LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday to suspend the UK Parliament, throwing down the gauntlet to his critics and causing outrage among opposition leaders who will have even less time to thwart a no-deal Brexit.
Johnson told lawmakers he has decided to ask the monarch to give her speech that outlines the government’s legislative agenda on October 14. Since Parliament is normally suspended before the speech, the decision means opposition lawmakers would be unlikely to have enough time to pass laws blocking the UK’s exit from the European Union without a negotiated deal on October 31.
Though Johnson had previously refused to rule out suspending Parliament, the timing of the decision took lawmakers — many of whom are on vacation — by surprise. They reacted with fury, including John Bercow, Speaker of the lower House of Commons, who was not told in advance of Johnson’s plan.
“Shutting down Parliament would be an offense against the democratic process and the rights of Parliamentarians as the people’s elected representatives,” he said. “Surely at this early stage in his premiership, the prime minister should be seeking to establish rather than undermine his democratic credentials and indeed his commitment to Parliamentary democracy.”
The pound plunged on the news, down to $1.2196 from almost $1.2300 the previous day.
EU KEEPS ITS DISTANCE:
The European Union, meanwhile, is staying away from the uproar caused by the decision of the UK government.
EU Commission spokesperson Mina Andreeva said that the bloc “is not commenting on internal political procedures of our member states. And we’re also not going to speculate what this means in terms of next steps.”
The EU and UK are seeking to break a deadlock in the negotiations that could force Britain to leave the bloc without a deal on Oct 31.
UK negotiator David Frost is in Brussels for technical talks with diplomats in an attempt to find some progress.
Andreeva said that the EU will assess any proposal the UK offers “that are compatible with” the withdrawal agreement it reached with former prime minister Theresa May.
TRASHING THE CONSTITUTION:
Anti-Brexit campaigners who want a second referendum have accused Johnson of “trashing the constitution” after the government moved to suspend Parliament.
Lawmaker Margaret Beckett, a leading supporter of the “people’s vote” campaign, said that “Boris Johnson and his government are trashing the constitution […] While Parliament is not even sitting, he is disgracefully dragging the queen into the heart of the most difficult and dangerous exploitation of the usual powers of government.”
Independent legislator Nick Boles, who left the Conservative Party earlier this year, tweeted: “The government’s plan to prorogue Parliament until 14 Oct clarifies the choice for MPs who want to stop a No Deal Brexit. If they don’t support legislative steps next week, there will be no second chance. Hopefully, this will stiffen backbones and concentrate minds.”
A day earlier, opposition lawmakers declared that they would work together to try to stop a departure from the European Union without an agreement, setting up a legislative challenge to Johnson and his promise to complete the divorce by Oct 31, come what may.
Some 160 lawmakers have signed a declaration pledging “to do whatever is necessary” to prevent Johnson from bypassing Parliament in his plans. Johnson’s do-or-die promise has raised worries about a disorderly divorce that would see new tariffs on trade and border checks between Britain and the EU, seriously disrupting business.
Johnson has told European Union officials it won’t be possible to agree on a deal on Britain’s departure from the trading bloc without the removal of controversial language on a “backstop”, aimed at avoiding the return of a border between EU member Ireland and Britain’s Northern Ireland. He said at the close of the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France, Monday that he was “marginally more optimistic” of progress.