The issue of the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union (EU) of which it has been a member since 1972, has seen two Prime Ministers – David Cameron and Theresa May – resigning from their positions over what is known as “Brexit”. The current Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to take the UK out of the Union by 31 October, the extended deadline negotiated by his predecessor for doing so. The Prime Minister has obtained the Queen’s approval for an end to the current session of Parliament in the second week of September, and for the second session to commence on 14 October. Both the Scottish court and the London High Court have ruled that the Prime Minister’s action was not unlawful. The Supreme Court is expected to hear an appeal against the ruling on 17 September.
On three separate occasions, the UK Parliament had rejected the withdrawal proposals brokered by Theresa May with the EU over concerns about the adequacy of the “backstop” arrangements involving the 499-kilometre border between the Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. The latter is part of the EU while the former is part of the UK. The Speaker of the House of Commons described the move by the Prime Minister as ‘a constitutional outrage’ and an obvious attempt to prevent Members of Parliament (MPs) from debating Brexit and more generally from executing their duties as MPs. The ruling Conservative Party’s one-seat majority in Parliament has since been eliminated by the defection to the opposition of one of its MPs.
