This is a holding blog in the middle of mounting commotion in the media, in Westminster, on the streets and in the courts. There is no doubt that the move to prorogue parliament to pave the way for a Queen’s Speech took the opposition by complete surprise. But it is also true that the strength, breadth, and dept of public outrage has shaken the government significantly. Angry politicians are one thing but angry voters are quite another.
I am not convinced the legal challenges will succeed, since what has occurred is against everybody’s expectation of what is decent and fair and nudges some of the nuances of the constitution back towards the power of the executive, but I do not think parliament’s sovereignty has been challenged. It remains the case that if parliament does not like the turn of events, it can quickly change the law or change the government within very few days starting next Tuesday. But for that it has to agree. And its inability to do that is why we are in this mess now. We will soon see if the enormity of events changes anything.