Lord Young has announced his resignation as Tory Whip in the House of Lords, following the approval of the Queen to allow Prime Minister Boris Johnson to suspend Parliament.
Lord Young sent in his resignation on Thursday morning, as the government’s chief whip in the upper house said the suspension risks undermining parliament at a critical time in the country’s history.
The move by Boris Johnson to suspend Parliament so that his government can deliver a Queen’s Speech on October 14, which lays out the government’s agenda for the parliamentary session, has been met with rage, as protesters troop out in their thousands in the streets of London to show their displeasure over the move, and with over one million votes gathered so far to over turn that decision.
The suspension of Parliament will shorten the number of time Members of Parliament has to attempt to block a no-deal Brexit before the current deadline. Johnson has said Britain will leave the EU on October 31, with or without a deal.
Lord Young and other members have since expressed their dissatisfaction, which has led to him announcing his resignation to protest the ‘unconstitutional’ move by both Boris Johnson and the Queen.
As a Conservative Party minister, George Young had served under Margaret Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron. He wrote:
‘As a former leader of the House of Commons in the Coalition Government who restored to the Commons some of the powers it had lost to the Executive, I am very unhappy at the timing and length of the prorogation, and its motivation.
‘While not agreeing with the hyperbole of some critics, I have been unpersuaded by the reasons given for that decision, which I believe risks undermining the fundamental role of parliament at a critical time in our history, and reinforces the view that the Government may not have the confidence of the House for its Brexit policy.’
He added: ‘I am not part of any Remainer plot, nor have I spoken to anyone about my decision to resign, which is purely a personal one.’
Since moving into Number 10, Mr Johnson has stepped up plans for a no-deal scenario, saying he would take the UK out of the EU ‘do or die’ on the Brexit date. Lord Young said in his resignation letter that he believed the ‘Do or Die’ commitment was ‘rash’.