Local MPs back Boris Johnson as he faces calls to resign after Supreme Court ruling
LOCAL MPs have rallied in support of their Prime Minister after an unprecedented ruling by the Supreme Court that he acted unlawfully in suspending parliament.
There were immediate calls from political opponents for Boris Johnson to resign after the announcement this morning (Tuesday) that he had been wrong to advise the Queen to prorogue parliament for five weeks.
But he was supported by fellow Conservative pro-Brexit MPs Sir Desmond Swayne of New Forest West and Sir Chris Chope of Christchurch.
When Mr Johnson announced in August that parliament was to be prorogued, Sir Desmond told the A&T the action was legal and “entirely normal”. It was also backed by Sir Chris who described it then as “brilliant”, and Julian Lewis of New Forest East.
However, the unanimous ruling handed down by the Supreme Court described it as “unlawful”, not normal and “void”.
Commons speaker John Bercow responded by issuing a statement that parliament will convene tomorrow morning.
Reacting to the judgement, Sir Desmond characterised it as an example of “the establishment” trying to thwart Brexit.
He told the A&T: “The people voted to leave. The establishment – including our Remain parliament – continue to try and prevent us leaving the EU in accordance with the democratic mandate.
“The PM is on the side of the people, and I am on the side of the PM.”
One of Sir Desmond’s opponents for the seat in the next general election, Liberal Democrat Cllr Jack Davies, added his voice to calls for Mr Johnson to resign, saying: “This confirms what we already knew. Boris Johnson isn’t fit to be Prime Minister.
“His own brother couldn’t back him and now he is found to have lied to the Queen and suspended Parliament unlawfully. The Liberal Democrats demand better from the Prime Minister.”
Sir Chris, a former barrister, rejected calls for Mr Johnson to step down, and said the unprecedented Supreme Court ruling was nothing unusual and was being “hyped up by the remoaner brigade”.
He said: “If this was the first occasion when any government had been told by the Supreme Court that its actions were unlawful then one could think of it as being something out of the ordinary. What’s important is that the government should respect and implement the will of the court.
“I do not go back on what I said before. This is the longest session of parliament since the civil war and needs to be brought to an end so we can have a fresh start.”
He interpreted the ruling as saying that while the prorogation was too long there might have been a “different consideration” if it had instead been lengthened by a simple recess.
Asked whether the Prime Minister should resign, Dr Lewis did not answer directly, instead telling the A&T: “I am currently in Westminster in the middle of a thunderstorm, punctuated by flashes of lightning – what could this possibly signify?”
