Wow. What a day. The British supreme court ruled against Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament to audible gasps in the courtroom.
Then the Democrats in the US House of Representatives under Nancy Pelosi open an impeachment effort against Donald Trump for allegedly trying to strong-arm the Ukrainian president to open a corruption case against Trump’s putative Democrat rival Joe Biden.
And Jeremy Corbyn finally showed at the Labour Party conference he is strong enough to just about fight his way out of a paper bag. By doing nothing he can still close the gap on bludgeoning, blundering Boris, the Wreck-it Ralph of world politics. The prime minister is flying back to the UK today to face yet another humiliating defeat.
It was hard to keep up with all the events yesterday. The judgment of the supreme court was damning, a unanimous verdict by all 11 judges. The president of the court, Justice Lady Brenda Hale, said this was not a normal prorogation of parliament and took place in “quite exceptional circumstances”.
The prime minster had acted unlawfully when he advised the queen to suspend parliament just weeks before Brexit, the legislature had not been prorogued, the court held.
So what does it all mean? As our London Editor Denis Staunton reports in our main story, there were immediate calls on Johnson to resign.
Speaker John Bercow moved quickly to announce parliament will sit in Westminster today. There may be no questions to the prime minister, but other cabinet members may face questions.
As Johnson hurried home, Corbyn was snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, having ended the Labour conference a day earlier. In what’s turning out to be a deja vu of 2017, his rival’s incompetence has seemed to paper over his own inadequacies, of which there are many.
Corbyn had a few good lines in his speech, however, including these: “That would make him the shortest-serving British prime minister in history and rightly so. His is a born-to-rule government of the entitled who believe that the rules they set for everyone else don’t apply to them.”
Johnson himself said the court decision would make getting a Brexit deal even harder. Really? But not if you were not interested in a deal if the first place, though.
This is the Irish Times editorial view on the mess.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is also being faced down by his opponents, although he always seems to survive. Allegations have emerged that Trump had tried to coerce the Ukrainian president to open a corruption investigation into Joe Biden and his son. It is extraordinary stuff. Here is the full account from the Washington Post.
Whether it leads anywhere is anybody’s guess. There is a high bar for such impeachment investigations - Watergate is once-in-a-century stuff.
Meanwhile, even our own political action is happening elsewhere. Leo Varadkar has delivered a speech in the US on climate change full of pious platitudes and promises. He is now on his way to the west coast, where he will open a new diplomatic post in Los Angeles, which, among other things, could operate as a conduit for the Irish film industry.
The Taoiseach met Boris Johnson yesterday. As the indefatigable Suzanne Lynch (who has had a very busy few days) reports, the meeting lasted for 40 minutes and included more substance than the previous encounter between the two leaders in Dublin.
“We got to talk about some of the detail of the withdrawal agreement and the backstop,” said Varadkar.
President Michael D Higgins waits in the wings for his turn before the United Nations General Assembly today where he will deliver a speech on climate change and inequality.
He answered critics of his comments on Army pay and on the beef crisis for farmers by saying the people did not elect a president who read a script from a page and expressed no opinions.
That’s all very well. But the role of the President is defined by the Constitution, and it is very limited.
Higgins had bent the elastic concept of a president above politics to snapping point with his outpourings over the past eight years and has become bolder in his comments of late.
When does a president overstep the mark? I think when the criticism becomes less general, less philosophical and more direct, more targeted. That has not happened yet, but you get the sense this term for the President may be a more pointed one.
Best reads
Irish journalist Declan Walsh, who works with the New York Times, had to be spirited out of Cairo by Irish diplomats because after Trump administration officials refused to intervene when the Egyptian authorities prepared to arrest him. This is his account.
His story was revealed in an insightful opinion piece by New York Times publisher A G Sulzberger on press freedom.
Pat Leahy's analysis on what the British supreme court decision means for the Government and for Ireland is here.
Fiach Kelly reports that Fianna Fáil TDs have been told ring-fencing carbon tax income may require legislation.
Miriam Lord is on tour, covering the Seanad in its newly refurbished chamber. She notes there was no sign of the Yokohama Four, the Fine Gael senators who travelled to Japan for the opening of the rugby world cup.
Jennifer O'Connell writes about the rise of populist politics in rural Ireland.
Playbook
Dáil
10.30: Parliamentary Questions taken by Minister for Employment and Social Protection Regina Doherty.
12.00: Leaders’ Questions.
12.32: Questions on Promised Legislation.
14.02: Topical Issues.
14.50: Private Members’ Business: Motion on Special Needs Education Places.
16.50: Statements on Public Service Cards (to conclude within 80 minutes).
18.10: Finance (Tax Appeals and Prospectus Regulation) Bill 2019. Also Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Bill 2019 and Criminal Records (Exchange of Information) Bill 2019.
22.15: Dáil adjourns.
Seanad Éireann
10.30: Commencement Matters.
11.30: Order of Business.
12.45: Blasphemy (Abolition of Offences and Related Matters) Bill 2019.
14.00: Wildlife Amendment Bill 2016.
16.30: Statements on the Report of the Joint Committee on Education and Skills entitled ‘Report on Relationships and Sexuality Education’.
17.30: Seanad adjourns.
Committees
9.00: Joint Committee on Justice and Equality discusses Ombudsman’s reports on direct provision with the Ombudsman.
9.00: Select Committee on Health begins Committee Stage consideration of the regulated professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Bill 2019 with Jim Daly, Minister of State at the Department of Health.
10.00: Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs discusses youth mental health.
10.30: Joint Committee on Transport and Sport discusses Julianstown bypass with representatives from the Department of Transport, Meath County Council and local residents. It will also discuss challenges for minority sport with representatives of Rowing Ireland.
14.00: The Special Select Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union looks at the implications for transport with representatives from 10 different agencies and groups.
15.00: Joint Committee on Climate Action discusses carbon tax with the Economic and Social Research Institute, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, the Department of Finance and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment.
