State opening of parliament
After the initial prorogation was ruled unlawful by the United Kingdom Supreme Court, a much shorter prorogation was announced by the prime minister. The prorogation allows for the suspension of a parliamentary term, with the Queen then delivering a speech in the House of Lords to all members of parliament.
In this speech, she will set out the government agenda for the coming session, which in this case could be an unprecedented plea to get Brexit done. Although politically neutral, the Queen will task her government with policy platforms to pursue, making Brexit an almost guaranteed topic.
Brexit squeaky bum time
Thursday will see the crunch moment in the ongoing Brexit crisis, with the prime minister set to attend a two-day summit in Brussels; acting as perhaps the last opportunity for a Brexit deal to be approved by Brussels before the October 31st deadline.
Although not specifically to tackle Brexit, it is likely that the summit will be dominated by the ongoing negotiations, with failure to achieve agreement here likely to see either a no-deal exit or another extension to article 50.
This will be shortly followed by a special sitting of Parliament – dragging politicians back to London on Saturday – where the next steps of Brexit will be discussed. If the EU summit produces a new agreement, we will likely see a vote on the Brexit deal, however, we may also see debates on the options Britain could pursue should no agreement materialise.
This would likely see the exploration of possibilities to extend article 50 and prevent a no-deal Brexit, which the UK Parliament has repeatedly legislated against. This day is also the deadline to request an extension, so we are likely to see a huge battle between the government and parliament in order to force through a no-deal Brexit.
Extinction Rebellion
The controversial London protests enter their second week this week, with greater controversy expected. The protests thus far have seen 1,200 arrests, including Paralympian James Brown, who was arrested for climbing on top of a plane at London City Airport.
The aim of Extinction Rebellion is to deplete police resources and force the government to take action, according to Green Party activist Tom Pashby. However, with increasing public hostility towards the group, their tactics may not achieve them the success they are hoping for.
