GBP Analysis and Talking Points

What is Prorogation?

When Did a Government Last Prorogue Parliament in Order to Circumvent Opposition Parties?

Queen’s Speech Scheduled for October 14 th

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What is Prorogation?

Prorogation signifies the period between the end of a session of Parliament and the State Opening of Parliament that begins the next session. The parliamentary session could also be prorogued before Parliament is dissolved. The Queen would formally prorogue Parliament on the advice from the Privy Council, which tends to take place via an announcement on behalf of the Queen in the House of Lords.

This would bring an end to nearly all parliamentary business with all motions that have not been answered, or bills that have not obtained Royal Assent, not progress any further. Therefore, if the Prime Minister is concerned about MPs blocking a no-deal Brexit, the PM can advise the Queen to prorogue Parliament, which in turn would send MPs away so that they are unable to do anything in the Commons to hold up Brexit.

When Did a Government Last Prorogue Parliament in Order to Circumvent Opposition Parties?

The last time the government had prorogued Parliament in order to find a way through parliamentary opposition to government policy had been back in 1948, whereby a Labour government had instituted a short session of Parliament to overcome the House of Lord’s obstruction to what later became the Parliament Act 1949. The session began on September 14th and ended on October 25th.

Queen’s Speech Scheduled for October 14th

As Boris Johnson confirms that the Queen’s speech is set to be Scheduled for October 14th, it is increasingly likely that Parliament would be prorogued from September 9th till October 14th, making the window notably narrow for the opposition party to put forward a motion to stop a no-deal Brexit. Although, this has in effect raised the possibility that a no-confidence vote could take place in the first two weeks of September.

No-Confidence Vote Procedure

--- Written by Justin McQueen, Market Analyst

To contact Justin, email him at Justin.mcqueen@ig.com

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