THE Queen’s Speech is as good a show as any of Boris Johnson’s child-like attitude towards politics. Smug with his new-found majority, he spent much of the event with an uncontrollable grin.
Johnson entered the House of Lords alongside a grim-faced Jeremy Corbyn, who made every attempt not to acknowledge the Prime Minister – the same face caught by reporters earlier today as he left his house. The difference was stark. Johnson took his place with considerable fidgeting, looking up and around the house like a restless child during a sermon.
Perhaps the most worrying of all, however, was his reaction to the Queen reading that the Tories would work to repeal the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act. The cameras in the House of Lords just managed to cut to the UK leader’s laughter, joined by the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Dominic Raab.
So what is the Act? Simply put, it was a law introduced by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition which requires two-thirds of MPs to vote for a poll on calling a new General Election. Under the terms of the Act, General Elections should be held in the summer every five years.
READ MORE: Sturgeon demands Johnson give Scotland indyref2 powers
Johnson has promised to scrap the Fixed Term Parliaments Act which has prevented the Government from calling a General Election whenever they like. It has been somewhat of a thorn in the side for Johnson.
Watch @BorisJohnson laugh during the Queen's Speech as she says work will be taken forward to repeal the Fixed-Term Parliament Act pic.twitter.com/aeKo6hnvaK
— The National (@ScotNational) December 19, 2019
In September, the SNP, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru all agreed not to support any parliamentary vote for a General Election until the next European Council meeting. Without this act, Johnson could have steamrolled ahead with an election even earlier.
Subsequent attempts by the PM to hold a General Election were met with challenges from Corbyn, who would only back it if Johnson scrapped a No-Deal Brexit.
Of course, the Queen's Speech was written by the Tories, so Johnson knew what was coming up.
We can only speculate, but it seems that he was thoroughly chuffed to hear his Prime Ministerial powers will grow even stronger.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel