"Norman Wells" wrote in message
...
On 26/09/2019 09:39, nightjar wrote:
On 25/09/2019 17:01, Norman Wells wrote:
On 25/09/2019 16:56, nightjar wrote:
On 25/09/2019 12:41, Norman Wells wrote:
On 25/09/2019 12:00, nightjar wrote:
...
Until this ruling, she was constitutionally bound to follow his
advice. Now, she could choose to ignore it,

I think not. She is still bound constitutionally to follow the advice
of the Prime Minister. She cannot take it into her own hands to
second guess what the courts might decide if they become involved...

Constitutional experts interviewed last night suggest that the judgment
opens up the possibility that she could ignore the advice, if she had
grounds to think it was unlawful.

What would happen if she got it wrong, and denied the legitimate
government the ability to do something it was perfectly entitled to do?

Constitutionally, that would be an outrage and a crisis.

I think you do the Queen a disservice. She has been at the job longer
than Boris has been alive. It wouldn't be her who made a mistake, even if
she chose to refuse the advice,

Of course it would be her. If a mistake is made and she has caused it by
not following the advice she is constitutionally bound to take,

She isnt constitutionally bound to take unlawful advice.

In fact she is constitutionally bound to refuse that advice.

of course it would be her fault.

rather than simply question Boris (while he stays PM) more closely if he
appears to be doing something unusual or controversial.

No-one's denying that she can counsel and advise, in private, but she has
to do what the government demands of her.

Thats wrong when the demand is unlawful.

That's her constitutional position. It doesn't end up well for monarchs
in a democracy if they try to interfere. They tend to get abolished, or
worse.

Doesnt happen anymore. And wouldnt with an unlawful demand.

With constitutional matters, it is always necessary to look not only at
how it has an effect now but also at how it might have an effect in the
future. Bismark made this mistake in Germany. His constitution worked
well with a strong Chancellor and a malleable Kaiser. With a Kaiser who
had been made to feel inadequate since childhood and a Chancellor who
could not curb his ambitions to demonstrate to the world that he was the
equal of his royal cousins, it helped to contribute to the start of the
Great War.

That is why Boris should resign immediately, thus setting a precedent for
any future PM who might wrongly advise the monarch. That would avoid
giving some future monarch, perhaps as yet unborn, an excuse to try to
reclaim some of the ancient powers of kings.

When you step into unknown territory, the prudent will take the best
advice available. Because it's unknown territory, however, that advice is
subject to error and 'events, dear boy, events'. If things go wrong, it's
not reasonable after the event to blame either the advisor or the person
taking that advice.

Why then do you?

He doesnt.

However, Boris seems far too arrogant even to admit he made a mistake,
despite the unanimous ruling of 11 of the highest judges in the land.

Isn't 20:20 hindsight a wonderful thing?

The fact is, the Supreme Court ventured into completely unmarked territory
with its judgement, and had in fact to reverse an earlier decision by the
English High Court. What Boris did wasn't therefore clearly wrong when he
did it; it was only subsequently decided that it was. And that doesn't
make it a resigning matter in anyone's book.

Instead, he seems intent on stirring up dissent in parliament, presumably
in the hope that will trigger the vote of no confidence he so dearly
wants, so that there can be a general election before 31st October.

Which is exactly what the country needs. It currently has a
non-functioning government and a Parliament intent on maintaining that
status.

There aint gunna be a general election before 29-Oct, you watch.

I doubt that there will be just after a default no deal brexit on 29-Oct
either
because the parliament would carry on regardless and it makes sense to wait
till its proven that the no deal brexit works fine to have a general
election.