This archive report was first published on 25 September 2019.
Parliament Returns Amid Brexit Uncertainty ¶
Britain's Parliament reconvened on Wednesday, September 25, 2019, following a landmark court ruling that declared Prime Minister Boris Johnson's suspension of Parliament unlawful.
The Supreme Court's unanimous decision on Tuesday, September 24, left lawmakers scrambling to return to London, rejoining the chaotic battle over Brexit.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson cut short a trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, flying back to face a defiant Parliament, a looming Brexit deadline, and a new threat of scandal over government funds directed to a woman he was close to.
Mr. Johnson has vowed to deliver Brexit as scheduled on October 31, even if he has not struck a deal with the European Union on Britain's withdrawal by then.
Parliament has voted to prohibit leaving without an agreement, which economists say would be economically damaging.
Mr. Johnson had suspended Parliament for five weeks, until October 14, sharply limiting the ability of dissenting lawmakers to get in his way.
Even before lawmakers returned to London, Mr. Johnson was saying that he might try to send them away again.
He could have called a simple recess last time, but instead the prime minister asked Queen Elizabeth II to 'prorogue' Parliament, ending its legislative session and scheduling a new session to begin next month with a speech by the Queen, laying out the government's agenda.
Proroguing Parliament and convening a new session with a Queen's speech is commonplace. What is not standard is imposing a break five weeks long and erecting other barriers to Parliament doing its job while a high-stakes dispute is being resolved.
The judges swept aside those obstacles, stating that the previous session was still underway.
But Mr. Johnson said on Tuesday that he still intended to call for a Queen's speech, meaning that he would end one session of Parliament and start another. But he did not say when.
Any attempt to suspend Parliament again before the October 31 Brexit date would undoubtedly be greeted with fresh outrage, and accusations that the prime minister was flouting the Supreme Court's decision and improperly forcing the queen into the center of a political fight.
Mr. Johnson's troubles are many and well documented, and he faces new calls to resign in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.
But Mr. Johnson clearly does not intend to step down after just two months in office — that would make him the shortest-serving prime minister in British history — and it is unlikely that his opponents will force the issue.
The opposition Labour Party could call for a vote of no confidence in an attempt to bring down the government and force early elections.
But the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has been clear that he does not want to force an election until after Brexit has been resolved.
For the opposition, the more attractive option for now is to leave the prime minister as he is: an enticing target for their daily broadsides, wounded, struggling to deliver on his promises and — they hope — digging himself deeper into a hole.
Mr. Johnson's Conservative Party conference was set for next week in Manchester — when, it now seems, Parliament will be in session in London.
Beyond his Brexit troubles, Mr. Johnson is also fending off investigations related to his conduct as London mayor from 2008 to 2016.
The Sunday Times of London reported that Mr. Johnson helped direct tens of thousands of pounds in government money to Jennifer Arcuri, a fledgling American entrepreneur and close friend whose apartment he often visited during working hours.
Mr. Johnson initially refused to comment on the allegations, but later said he had acted with 'complete propriety.'
