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It is quite something to watch a Parliament be suspended against its will.
I must confess, irrespective of the time lost (now nine days, four longer than we were told), it feels grim.
There is something deeply tragic about MPs, knowing this is their last opportunity for five weeks, raising apparently endless points of order just to rage against time.
And now the finery and ceremony begins. It all seems familiar and yet it is all brand new. We’ve not seen a prorogation like this one.
MPs screaming “No!” when asked to prorogue.
Bercow: “This is not a standard or normal prorogation. It’s one of the longest for decades and it represents an act of executive fiat.”
Bercow being applauded by the Opposition. Labour MPs screaming “shame on you!” to ministers. These are absolutely extraordinary scenes.
Bercow looks furious.
This is all being done in the Queen’s name.
And now a man in a wig talks nonsense for 10 minutes.
All the pomp might be familiar, perhaps even comforting. But just because the people you see are in ermine doesn’t mean democratic institutions aren’t being profoundly stretched. It just means they’re being stretched in Britain.
