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The unwritten British constitution can be summed up in one simple, almost tautological proposition. Governments are supposed to govern and Oppositions are supposed to oppose. If both

conditions apply, the system functions; otherwise it breaks down. Under Theresa May, the Government gradually ceased to govern and the Opposition failed to oppose. What is happening now

under Boris Johnson is that the Government is trying to govern and the Opposition is trying to oppose. With luck, the system will function again. Not everyone is happy about this turn of

events. Many members of the Opposition had got so used to a Government that had ceased even to propose, let alone pass, legislation that they are appalled by the prospect of a Queen’s

Speech, with a full legislative programme requiring vigorous scrutiny. To them, a Government that announces its intention to govern is an “outrage”, a “coup”, a “dictatorship”. Suddenly, the

Opposition will be expected to oppose. Slogans and posturing will no longer be enough. There will be Bills to debate, amendments to put down, arguments to be made. The Prorogation Crisis is

about nothing more than a reset, a fresh start, a new parliamentary session. The clue is in the name: sessions cease. They are, by definition, of finite duration. The present session has

lasted longer than any in modern history. The last Queen’s Speech was so long ago that everyone has forgotten it. The state is running on empty. The old session’s time was up. It had to end.

The problem, all along, has been the difficulty of governing while the Brexit process remained frozen in suspended animation. It has sucked all the oxygen out of politics. The irresistible

force of direct democracy came up against the immovable object of the European Union. The result was stasis. Parliament abandoned its role as the stage on which the nation’s conflicts are

played out, and turned into the theatre of the absurd. One of the effects of this _reductio ad absurdam _was that the chief operating officer of Parliament, otherwise known as the Speaker,

took it upon himself to help the Opposition to usurp the role of the Government. Ignoring the advice of his learned clerks, he threw precedent to the winds. Even aided and abetted by the

openly partisan Speaker Bercow, the Opposition could not, of course, take over the governance of the realm — by definition, it would then have become the Government — but with the EU’s

connivance, the Brexit process could first be paralysed and then postponed, seemingly indefinitely. Over the last six months, however, the Brexiteers finally got their act together. With

Boris Johnson in Downing Street, the spell has been broken. Politics has come to life again. The Opposition, too, is trying to unite, ostensibly in order to stop a no-deal Brexit, but in

reality to stop the Government from governing. That is what Oppositions are supposed to do. Next week Parliament will return, the Opposition’s bluff will be called. Speaker Bercow will “go

on a suicide mission”: he plans to overrule the clerks by allowing an Emergency Debate that would give _carte blanche _to the Opposition to take control of business in the Commons. They

could use this unprecedented power grab, either to force the Prime Minister to request another extension of Article 50, or to pass legislation to rule out no-deal, reverse the prorogation of

Parliament, or throw some other legal spanner in the works. So be it. After months of inaction, at least we have action this day. Meanwhile, negotiators from London are badgering Brussels

with new proposals. There, too, a sense of urgency has blown away the cobwebs of complacency. Whether they admit it or not, there is a new, if grudging, respect for the British. Even Michel

Barnier may have to be a little less condescending. The realisation that Boris Johnson might mean what he says and even say what he means has concentrated minds wonderfully. Back in

Westminster, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Leader of the House, has enraged the Opposition by reminding them that they have a choice between changing the Government or changing the law: “If they

don’t have the courage or the gumption to do either of those then we will leave on October 31 in accordance with the referendum result.” Rees-Mogg is correct. He and his colleagues have

thrown down the gauntlet; let us see whether Jeremy Corbyn and his allies pick it up. It is clear that Boris Johnson won’t relinquish his authority without a fight. Is the Opposition up for

it? In due course, we shall see the colour of their money. The British constitution is not based on the adversarial principle for nothing. This Government will govern, or die in the attempt.

What about the Opposition?