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She broke convention over independence for Scotland. She could do it again over Brexit
The Queen is a sham head of state. She cannot act as a constitutional president and force rival politicians to look for ways out of a national emergency. She cannot insist that the prime minister obeys the rules, because there are too few rules in Britain and too many woozy, unenforceable conventions.
Elizabeth II’s strength came from being “above politics”. Now even that pose – how can a head of state be above politics? – has been exposed, as Buckingham Palace’s “displeasure and annoyance” at David Cameron reveals. It is not angry because he “dragged the Queen into politics” but because he revealed that she happily got stuck in without the need for dragging. Continue reading...