The Thin End

Those who voted Leave in the EU referendum are entitled to be angry.  They have been repeatedly misled.  But their anger is directed at the wrong side.  They should be mad with Leave politicians who have either used Brexit for their own political advantage, as with Boris Johnson or with those who told them Brexit would be smooth: "Brexit means Brexit". Nobody discussed the need for a deal with the EU during the referendum.  Yet, as the Prime Minister has acknowledged, an agreement is necessary.  It is needed for a variety of reasons, not least to resolve the problem of the border with The Republic of Ireland and the Good Friday agreement. A deal is necessary to protect supply lines for businesses and for jobs.  It is essential to ensure vital cross border collaborations on security and other issues. Above all, Leave voters should be angry with politicians who asked them to vote but made no preparations for the likelihood that they ...

Our executive is answerable to parliament. That is how our system works. We meddle with it at our peril. Boris Johnson has stepped over a line by preventing Parliament from holding him to account, while his government make momentous decisions that will affect all our lives for decades. Boris is not a President, and we are not a Republic. This is why behaving like Trump is unsuitable for our system. Boris is not a President. He is not a head of state. No MP and no Prime Minister should be above the laws made by parliament. Looking for technical dodges to circumvent the will of parliament disrespects our constitution. Whatever our views on Brexit are, we must not allow them to destroy the legislative principles so many have fought for in the past. The United Kingdom has been plunged into a constitutional crisis.   A minority government with no mandate to govern, propped up by the DUP, has effectively stymied debate.  Proroguing parliament for no other reason than preven...