Brexit: Tory grandee Lord Young quits over Boris Johnson’s parliament suspension

Veteran former minister said he was ‘very unhappy’ at the timing and motivation of the move

A member of Boris Johnson’s government has resigned over the prime minister’s suspension of parliament in the run-up to Brexit, saying he is “very unhappy” with its timing, length and motivation.

Lord Young of Cookham’s resignation as a House of Lords whip is the first departure from Mr Johnson’s administration after his controversial decision to ask the Queen for a “prorogation” shutting the doors of Westminster to MPs and peers for up to five weeks.

The peer – who has served in parliament since 1974 and as George Young was a minister in the Thatcher, Major and Cameron administrations – said that the PM’s move “risks undermining the fundamental role of parliament at a critical time in our history”.

His decision to quit will increase pressure on ministers, such as Matt Hancock, Sajid Javid and Amber Rudd, who have previously denounced the idea of suspending parliament.

In a letter of resignation, Lord Young said that “as a former Leader of the House of Commons in the coalition government who restored to the Commons some of the powers it had lost to the executive”, he was “very unhappy at the timing and length of the prorogation, and its motivation”.

He said he was “unpersuaded” by the government’s explanation that the suspension of parliament from the second week in September to 14 October was unrelated to Brexit, but was needed to prepare for a Queen’s Speech setting out Mr Johnson’s legislative agenda.

The move “reinforces the view that the government may not have the confidence of the House for its Brexit policy”.

Lord Young, who was also a government spokesman on Cabinet Office affairs in the House of Lords, said that his resignation was “not primarily about Brexit”, as he was ready to accept the Johnson team’s policy of trying to leave with a deal, while also preparing for no-deal.

But he described the new PM’s “do or die” commitment to leaving the EU on 31 October with or without a deal as “rash” and said that a further extension might be needed for proper scrutiny of any new withdrawal agreement.

He said he had been “reassured” by Mr Johnson’s statement during the Conservative leadership election that he was “not attracted” to the idea of using prorogation to force through a no-deal Brexit.

In his letter to the Tory leader in the Lords, Baroness Evans, he said: I am not part of any Remainer plot nor have I spoken to anyone about my decision to resign, which is purely a personal one.”