On Tuesday the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled that Boris Johnson’s decision to prorogue Parliament for five week was unlawful. In their announcement, the court pointed out that typical prorogation periods before a Queen’s speech (which was Johnson’s excuse) are between four and six days, so the five weeks he requested are unprecedented. Thus, the Prime Minister lost yet another battle to Parliament.
Members of Parliament reconvened on Wednesday and since then, the Brexit debate has been heating up. MPs spent a great deal of time fighting over the Supreme Court ruling, with vicious verbal attacks from both the Prime Minister’s supporters and the opposition. Right now the Leave-advocating conservatives seem to insist on holding snap elections, which is also what Johnson wanted. The Labour party, on the other hand, previously said they will not head into an election until they have legally removed no-deal off of the table.
Meanwhile, while Parliament was still suspended, the Labour party held their annual conference, during which prominent party members discussed the left’s political platform. Considering that the UK is very likely headed for another election, Labour used the occasion to reveal radical new policies that may just win them the right to govern next. These include shortening the business week down to 30 hours, reforming the education system, switching to green energy, and, most relevant for Brexit, formally backing a second referendum.
Boris Johnson is still trying to negotiate a new deal with the EU, but he only has until October 19 to do so. If he fails to present a deal that Parliament could vote on by then, he will have to ask for a Brexit extension or face another legal challenge in court. Political analysts believe that Johnson will call for a snap election before that happens.
