If the past few years of Brexit debate have passed you by, here is what you need to know

If you’ve lost track of Brexit’s seemingly endless “cliff edges”, now is the time to pay attention as three years of argument appears set to come to a head.

What is happening in Britain?

The government, led by prime minister and arch-Brexiter Boris Johnson, has been granted permission by the Queen to suspend – or prorogue – parliament for a crucial five-week period before 31 October, when Britain is due to leave the European Union. The move leaves much less time for parliament and MPs to stop a no-deal Brexit.

Doesn’t the Queen usually stay out of politics?

Well, yes. And while she could technically have said no to the request, she is politically neutral, so refusing it could have caused an even bigger crisis.

What difference will it make? MPs haven’t exactly been able to agree on Brexit recently

That’s true – there has been precious little agreement on a way forward on Brexit since the 2016 referendum, and Theresa May’s attempts to get her deal with the EU through parliament ended in her resignation.

Cross-party rebel alliance gears up for Brexit clash with Johnson Read more

How has the PM justified his move?

Boris Johnson said the suspension would allow him to focus on his “very exciting agenda”, such as funding the national health service and tackling violent crime. He said MPs would have “ample” time to debate Brexit when the prorogued parliament returns on 14 October, 17 days shy of the exit date. His move is being widely seen as an attempt to stop MPs having a say in how Brexit plays out.

What has the reaction been like?

Apoplectic to say the least. The Commons speaker, John Bercow, said it was a “constitutional outrage” aimed at preventing MPs from debating Brexit. The former head of the civil service Robert Kerslake said public servants should consider putting the “stewardship of the country ahead of service to the government of the day”.

What has Jeremy Corbyn said about it?

The Labour leader has demanded a meeting with the Queen, saying the monarchy was being set directly against the wishes of the majority of MPs in the House of Commons. The feeling is that stopping the electorate, through their elected MPs, from having their say on Brexit is, at best, a bad look; at worst, unconstitutional.

Haven’t Tory cabinet ministers previously opposed suspending parliament?

Yes, and quite vigorously. During the recent Conservative party leadership contest, several came out staunchly against it, which will make for interesting discussions around the cabinet table now. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said in June that suspending parliament “goes against everything those men who waded onto those beaches fought and died for – and I will not have it” and that was “not a serious policy of a prime minister in the 21st century”. The work and pensions secretary, Amber Rudd, said it was an “absolutely outrageous idea”.

Tories opposing a no-deal Brexit are understandably unhappy about the suspension of parliament. The former chancellor, Philip Hammond, called it a “constitutional outrage”. Rory Stewart – who stood for leader of the party against Johnson – said: “We can do much better.” He has previously said he would set up an alternative parliament, should the House of Commons be suspended.

Can the proroguing be reversed?

Good question. Proroguing parliament is not voted on by MPs so cannot be stopped in this way. The Conservative MP (and former attorney general) Dominic Grieve said he and others were working on a plan to organise a “humble address”, which is a direct call from the Commons to the Queen.

“I don’t think parliament can stop prorogation, although there may be something that parliament can do to register its deep concern,” he said.

A humble address is binding and can be used by the opposition to express its strength of feeling to the government or request that it hand over documents. It has rarely been deployed in the past 200 years but Labour successfully used it in 2017 to make a direct appeal to the Queen that the government make public its economic impact assessments of Brexit.

In the meantime a public petition against parliament’s suspension had gathered more than a million signatures by Wednesday night. It is the fastest-growing parliamentary petition since more than 6 million people signed a statement calling for article 50 – the mechanism for leaving the EU – to be revoked earlier this year.

What happens now?

Rebel MPs from across the political spectrum are gearing up for a historic clash when parliament resumes on 3 September. On Wednesday, Corbyn backed cross-party plans to hold off on a vote of no confidence in order to prioritise attempts to use legislation to stop a no-deal Brexit. But by drastically reducing the parliamentary time available, prorogation has made a no-confidence vote more likely, possibly leading to a general election in October.