Meanwhile, BoJo has just announced what is effectively a coup, suspending Parliament so that the those pesky MPs can’t block his goal of a no-deal Brexit. If he can actually get away with this, it means that democracy in the UK has always been a sham.
I suppose the Queen can still stop this, though she probably finds it a convenient way to deflect attention from the pedophilia accusations against her favorite son.
Apparently we haven’t learned from the complete lack of results from the last one, because there’s now a petition demanding that Parliament not be prorogued:
See, even the speaker calls it constitutional. Carry on, nothing to see here.
Did you predict the part where the DUP was called in to prop up the tottering coalition government; or was that one of those fun surprises that nobody would have believed until it was no longer hypothetical?
I’m guessing that touch didn’t improve Republican moods any.
“constitutional outrage”
Love Bercow, hate ellipsis.
Been saying for years that the House of Lords select Committee on the status of constitutions called it in 2014: referendums will be used by demagogues to take totalitarian power and sideline parliament and the courts.
Your Queen won’t do shit about it and when the end of fascism arrives in the UK and you get an actual grown up constitution (and electoral system) her lot have to be put out to pasture too.
Best of luck to you. This is fucking awful but exactly the way it has been heading. The reckoning with your imperialist founding sin is on its way.
Sadly, those least deserving of death will be the most likely to find it. The Brexiters are no different than the British Empire in that regard, the upper class deciding who lives and dies while they profit.
I’m tired of this shit. No Flags, No Nations, No Borders!
Have you got a link to this? My attempts to dig it up came up short.
Thanks for that, it’s already topped 400k from the 370k in the 10 minutes or so I’ve been watching it.
The queen has already approved this anyway, I don’t think there was any chance of her blocking it for constitutional reasons I am unfamiliar with. This is absolutely a power grab by the clown dictator and as far as I can see there is now only one option left when parliament reopens and that’s to revoke article 50. Provided MPs have the stones to do it…
On my phone, I encountered it first in a book from a conference (Oxford, paywall,) so when I get on a computer I’ll link to both if I can. Its some time ago but the book chapter was excellent also, the select committee much drier.
No, I didn’t predict that part.
As Stross says, even if the opposition leaders suddenly develop spines where there were none before they’ll spend as much time and energy squabbling amongst themselves as they will opposing this coup. The only person in power less likely to come to the rescue is the Queen. This will have to be individual MPs putting party politics aside and co-ordinating things on their own (perhaps with the help of judicial challenges).
If nothing happens to change this situation between 3-12 September, it’s time for the SNP to spin up another independence referendum and for anyone who thinks they might be targetted by fascists to start finalising their own plans to leave the UK. The prospect of a no-deal Brexit alone was scary enough, but if it’s brought about by liberal democractic norms being gleefully and flagrantly dynamited you’re getting into V-for-Vendetta/Children of Men territory.
I heard the MPs are going to sit (meet) anyways. Last time this happened wasn’t there a Civil War in the UK? Sounds like this time is gonna be the MS Paint challenge version thanks to Boris Johnson.
Ugh… i fear you’re right. It’s the beige dictatorship all over and they have a massive state surveillance apparatus with which to quash dissent and silence opponents.
Worse, creeps like BoJo are Beigists draped in colourful right-wing populist flags. Their desired result is a civil society resembling Putin’s Russia (after at least a decade of hardship and privation).
Time to re-read V for Vendetta, I guess…
The Press: Boris is going to ask the Queen to suspend Parliament! Whatever shall she do? Will she acquiesce and allow Boris his machinations to push through a no-deal Brexit or will she block his proposed prorogue???
The Queen: I am old.
