More on prorogue

Parliament is closed for business. MPs are presumably being paid for enforced and additional leave. The machinery of government is hopefully, still active, certainly the press is full of contradictory snippets by the usual inconsolable commentators.

Prorogue is an unusual word. Taken literally, it would seem to imply “we are for the reprobates, the rogues”.

As we mentioned in a post two weeks ago, dictionary definitions all seem to agree that the word means:

…to discontinue a session of (a parliament or other legislative assembly) without dissolving it…

What it does do is stifle debate. Future parliaments will no-doubt look back at this event and ponder if they could avoid uncomfortable discourse by simply asking Her Majesty to shut up parliamentary-shop for a period.

It would be interesting if the Treasury prorogued tax collection, or the military gave their active members a month off? Apparently, politicians are a special case, and will we really be that much worse off without their active service for four weeks?

One thing is for certain, at the coal-face, where we battle on in spite of political concerns, there will be no discontinuance of activity. Life goes on, bills have to be paid, new business to won and taxes to be paid.

It is probably here, where economic activity is created, rather than discussed in the abstract, that real progress will be made.

And back at base camp, Westminster Hall, let’s hope that politicians prove to be as adaptable as the worker bees that create the funds to pay their wages. Come October, there is much work to be done.