Cross-party group of MPs sues Boris Johnson in Scotland to stop him suspending Parliament

Earlier this week, a cross-party group of MPs, backed by the Good Law Project, asked the Court of Session in Scotland to declare that Prime Minister Boris Johnson cannot close down Parliament in the run up to 31 October 2019 to force a No Deal Brexit through. 

We issued a Petition to the Court of Session – which sits through August – for a “declarator” that the Prime Minister cannot lawfully advise the Queen to suspend Parliament.   

The Petitioners include a large number of MPs from the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, the SNP, and a number of independent MPs. The group also includes a number of members of the House of Lords, as well as Jolyon Maugham QC, director of the Good Law Project. A full list of all the Parliamentarians involved in this case can be seen here.

The Petitioners are represented by the same team that brought the successful Wightman action – the case that established that the UK can revoke Article 50 – with Elaine Motion of Balfour+Manson instructing a Counsel team headed by Aidan O’Neill QC and assisted by Professor Kenneth Armstrong.

We hope to have the Court of Session’s decision before Parliament returns from its summer break. 

Jolyon Maugham QC, Founder of the Good Law Project said:

“The fact that so many MPs elected by the people are going to the Court of Session to stop a Prime Minister selected by members of the Conservative Party from suspending Parliament tells you quite how profoundly our politics has declined.” 

Here is a copy of the Petition. 

The case is being crowdfunded. The crowdfunding page can be found here, as well as further detail about the case.