The stunning judgment from the UK’s Supreme Court yesterday declaring that Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament was illegal has massive consequences both for the prime minister and also his allies in the DUP.
There has never been a premier quite like Mr Johnson, who, after only two months in power, has managed to lose his first six Commons votes and expel 21 MPs, including some hugely respected figures, from the Conservative Party.
However, yesterday’s unanimous ruling that he had not only acted outside the law but also effectively misled Queen Elizabeth has moved matters to an entirely different level.
Mr Johnson, speaking in New York last night, sent out a clear message that, while he was obliged to accept the legal verdict, he was entirely unrepentant, believed that his country’s most eleven most senior judges had all made the wrong call and even hinted that it represented another effort to delay Brexit.
The Supreme Court president Lady Hale begged to differ, and stressed that the case entirely centred on the justification for Mr Johnson’s prorogation of parliament and was "not about when and on what terms" the UK left the EU.
All the indications are that the prime minister is prepared to consider another suspension before embarking on a high risk electoral strategy in which he presents himself as a heroic campaigner taking on the legal and political establishment.
While the DUP until now has stood by Mr Johnson, with Arlene Foster previously insisting there was `nothing unusual’ about his discredited move to suspend parliament, the party began to send out different signals last night.
Nigel Dodds flatly contradicted the prime minister and said that, after the Supreme Court’s intervention, it was possible the UK might not depart from the EU on October 31 after all.
A scenario is developing in which endless Brexit upheaval leads to constitutional chaos, and the prospect of the final break-up of the UK grows steadily, so the discomfort of unionists is easy to understand.
As Mr Johnson has just been firmly chastised by the Supreme Court after suffering repeated Westminster defeats, and yet still appears ready to face a vote of confidence which could make him the shortest serving prime minister in British history, the DUP’s attempts to distance themselves from him may have to be swiftly intensified.
