Its all in the name

Proroguing is a very usual aspect of the annual Parliamentary calendar.

It is the period between the end of one session of Parliament and the beginning of the next. There is usual a period when the sitting of Parliament is suspended whilst the new session is prepared which details the Governments intention for legislation for the next 12 months.

That is what usually happens in normal times.

These are not normal times.

We are over two years into this session or Parliament, marked when there was the last Queen's speech. The reason for this, after a new speech, the House would vote on it, and no Government could survive their written Queen's speech not being supported.

So, May announced a two year session of Parliament, and that two years is getting long with each passing day.

May's Government ran out of policies months ago, even if there were time outside of Brexit for other areas of policy.

What Rees Mogg and the other Brexiteers are not pushing is prorogation, but suspension of Parliamant to drive through a no deal Brexit. This is a coup. By part of the governing party.

The last time such a thing happened, Parliament rebelled and cut the king's head off.

What Johnson is proposing, if he gets to be PM, is to prorogue Parliamant for the last two weeks of October to allow the A50 clock to tick down and the UK to leave the EU without a deal. To stifle and stop scutiny and to stop Parliament stopping it.

What the Commons voted for this week, was to allow them to sit and legislate if the Government tried to suspend Parliament.

It is open to legal interpretation whether the advice of the Prime Minister to the Queen to suspend Parliamant in such circumstances would be illegal under Erskine May.

But if such advice is given, what the Queen does then has huge constitutional impact: either she agrees and suspends Parliament, or she refuses and defies her Government. Huge both ways.

Some Remaining members of the Conservative Party have suggested that asking the Queen to attend EU conferences instead of the Government could be suggested. Also huge, and would never fly.

It all depends what is in the UK constituation. There is one, it isn't codified (written down in one place like the US one), instead it is spread over thousands of laws dating back to Magna Carta. (note there is no "the")