UK Parliament is prorogated in preparation for the Queen’s speech on Monday. The longest session in the UK Parliament ended for the traditional prorogation ceremony as the threat of no-deal Brexit looms.
According to the report by Evening Standard, the shutdown at the UK Parliament which begins on Tuesday, October 8th 2019, saw about 30 MPs, led by Speaker John Bercow, filed out of the Commons after their attendance in the Lords was requested by Black Rod Sarah Clarke, a senior Lords officer tasked with leading the ceremony.
The mood among MPs was considerably calmer and quieter compared with the stormy scenes which erupted during the ceremony to prorogue the UK Parliament last month, a decision which was later overturned and ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court, the report said.
On that occasion, Mr Bercow described the ceremony as “not a standard or normal prorogation” and suggested it was an “act of executive fiat”, while some opposition MPs staged a protest against the five-week suspension of Parliament. But no such proclamations from the Speaker or protests from others emerged this time around, the report further stated.
An announcement from the Queen, read out by the Lords Leader Baroness Evans of Bowes Park, set out legislation passed during the parliamentary session and other measures taken by the Government.
Parliament will return on Monday, October 14, with a Queen’s Speech to announce the Government’s legislative programme for the new parliamentary session taking place.
The prorogation ceremony brought to an end a parliamentary session which began on June 21 2017.
A total of 839 calendar days have since passed, making it the longest continuous parliamentary session since the UK was established by the Acts of Union in 1800.