Prorogation marks the end of a parliamentary session and is the formal name for the period between the end of one session and the beginning of the next. A previous attempt of prorogation was attempted last month but was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court on September 24. So why is Parliament being prorogued tonight?

Prorogation is the term used to describe when Parliament is shut down for a period and refers to the period when there are no sittings in the House of Commons or the House of Lords.

It means that MPs and peers do not hold debates or vote on laws.

At the end of August, Boris Johnson asked the Queen to prorogue Parliament for five weeks beginning September 9 until October 14.

Many MPs opposed the prorogation, accusing the Prime Minister’s move as means of cutting Parliament out of decisions on Brexit and essentially enabling him to force through a no deal Brexit.

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The Supreme Court’s ruled the prorogation had been unlawful on September 24 and Parliament reopened the next day.

The Court’s president, Lady Hale, said the suspension “had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification”.

Typically prorogation is a straightforward and undisputed process, but this year it was not.

The decision to prorogue parliament weeks before Britain’s Brexit deadline of October 31 was called an attempt to minimise Parliament’s opportunity to block a no deal Brexit.

The Government defended its action, saying it had nothing to do with Brexit.

It argued prorogation was a “proceeding in Parliament” to allow the PM to outline plans for domestic policies, like NHS funding.

But the Supreme Court ruled that prorogation stopped Parliament from being able to do its job.

The period of prorogation was due to stop parliamentary business for 24 days, which is much longer than the typical periods.

In 2016, for example, Parliament was closed for four working days, while in 2014 it was closed for 13 days.

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Why is parliament being prorogued tonight?

Parliament was once again be prorogued today to enable an end to the current Parliamentary session.

The current parliamentary session began in 2017, meaning the current session has been open for two years and is in fact, the longest on record at 839 days.

Typically prorogation lasts one year, but the government announced the current session would last two years in 2017 in order to enable the key Brexit legislation to pass.

Prorogation is seen as a way to clear out the legislation which has not yet passed and leaves the Government will a blank slate from which to begin political business again once they return.

The new parliamentary session will begin on Monday when a Queen’s Speech opens proceedings.

This prorogation will last only three working days meaning it is much less contentious than the former prorogation.

What will happen during the prorogation?

Boris Johnson’s official task during the period of prorogation is to “set out a fresh legislative programme”.

However, as the PM has no Commons majority after alienating several Conservative MPs with his hardline Brexit policies and approach, it is possible his new agenda will be left without majority support.

After the government sets out its plans in the Queen’s Speech on October 14, the EU leaders’ summit in Brussels, the very last moment where the Brexit agreement can be finalised.

If an agreement is not reached by October 19, Mr Johnson will be required under the Benn Act to ask the European Union for an extension to the Brexit deadline to January 31.

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