Has Boris Johnson’s defection to ‘Out’ scuppered the sovereignty bill?

Back in the days when Boris Johnson was still deciding which way to go on the EU, Number 10 were very keen on a sovereignty bill. This Bill was meant to limit the powers of the European Court of Justice and assure voters that Parliament was supreme. But it was also meant to reassure Boris, he was particularly worried about the influence of the ECJ, and get him on the side.

The plan was that this proposed bill would be unveiled in parliament once Cameron came back from Brussels with his deal. But since Boris came out for Out, we have seen head nor hide of this bill. The Sun reveals this morning that it won’t be in the Queen’s Speech today, which indicates that it will never see the light of day. 

What all this reveals is how superficial the whole sovereignty exercise was in the first place. If the Bill really was consequential, the Government would have brought it forward regardless of what Boris decided.