#Brexit: Queen Approves Boris Johnson’s Plan To Suspend British Parliament

The Queen has approved Boris Johnson’s controversial plan to suspend parliament as the UK edged closer to a no-deal Brexit on October 31.

Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson

After a meeting of the Privy Council at Balmoral, the monarch backed the prime minister’s request for parliament to be prorogued between September 9 and October 14.

The news sparked a chorus of angry reaction from MPs across the political spectrum on Wednesday, with Commons speaker John Bercow calling the move a “constitutional outrage”.

It means that MPs who have formed an alliance to stop Johnson taking the UK out of the EU without an agreement face a race against time. The PM insisted on Wednesday that there will be “ample” time for MPs to oppose his Brexit plans and the decision to suspend parliamentary business allows time for the government to set out a new domestic agenda.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson have both written to the Queen to ask for a meeting. Meanwhile, former Conservative prime minister Sir John Major said he is seeking advice on the legality of Johnson’s move.

Opposition leaders met on Tuesday and agreed to table legislation that would block a no-deal Brexit when parliament returns on Tuesday September 3. A string of Tory backbenchers have suggested they could rebel and destroy Johnson’s wafer-thin majority in the Commons.

Corbyn has accused the government of a “smash and grab” approach to democracy. He added that in his letter to the Queen he “protested in the strongest possible terms on behalf of my party and I believe all the other opposition parties are going to join in with this”.

Photo Credit: Getty

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