As the temperature soars outside of Westminster so too does the temperature inside. There aren't many House of Commons moments which can genuinely be labelled as historic. The no confidence vote of 1979, the Iraq war debate of March 2003 and the removal of the speaker, Michael Martin, are three prominent examples.
But next week's vote on the dissolution of Parliament will be historic.
However it would be all too easy to get lost in the novel nature of the situation we find ourselves in.
After all a dissolution motion has never before been laid in this manner or in such a feverish environment.
But for this, the mechanics of government do not cease to work. All the parties will be "whipping" their members from dawn until dusk for the next week. Government will not let those in its Westminster quarters sleep in the run-up to the vote.
There is also a world of difference between laying a dissolution motion and winning a dissolution motion. Labour knows this and if the motion were to be successful they would not want to say that they went down without a fight.
There may also be greater urgency to Brown's weekly audience with the Queen later this week. For it should never be forgotten that ultimate constitutional hegemony lies with the sovereign. Whilst it is unlikely, perhaps inconceivable that Queen Elizabeth II would refuse to recognise the will of Parliament, she may well choose to follow the Brown/Governor Jean of Canada's line of argument. This argument states that when the boat is rocking from side to side you try to steady it rather than upturn it.
It will be a long week for the nation's governed and those who govern.
No comments:
Post a Comment