IT came completely out of the blue.
Theresa May was already having a tough day in trying to persuade the likes of the DUP’s Nigel Dodds and Sammy Wilson to come round to her way of thinking on her Brexit deal without John Bercow deciding to put a rather large Speaker’s spoke in the Government’s wheel.
Earlier, things did not appear to be going well for the PM as Downing Street was extremely tight-lipped about whether any progress had been made with the DUP. Indeed, mum was the word on a number of Brexit-related issues.
No 10 admitted Mrs May did indeed have a timescale in mind if she had to go to Brussels to ask for a longer Brexit delay; but it was not prepared to tell Her Majesty’s Press what it was.
The hope, of course, was that the DUP would swing behind her revamped deal, leading to Tory Brexiteers like Jacob Rees-Mogg rallying round too.
The fact that ex-ministers Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and Pritel Patel all made clear, they would not support a rejigged proposal even if the DUP did, meant Mrs May would almost certainly have to rely on a tranche of rebellious Labourites to support her plan.
The theory was that after returning from the EU summit on Thursday with a proposal to extend Brexit for another two years, the PM was playing out her plan; suggested indiscreetly by chief UK negotiator Olly Robbins in a Brussels bar last month.
This was to force a choice on MPs to back her deal or risk a prolonged extension with all the dangers that would pose for Brexit actually happening; it would be a whites-of-their-eyes’ moment for the Brexiteers and Remainers, who would reluctantly back the PM’s plan to avoid a no-deal departure on March 29.
That was the theory but then the Speaker made his dramatic intervention.
Citing Erskine May, the parliamentary bible, Mr Bercow made clear a Government could not resubmit the same or similar plan that had been rejected by MPs. One could hear the hearts of opposition MPs leap as the Speaker rambled on taking Points of Order for more than one hour.
Downing St and Tory frontbenchers were incandescent. Robert Buckland, the gregarious Solicitor General, could not contain his fury and declared Mr Bercow had sparked a “major constitutional crisis”.
Tory MPs were in despair. “The whole situation is incredible…We have an activist Speaker,” said one. Another likened Mr Bercow to Oliver Cromwell as “Lord Protector”. One minister suggested the Speaker had engaged in “sabotage,” suggesting the pro-Remainer had his own personal crusade to stop Brexit.
So where does this all leave us? Remarkably, the impenetrable Brexit pea-souper just got even denser.
An exasperated Mr Buckland offered up a stark suggestion; proroguing parliament as in a new session the PM could reintroduce her twice-rejected plan.
Ministers are now edging forward inch by inch or, to put it another way, they are making it up as they go along.
Heaven help us.
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