit deadline for the Royal Assent.

This readiness of the government to push parliamentary democracy aside shows how important the next week will be, whatever your views on no deal, if we are to avert a fundamental threat to democracy.

Jayne,

The Tories did make it clear in the 2017 election manifesto that no deal was better than a bad deal.

But….the Tories didn’t really win the election, did they? Not in seats, not in votes. They were the largest party, but no overall majority, not in seats, certainly not in votes cast.

The people elected a Parliament in which the Tories didn’t have a majority,

I didn’t see ‘no deal’ on the ballot paper back in 2016; we were told that leaving the EU would be very smooth and easy, and would bring us great benefits. Nobody mentioned that we would leave at great cost to our living standards. A no deal and its consequences were NEVER debated.

Many here – I remember people like Nem and Moon – said they and their friends voted knowing that there may be cuts to their standard of living, but many, many in the country voted in total ignorance of that.

The actual consequences of a no deal are so grim that the government today withdrew publication of its paper on Operation Yellow Hammer. The details make such awful reading that it would make Brexit deeply unpopular, so they’re keeping it secret.. If people are going to face quite deep cuts and shortages – don’t you think they should be made aware of ths, and have some sort of say on it? Don’t you?

Now, when no-deal is confronting us, the no-dealers are in a minority in the country, and in parliament. A large minority, but a minority. Nobody has the right to force no-deal through against this majority.