By Ben Kerrigan-

Boris Johnson’s father has joined calls for MPs to be allowed a vote on Britain’s Brexit strategy, before the triggering  what he referred to as the “non-recallable intercontinental ballistic missile” of Article 50 to leave the European Union.

Stanley Johnson, the father of controversial but well accomplished Boris Johnson, said a Commons votes will be “irrelevant” after the formal process of leaving is initiated before April.

In an article for BrexitCentral, Stanley Johnson, who has always opposed his son’s stance on Brexit said “If Parliament does not approve the deal, once the deadline laid down in Article 50 has been passed, Britain has to leave anyway. To that extent, Parliament’s vote at the end – rather than at the beginning – of the process will be irrelevant.

“Realistically, if Parliament is to have a say in this matter at all, its voice should be heard now, before the Article 50 non-recallable intercontinental ballistic missile has actually been fired.

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“It may indeed be legally possible for the Government to trigger Article 50 without consulting Parliament… But is it wise? Is this what the Brexiters had in mind when they spoke of ‘restoring parliamentary sovereignty’?”

One can only imagine the internal dispute that must have taken place in the Johnson household before the referendum about the former Mayer of London’s position and the EU debate, but we are now in a post-referendum phase. Brexit was the official outcome of the referendum, and there are still many voices who want to see the issue debated in parliament before an official trigger of Article 50 is made. UK prime minister, Theresa May, has several times stated that Brexit means Brexit, and has indicated her determination not to shift from her position, or put the topic up for debate.

Although May’s official position during the referendum was to remain in the EU, it is now well known that this was just a political position, not one reflecting her true views on the matter. May acted very indifferently about her position on the historical vote until she was put under intense pressure by David Cameron before she made her position known.  Her political position, that is. Her position in Cameron’s cabinet would have been at stake had she gone with Brexit, only for Cameron to win and keep Britain in the EU.

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However, with Cameron defeated and retired, May is the party’s leadership bearer with the authority to throw her weight around. Who can stop her, Johnson’s father? No, but he can add to the growing number of those pressurising May to allow a common’s debate on the matter

Cross-party calls to allow MPs a vote on the Brexit plan have not reduced, with Tory former attorney general Dominic Grieve recently warning that the Government was likely to fall if it attempted to push a deal through without the approval of the Commons. Pro-Leave Conservative backbencher Stephen Phillips has also pressured the PM, insisting the use of prerogative powers to push a deal through without parliamentary approval would amount to “tyranny”.

Stanley Johnson will be hoping the added pressure works and must be locked in endless debates with his son on the matter if Boris Johnson’s court’s such debates. The Foreign Secretary may well ignore his father and tell him that it is he who is Foreign Secretary, not Stanley Johnson.

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