Rory Stewart, the surprise star of the Tory leadership election, has said he would help organise an “alternative parliament” in order to stop a no-deal Brexit if the new prime minister tried to prorogue parliament in order to bypass MPs’ wishes.
The MP for Penrith and the Border, whose campaign featured a series of walkabouts around the country to gauge public opinion on Brexit, also accused fellow no-deal opponents who are now supporting Boris Johnson of a destructive pessimism about their ability to change the Conservative party, or even win the next election.
Stewart said a former Speaker, such as Betty Boothroyd, could be enlisted to oversee a parliament continuing to sit in defiance of Boris Johnson if he presses ahead with a no-deal Brexit by seeking to prorogue the Commons, or to use some other “constitutional manoeuvre which means whatever legislation parliament tries to pass does not bind his hands”. He said any plan to prorogue parliament, an option still entertained by Johnson, would be a constitutional outrage.
Umm, doesn’t trying to overturn the sovereignty of Parliament constitute treason?
So, do we get to put his head on a pike or not?
Whence cometh the democratic mandate of such a parliament? HMQ will not endorse it having executed the prorogation. It’s a fantasy and he should have his head examined if they can find anyone brave enough to look at it. THEN put on a pike.
The UK is not Venezuela. Yet.
“…the surprise star of the Tory leadership election…”
Who, errr, lost.
JuliaM’
I think the term ‘surprise star’ is used to describe someone who people who would never vote Tory in a million years wished would be elected leader of the Tory party for them to vote against.
Rory Stewart, the surprise star
Lol. Still pushing that one, eh?
The media – not a famously pro-Conservative bunch – wants Stewart to be a “star”, which is why he received millions of pounds worth of free positive publicity despite his tiny following among the general public and even among moister-than-thou Tory wets.
The problem with this strategy, apart from nobody particularly giving a shit about what coke-fuelled media twinks want, is Rory.
He’s an eerie little guy, as if Tony Blair and Smeagol stepped into the teleporter machine from THE FLY.
His hungry little teeth, his shrill voice, his bizarre “HOW DO YOU DO, FELLOW KIDS?” capering with imaginary selfies (he’s 47), the way he always looks like a boy wearing his Dad’s suit for a job interview, and his off-putting gurning combine to unsettling effect.
You half-expect the man to crawl through your television set like one of them long-haired little girl monsters from a haunted Japanese VHS tape. If his grimacing visage peered out of a storm drain whispering “PSSST! THEY ALL FLOAT DOWN HERE, GEORGIE”, nobody would be surprised. When he took off his tie at that execrable BBC debate, I thought he was about to rip off his skinsuit and devour a live guinea pig.
If Rory Stewart is the answer, the question must be be written – over and over and over again – on the walls of a rubber room. In poo.
Head on a pike Tim? And then his ugly features would be there in public and unavoidable. No thanks.
Even on her worst imaginable day, Betty Boothroyd would not be as stupid as Rory seems to think she is.
Steve, a tour de force, even by your standards.
Boris would be mad to prorogue the Commons from multiple perspectives. Just, bad for democracy, but also, let’s see these motherfuckers like Stewart and Gyimah standing against Brexit. Let’s see what the local members think and how fast they get deselected at the next election. Purge, purge, purge.
All of this is down to Cameron filling seats with A list people. They’ve been utterly treacherous because they don’t have the depth of loyalty to party or any grounding in the principles. It traditionally took some work to become a candidate in a winnable seat. You did a seat that you lost, maybe 2. You worked for years with the local party as the primary candidate, and then got endorsed after you’d shown you were a worker.
These A list people had none of that. “Come along and be a tory MP”. And people like Stewart and Wollaston did. And got the job.
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Mr Lud.
+1
Ed Lud +1
this one goes out to all the six formers who also helped organise an “alternative parliament” on their UCCAS form.
Steve, nice one. Quote of the Day at my blog.
If we’re going to bring Betty out of retirement it should be to replace the nasty, poisoned dwarf who is currently outstaying not only his welcome but also self-declared stay in the Speakers chair.
When it comes to Tory leadership contenders, the only golden rule is that whoever the media is pushing is absolutely the wrong chose, for every possible reason.
Long past time Steve had his own blog!
Steve,
smashes it out of the stadium over mid-wicket.
speechless.
applause.
Well done!
If he doesn’t want his own blog then I’ll have plenty of material for Quotes of the Day!
@ everyone else (re Steve) +1
Including the suggestion you start a blog…
Great comment sex. If I smoked I’d have one.
I always thought Steve was behind the great House of Dumb blog
http://houseofdumb.blogspot.com/
I’ve been reading both for years, and while there are some superficial similarities, they don’t have the same style, so nope.
the Ed Miliband Human Simulation Unit
:applause
@BoM4
Boris should ask EIIR for permission to prorogue parliament after thanking her appointing him as PM
Question: once he has permission, does he have to do it immediately?
In other news…
John McDonnell said MPs should “occupy” and refuse to leave HoC if Johnson prorogues parliament
Equally useless stunt
Thank you everyone 🙂
Seems to me that there are a lot of treasonous politicians in parliament. If only they would start enforcing these rules and kick them out. If I remember Blair removed execution for treason from the stature. He was clearly planning ahead. We should bring it back..