Dear Stephen Kerr MP
I’m really worried that a future Prime Minister could suspend Parliament to push through a no-deal Brexit. Surely it is the sovereignty of Parliament that was most at stake in the debates around EU membership? It has been a firm principle of our parliamentary democracy that the people elect representatives to take the final decisions on their behalf. You are my representative, and even if you do not always vote as I would wish, it is important to me that you are there on a daily basis, listening to the arguments, taking a considered view and representing me and the other voters of Stirling, current and future, when the big decisions are made. I would regard any suspension of parliament as the antithesis of our democratic traditions, as a worrying destabilising assault on the traditions of representative democracy.
I have been informed that Anderson’s amendment to the Northern Ireland Bill , amendment 3, is designed to make it harder for a future Prime Minister to prorogue Parliament ahead of the 31st October and thus to arrogate to himself unaccountable executive powers. I urge you to resist any such attempt to prorogue Parliament, either through voting for this amendment, or in such other ways as are possible.
I am interested to know your views on these matters in the context not just of Brexit, but also of the longer term constitutional implications that might follow.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Daniel Murphy
Danny Murphy's Blog 