• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Monday, January 30, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

UK PM Sparks Outrage with Parliament Suspension in Run-Up to Brexit

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
08/28/19
in Featured, World
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Photo: AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday announced the suspension of parliament in the final weeks before Britain’s E.U. departure date, enraging anti-Brexit MPs.

The pound slid on the surprise news, which opponents branded a “coup” and a “declaration of war.”

U.S. President Donald Trump weighed into the controversy by praising Johnson as “great”.

The Conservative leader’s move to close parliament for a month will give lawmakers less time than expected to try to thwart his plans for a possible no-deal Brexit on October 31.

Queen Elizabeth II, bound by custom, has approved the request to close what has been the longest session of parliament in nearly 400 years and reopen it on October 14.

Seemingly caught on the hop, incensed anti-Brexit MPs were left scrambling for a way to stop the move.

A petition against the move has already collected around 350,000 signatures, meaning it will be debated by MPs.

More than 70 parliamentarians have also launched a fast-track legal bid at the highest civil court in Scotland, aimed at preventing Johnson from suspending parliament.

In the wake of the announcement, #stopthecoup was trending internationally on Twitter, and a number of protests were planned in major cities across the country for Wednesday evening, including a large rally outside Parliament.

Our ancestors literally fought and died for our democracy. Now it's up to us to defend it. Take to the streets outside Parliament, College Green, tonight, 5.30pm https://t.co/LObBDaJ05w pic.twitter.com/FGg4Qm3mzD

— Owen Jones???? (@OwenJones84) August 28, 2019

Johnson’s announcement came after six opposition parties said on Tuesday they would first seek to legislate to prevent leaving the E.U. without a deal when parliament returns from a summer recess next week.

Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the main opposition Labour Party, has said he wants to call a vote of no-confidence in Johnson’s government, which commands a majority of just one seat.

John Bercow, the speaker of parliament’s lower House of Commons, described the closure as a “constitutional outrage” designed to stymie debate on Brexit, with Britain currently on course to crash out without a divorce deal.

Small Window 

An EU summit on October 17-18 could decide whether Britain ends its four decades of membership without a withdrawal agreement that governs future trade relations and citizens rights.

Johnson claimed there would be “ample time” either side of the summit for MPs to debate Brexit, though it appears MPs will only have a matter of days to take action on the matter.

The prime minister also said it was “completely untrue” that the move was designed to stop MPs blocking his Brexit strategy.

Johnson said it was to “bring forward a new, bold and ambitious domestic legislative agenda for the renewal of our country after Brexit.”

‘Offence Against Democracy’ 

In the seismic 2016 referendum on Britain’s E.U. membership, 52 percent voted in favor of leaving the bloc, a result that has left parliament and the country bitterly divided.

Johnson insists Britain must leave on the October 31 deadline – already twice-delayed – with or without a divorce deal from Brussels.

Parliament has rejected three times the withdrawal agreement struck between Brussels and the government of Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May.

Parliament typically goes into recess again around the annual party conference season, which kicks off on September 14 and ends on October 2.

Bercow, who was not forewarned about Johnson’s suspension decision, said: “It is blindingly obvious that the purpose of prorogation now would be to stop parliament debating Brexit.”

“Shutting down parliament would be an offense against the democratic process.”

The pound slumped more than one percent at one stage, but shares rose as London-listed multinationals stand to gain from a weaker currency.

Johnson’s move “certainly caught markets off-guard,” noted Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

Corbyn called it “an outrage” and a “smash-and-grab on our democracy in order to force through a no-deal exit,” while Labour’s finance spokesman John McDonnell branded it a “coup.”

Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake tweeted: “The mother of all parliaments will not allow him to shut the people’s parliament out of the biggest decision facing our country. His declaration of war will be met with an iron fist.”

Lib Dem MP Sarah Wollaston said Johnson was “behaving like a tin pot dictator.”

Robert Craig, a constitutional expert at Durham University, said there was “theoretically absolutely nothing wrong” with the suspension, noting it was normal for a new leader to start a fresh parliamentary session.

“But the reason that it is causing outrage is because it’s reducing the number of available days for parliament to stop a no-deal.”

Analyst Maddy Thimont Jack, from the Institute for Government think-tank, said the timing was controversial.

“I don’t think it’s a constitutional crisis,” he told AFP, adding: “Stopping no-deal is definitely still possible. There is still time.”


More on the Subject 

UK Opposition Seeks to Oust PM to Avoid No-Deal Brexit

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

With Contributions by AFP

Related Posts

Nazanin Ratcliffe
Middle East

British-Iranian Zaghari-Ratcliffe Sentenced to One Year in Prison

by Staff Writer
April 26, 2021
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
World

UK Passes 100,000 Covid Deaths as European States Eye Tighter Borders

by Staff Writer
January 26, 2021
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
National

UK Slams ‘Disgraceful Scenes’ at Capitol by Trump Supporters

by Staff Writer
January 6, 2021
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
World

Britain Holds Crisis Meeting Over Virus Travel Ban

by Staff Writer
December 21, 2020
Conversion therapy has affected hundreds of thousands of individuals in the US.
World

More Than 300 Religious Leaders Urge Ban on ‘Conversion Therapy’

by Staff Writer
December 16, 2020
China tests citizens for coronavirus.
World

China Tests Entire City for Virus as WHO Slams Herd Immunity Idea

by Staff Writer
October 13, 2020
Next Post
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson

Johnson's Move to Suspend UK Parliament is Vile and Undemocratic

League leader Matteo Salvini

Italy's Far-Right Salvini Out of Power Following New Coalition Deal

Recommended

Israeli security forces in Jerusalem

Palestinian Gunman Kills 7 in East Jerusalem Synagogue Attack

January 30, 2023
The Doomsday Clock reads 100 seconds to midnight, a decision made by The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, during an announcement at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on January 23, 2020

‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closest Ever to Midnight

January 25, 2023
Police work near the scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California

California Lunar New Year Mass Shooter Dead, Motive Unclear: Police

January 23, 2023
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

Race on To Replace Ardern as New Zealand Prime Minister

January 20, 2023
Pfizer logo and vaccines

Pfizer to Sell More Drugs at Cost to Poor Nations

January 18, 2023
Rescuers inspect the wreckage at the site of a Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara, Nepal

At Least 67 Killed in Nepal Plane Crash

January 16, 2023

Opinion

George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023
Commuters waiting for buses in Metro Manila. Philippines

Eight Billion and Counting…

November 29, 2022
Mahsa Amini protests

Imagining a Free Iran

October 24, 2022
Vladimir Putin

How 18th Century International Law Clarifies the Situation in Ukraine

September 29, 2022
Vladimir Putin

Falling for Putin

September 15, 2022
US President Donald Trump

Donald Trump Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

August 17, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post