THE SUPREME Court rulling that the prorogation of Parliament was unlawful ‘should be respected’, Pershore’s MP has stated.
While the Prime Minister and cabinet members have openly disagreed with the ruling, Harriett Baldwin backed judges in the country’s highest court after they delivered their verdict on Tuesday (September 24).
In August, after Boris Johnson advised The Queen to suspend Parliament, Mrs Baldwin did not explicity back prorogation but called for MPs to vote for former Prime Minister Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement, which could only be voted on in any new session of Parliament.
“My preference, along with 90 per cent of my party colleagues, has been to back the Withdrawal Agreement offering certainty to local people and local businesses as we deliver on the result of the 2016 referendum and leave the European Union,” she said.
In the Supreme Court’s ruling, Lady Hale declared the move unlawful, saying: “The effect upon the fundamentals of our democracy was extreme.”
She added the ruling was “not about when and on what terms” the UK left the EU, but about the decision to suspend Parliament.
Writing in her Westminster Diary for the Observer, Mrs Baldwin said: “I had always felt proroguing Parliament was undesirable at this time and I respect the Supreme Court’s decision.
“I would be happy to stay in Parliament every day until October 31 to vote for the deal the Prime Minister seeks, or indeed the one the previous PM agreed.”
Evesham’s MP Nigel Huddleston was among those who backed the prorogation in August and stressed the current session of Parliament had lasted more than 340 days, the longest session in more than 400 years.
The Mid Worcestershire MP, who serves as an assistant whip in Mr Johnson’s Government, said: “It is only right the new Prime Minister has the opportunity to set out his priorities and the domestic agenda for a new session of Parliament in a Queen’s Speech.”
In a statement, the MP said: “It is important to remember the judiciary is completely impartial of political interference and ultimately it is for the Supreme Court to make a final ruling after the Scottish Court and the High Court for England and Wales presented two separate ruling.
“Both I and the Government will abide by the decision it makes.
“Fundamentally I believe it is incredibly important we deliver on the referendum result. I work for each and every Mid Worcestershire constituent, whether they voted to leave or to remain.
“I believe the best way of delivering for every resident is to honour the 2016 result, which almost 60 per cent of my constituents voted for, in order for us to devote our attention once more to the everyday issues which really matter to people,” he added.
