Parliament begins 82-day summer recess
July 21, 2009 at 9:37 pm Leave a comment
The House of Lords and the House of Commons have gone into recess.
MPs and peers will next meet on October 12th and the State Opening of Parliament will be held on November 18th.
However, though MPs will be away from Westminster for 82 days, it is not the end of the 2008-09 session of Parliament.
The official end of the session, known as prorogation, involves the Sovereign.
“Prorogation is the formal name given to the period between the end of a session of Parliament and the State Opening of Parliament that begins the next session,” according to the Parliament website.
“The parliamentary session may also be prorogued when Parliament is dissolved and a general election called.
“The Queen formally prorogues Parliament on the advice of the Privy Council.”
The prorogation is a prerogative act of the Crown.
By current practice the Queen does not attend.
Queen Victoria was the last Sovereign to prorogue Parliament in person, in 1854.
Instead the Lords Commissioners read out a prorogation speech that lists the laws passed in the session.
Entry filed under: Commons, Lords, Procedure. Tags: Civil Contingencies Act 2004, HM the Queen, Parliament Act, parliament.uk, prerogative act, prerogative power, prorogation, Royal Prerogative, state opening of Parliament, summer recess.
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