Can the Queen sack Prime Minister Boris Johnson?
Tory leader will reportedly ‘dare’ the monarch to fire him if he loses vote of no confidence
Boris Johnson is prepared to “squat” in Downing Street and “dare” the Queen to sack him if MPs try to unseat him in order to avoid a no-deal Brexit, according to government sources.
The row centres around the prime minister’s repeatedly stated intention of leaving the European Union with or without a deal on 31 October. If Brussels rejects his proposals for the Irish border, new legislation known as the Benn Act requires Johnson to ask for a three-month Article 50 extension by 19 October.
However, several government sources have told The Daily Telegraph that the PM “is willing to go to the Supreme Court in an effort to avoid having to write a letter asking for a delay”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And senior Tory insiders have told The Times that Johnson would sit tight even if he were found in contempt of court, unless he were facing jail, in an attempt to drive through Brexit on time.
One senior figure said: “Unless the police turn up at the doors of 10 Downing Street with a warrant for the prime minister’s arrest, he won’t be leaving.”
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Get your first six issues free–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Meanwhile, the opposition would be likely to call a vote of no confidence and try to form an alternative cross-party government.
But The Times says Johnson could also “refuse to resign or recommend the name of any successor to the Queen”.
Dominic Grieve - one of 21 Tory MPs whose whips were removed for backing the bid to block no-deal - said last week that the monarch would be forced to dismiss Johnson.
So can the Queen sack a PM?
“Yes, she can,” says Fleet Street Fox at the Daily Mirror - although the columnist notes that the “monarch’s powers of hiring and firing aren’t used often”. The last time was in 1834, when King William IV dismissed Lord Melbourne’s Whig government.
If the Government loses a no-confidence vote and an alternative government has the support of the House of Commons, “convention suggests that the PM should stand down”, says the BBC.
“Yet there is nothing clearly stated in law that says the prime minister must do so. Failing to step down would risk bringing the Queen into the Brexit dispute, as the monarch appoints PMs and, in theory, can dismiss one who behaves unconstitutionally,” the broadcaster adds.
Writing in the Financial Times, lawyer and journalist David Allen Green says a sacking by the Queen after the initial no-confidence vote is “possible in constitutional theory and not inconceivable in the strange politics of the moment”.
However, he continues, rather than firing the PM directly, the Queen is more likely to ask another political leader to see whether a new administration can be formed that could win the confidence of Parliament.
“The removal from office of the prime minister is implicit,” says Green. “This would not be an exercise of arbitrary power by the Crown: the scope and exercise of the power to appoint and dismiss prime ministers is determined entirely by what would be acceptable to the elected representatives in Parliament.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Aid to Ukraine: too little, too late?
Talking Point House of Representatives finally 'met the moment' but some say it came too late
By The Week UK Published
-
5 generously funny cartoons on the $60 billion foreign aid package
Cartoons Artists take on Republican opposition, aid to Ukraine, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Knife: Salman Rushdie's 'mesmeric memoir' of brutal attack
The Week Recommends The author's account of ordeal which cost him his eye is both 'scary and heartwarming'
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Horror stories of women having to carry nonviable fetuses'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
'Elevating Earth Day into a national holiday is not radical — it's practical'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the Supreme Court about to criminalize homelessness?
Talking Points The court will decide if bans on outdoor camping are 'cruel and unusual'
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
In what states is abortion legal, illegal, and in limbo?
In The Spotlight Where American states stand on abortion care
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
How could the Supreme Court's Fischer v. US case impact the other Jan 6. trials including Trump's?
Today's Big Question A former Pennsylvania cop might hold the key to a major upheaval in how the courts treat the Capitol riot — and its alleged instigator
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Is David Cameron overshadowing Rishi Sunak?
Talking Point Current PM faces 'thorny dilemma' as predecessor enjoys return to world stage
By The Week UK Published
-
'Young kids simply shouldn't be on social media'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
'A great culture will be lost if the EV brigade gets its way'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published