Our Dear Leader will address the decimated nation tonight to declare new TOUGHER stay at home orders.

No questions from pesky journalists (though they now only do rhetorical why-not-yesterday Qs anyway)

The timing is, yet again, utterly cynical & deliberately undemocratic /1

Because he’ll announce a lockdown and then, at best, say parliament will be recalled to vote on it - but having already announced lockdown as an order. Parliament is then more or less infotainment.

Boris Johnson has INCREDIBLE form for this /2

Lockdown 1 was imposed by TV address *1 day after Parliament went on recess*

Lockdown 2 was ordered by TV presser as though it were law *2 days before Parliament returned from recess*

Tier 4 was announced by TV presser + enforced *2 days after Parlmnt left for Christmas recess*

Lockdown 3 will be ordered, as though law, while parliament is yet again on recess.

The deliberate evasion of democratic procedure will barely be uttered by choral press despite serious long term impact and the fact similar evasions were rightly central to Brexit reporting.

MPs have no chance in hell of challenging or meaningfully scrutinising stay at home orders that have already been made by the Prime Minister in a direct address to the nation via state broadcaster.

The vote is more pointless than a 2005 phone vote for Saturday Night Takeaway.