Held In Contempt?

After nine weeks in whatever strength of security prison you get for contempt of court, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon ("Tommy Robinson") has contrived to come out looking as if he had done 20 years in the gulag. You can wash in prison. And shave. And get a haircut. Don't fall for any of this. And don't let other people fall for it, either.

After all, Yaxley-Lennon was always reasonably well turned out, in a naive sort of way. If this is what he look likes after a spell in the clink for contempt of court, then imagine the effect on Boris Johnson. 

And if on Tuesday the Supreme Court were to uphold the ruling of the Court of Session, which it could do while also upholding the High Court rulings from England and from Northern Ireland, then, while anyone else would resign, Johnson would not even recall Parliament as ordered, thereby placing himself in contempt of a Supreme Court that sat a very short distance from Downing Street.

But if the Supreme Court were to overrule the Court of Session on this point, then the SNP could reasonably expect to win every seat in Scotland, and quite possibly more than 50 per cent of the vote, because the Scottish constitutional tradition would have been struck down by a court in London.

With roots in Covenanter revolt rather in the codification of existing case law, the Scottish Claim of Right of 1689 is more robust than the English Bill of Rights of 1688 in its assertion of the rights of Parliament against the Executive. Parliaments must not only be called frequently, but they must also be "allowed to sit". 

If they could be prorogued without their consent, and the Covenanters had not only held otherwise but had acted on that conviction, then they certainly could not be prorogued to the end of frustrating their parliamentary business. The Court of Session has held that Parliament has been prorogued to that end, which is unlawful. Moreover, it has found that the Prime Minister lied to the Queen in order to bring about that unlawful prorogation.

The Supreme Court will either uphold that, leading within days or even hours either to the Prime Minister's resignation or to his imprisonment. Or it will set in train the dissolution of the Union well within 10 years, and possibly within five.

Another hung Parliament is coming, however, and we need our people to hold the balance of power in it. A new party is now in the process of registration. After nearly 30 years of suggestion, speculation, and even a sort of preparation, I will stand for Parliament here at North West Durham. The crowdfunding page is here, and buy the book here. Please email davidaslindsay@hotmail.com. Very many thanks.