Did Boris Johnson Just Rope-a-Dope His Way into a Hard Brexit?

As of Friday, September 6, an extension of three months to prevent the U.K. leaving the E.U. without a deal passed the Houses of Commons and Lords.  In order for that legislation to become law, there must be consent by the monarch — in this case, Queen Elizabeth II.  Once she assents, the bill becomes law.

While most everyone is considering her assent a formality on Monday, it should not quite yet be considered a fait accompli.  The queen can lawfully refuse assent or delay her approval, which would effectively veto the bill and keep it from becoming law, thereby paving the way to a No Deal Brexit on October 31.

There are two occasions when the monarch can and should, according to most academic experts in the matter, refuse assent.

According to Anne Twomey, professor of constitutional law at the the University of Sydney in her book The Veiled Sceptre, the first occasion is that where a “serious error is discovered in the bill.”  No one is arguing that there is an error in the Remainers’ meticulously crafted bill of extension. Secret Empires: How th... Peter Schweizer Best Price: $9.41 Buy New $14.90 (as of 10:05 UTC - Details)

But the second occasion in relation to royal assent, “the predominant academic view … is that the Sovereign … must act upon the advice of responsible ministers.”

Professor of public law at the University of Glasgow School of Law Adam Tomkins concurs.  From his book Public Law: “If the monarch were given clear and firm Prime Ministerial advice that she should withhold her royal assent to a Bill which had passed through the Houses of Parliament, it seems to be the case that the monarch should follow that advice.”

As Robert Craig noted, Twomey uses the example of where a new government that has the confidence of the House and “objects to a bill passed … by a defeated predecessor … then its advice to refuse assent to a bill should be accepted.”

While this is not the exact set of circumstances the U.K. is facing, Boris Johnson has demonstrated he has the confidence of the House, triumphantly pointing out that “this is the first time in history that the opposition has voted to show confidence in Her Majesty’s government” by refusing to allow an election and refusing to table a vote of no confidence.  Now all that’s left is for Johnson to give clear and firm advice to the queen, who should then refuse to assent to the opposition’s legislation to stop a No Deal Brexit.

If this is indeed BoJo’s strategy, the U.K. Parliament has cut off its nose to spite its face.  Hyper-leftist and self-avowed Marxist Jeremy Corbyn, opposition leader of the Labor Party, has gleefully led this self-mutilation, stating, “When No Deal is off the table, once and for all, we should go back to the people in a public vote or a General Election to decide our country’s future.”

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