Bold Boris Word on the Week 14th September 2019.
Bold, not in the English sense of being confident and courageous but in the Irish sense of being a naughty boy! Could it be that the Scottish Law Lords have called him out? They were of one mind on the matter when they published their findings from their Court of Session on Wednesday.
They found that the Prime Minister’s advice to the Queen and the prorogation of Parliament which followed was unlawful and is thus null and of no effect; the three judges said this in a summary of their judgment. To support their contention, the court found that internal government documents presented in evidence showed that, although the prime minister claimed that he was suspending parliament for five weeks to allow the government to prepare its legislative agenda, that was not the “true reason” for his action.
The Court found the suspension was unlawful because “it had the purpose of stymying parliament” to avoid scrutiny of the prime minister’s Brexit policy. This was the true reason which Boris has, of course, denied. It has been appealed to the Supreme Court which meets in London next Tuesday to decide whether or not Boris has lied to the Queen when he gave her his reason for proroguing parliament.
I have a suspicion that there may be more than one golfer among the three lawyers in the Court of Session as the word ‘stymied’ is most often used in that game. It arises usually on the green when something or someone’s golf ball prevents or hinders one’s own ball from accessing the hole. In this case Boris may have thought the five-week break might have got him out of a hole but it looks as if the reverse may be the case!
When St Paul was in a hole, his enemies wanted him tried in Jerusalem where they thought they would win. As a Roman citizen St Paul appealed to be heard by Caesar. He had already been heard by Governor Festus but lacking any specific accusation he was brought before King Agrippa to state his defence.
Unlike Boris St Paul clearly recounted the events that led to his conversion to Jesus Christ and his commissioning by Him to “to open the people’s eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me (Acts Chapter 26 verses 17/18).
What St Paul was enabled to fulfil in the conversion of many people had been prophesied by Moses and the Prophets. They said it would come to pass, “that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles” (verses 22/23).
Boris needs this light if he is to lead his people out of Europe.