Last week, members of parliament came together and a calculated attempt to subvert British democracy by suspending parliament was circumvented. At the end of a difficult few days, the sovereignty of parliament, the first principle of our constitution, is alive and well.
We must however remain vigilant when parliament returns on Monday and prepare for the unexpected in the coming weeks. We are absolutely firm in our determination to prevent a no-deal exit from the EU, and by Tuesday we will have an act of parliament that will make that outcome illegal.
It is alarming to the majority of MPs, and many of my constituents, that this weekend the prime minister continues to say that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October with or without a deal, telling Conservative party members that he will not seek an extension under article 50, even if required to do so by law.
I ask the prime minister to accept what has happened in parliament and think this through. He must be aware that devices to block or ignore the law do not exist. The prime minister should meet the attorney general, take advice and get himself out of this situation. He is subject to the law of the land like anyone else.
Unless a new withdrawal agreement materialises at the EU summit ending on 18 October, the government must apply for the extension the next day. If necessary, a court order can be applied for to require the prime minister to do so. At that point, if he refused he would be in contempt of court and could be sent to prison.
It is astonishing that the government’s reckless brinkmanship and unconstitutional threats have brought us to even contemplate such a possibility.
We need to stand back a moment and make a calm assessment of what happened last week. What has parliament done, why has it done it and is it democratic? What happens next? These are the questions all MPs have been asked everywhere since the bill that prevents a no-deal exit from the EU cleared the Commons on Wednesday.
Since the arrival of Boris Johnson in Downing Street, it has become clear that a no-deal Brexit, of the utmost danger to our country’s economic life and wellbeing, was no longer simply an empty piece of political rhetoric. Threatening the country and the EU with no deal has become government policy. It was therefore absolutely necessary for parliament to exercise its right and duty to act in the national interest and stop it.
The Commons has been accused of denying the will of the people and somehow acting unconstitutionally in doing this. We have done no such thing. All of us were elected on manifestos that either promised “a smooth, orderly Brexit” (the Conservative manifesto); or promised to block no deal (Labour manifesto); or promised “to get the best deal for Northern Ireland, recognising that we share a land frontier with the Republic” (the DUP); or supported the UK’s continued membership of the EU. Any MP who facilitated a no-deal exit would have been tearing up their manifesto promises.
In deciding to pursue a ruthless policy of trying to shut down all debate about the future of our country and its wellbeing, it was the government and the government alone that has been acting with reckless disregard for our constitution.
Fortunately, our constitution is adaptable and it is adapting to the reality that the government does not have a majority and cannot act as if it does. Throughout our history, when ministers have sought to abuse their power, MPs have been required to find ways to protect and defend the sovereignty of parliament. So a cross-party group of MPs has come together to act. We have stopped one unnecessary general election that was deliberately designed by the PM to facilitate a no-deal crash-out in October and on Monday we will, if necessary, stop another. There can be no election while the country is still teetering on the edge of an abyss and it would be an abdication of our responsibility at a time of crisis to allow this to happen.
There will not be the parliament v the people election the prime minister seems so desperately to want, despite the highly irresponsible nature of such framing. When one does come, it needs to be focused on sensible options as to how we get ourselves out of the mess and division that Brexit is creating for us all.
It is noteworthy that my mailbag suggests the public understands the issues very well. The Yellowhammer revelations of the consequences of no deal cannot be ignored. The realisation has also come that a no-deal Brexit is the start of a long and wearying journey to find a new trade deal with the EU from a position of maximum disadvantage and not some glorious moment of national self-assertion.
I start the new week therefore with quiet optimism. We have at last a powerful coalition for moderation. The prime minister and his advisers are going to find it rather difficult to knock it down. They would do better to focus on finding a way of going back to the public and asking them what they now want and uniting parliament to deliver it. This would be a genuine exercise in democracy. Seeking to impose their own minority views on our country in the way they are is not acceptable and must be resisted.
Dominic Grieve is the Conservative MP for Beaconsfield
