Why Boris Johnson Is Now A Zombie PM In A Zombie Parliament

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For his admirers, it’s the end of an era. For his critics, it’s the end of an earache. Either way, John Bercow’s decision to step down as Commons Speaker confirmed that even he can’t compete with the brute force of Boris Johnson’s gambit of seeking an autumn election.

Bercow, inevitably, had one last tweak of the government’s tail, deciding to stay on until October 31, the planned day of Brexit itself. He also ensured that the next Speaker would be elected by the current hung parliament, increasing the chances that his successor will continue to be a thorn in the Tories’ side whatever the result of the next election.

The Speaker has of course been a crucial facilitator of the anti-no-deal majority of MPs in the Commons since 2017. His tearful farewell was pure Bercow, peppered with attacks on the media, on the whips, on Johnson’s handling of the Nazarin Zaghari Ratcliffe case. He even (perhaps a nod to his cult following in the US) had dig at Donald Trump’s racist ‘go back’ remarks.

His enemies are already muttering about the unresolved bullying allegations against him and his refusal to give up his £1m pension pot. The race is already on to succeed him, with Lindsay Hoyle, Harriet Harman and Chris Bryant all tipped for the job (Eleanor Laing is the safe choice of many Tories).

The tributes to the Speaker took a full 90 minutes and he added that “we would have more time if we weren’t disappearing for a rather excessive period”. And for many MPs that’s the real issue tonight – the five week suspension of parliament entailed by the prorogation order expected to be enacted later.

In a back-handed compliment to both Bercow and the Tory rebels, Johnson’s decision to prorogue the Commons seems to be the only way he can stop them inflicting yet more defeats. And those defeats – his fifth in 6 days tonight thanks to Dominic Grieve – prove he really is in office, but not in power. 

The Liaison Committee of senior select committee chairman had been due to quiz Johnson for three full hours on Wednesday, his longest grilling yet in the job. That won’t now happen, despite a plea by chairwoman Sarah Wollaston asking the PM to still give evidence, outside parliament.

The PM’s gameplan seems obvious: carry on with a pseudo snap election campaign, with daily cash and policy announcements that won’t breach Purdah rules – but without any Commons scrutiny. Michael Gove may well supply weekly no-deal preparation updates, for example, yet no MP will for weeks be able to probe the detail. And with no Commons sitting, how can they enforce their will on things like the Grieve motion? 

Johnson’s critics think the Grieve motion tonight was crucial because they think it will prove beyond doubt that he lied to parliament and to the Queen for his reason for prorogation. There are others close to the PM who think that even that won’t hurt him, and will be seen by Leave voters as yet more procedural machinations far away from their everyday lives.

As we wait for Lords to doff their tricorn hats and deploy Norman French later tonight (or the early hours of tomorrow at this rate) in the prorogation ceremony, there are rumours that Johnson may have a surprise up his sleeve. He won’t get his snap election tonight, but he will get one sometime soon in November, and you can bet he’ll blame Labour for holding polling day when the nights are dark. 

Even more than Theresa May ever was, Johnson is a now zombie PM in a zombie parliament. Unlike her, his answer is to shut down the graveyard (the Commons and Lords). Yet like May, he thinks he can get a new lease of life through a general election. Let’s see if the script is more The Walking Dead than Carry on Screaming.