LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday for the first time announced suspension of parliament in the final weeks before Britain’s EU departure date, enraging anti-Brexit MPs.The pound slid on the surprise news, which opponents branded a "coup" and a "declaration of war", although US President Donald Trump weighed into the row by praising Johnson as "great".The Conservative leader’s move to close parliament for a month will give pro-EU lawmakers less time than they expected to try to thwart his plans for a possible no-deal Brexit on October 31.Queen Elizabeth II has approved the request to close what has been the longest session of parliament in nearly 400 years, and reopen it on October 14 setting out Johnson’s fresh legislative programme.Seemingly caught on the hop, incensed anti-Brexit MPs were left scrambling for a way to stop the move.Johnson’s announcement came after six opposition parties said on Tuesday they would first seek to legislate to prevent leaving the EU 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.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 said there would be "ample time" either side of the summit for MPs to debate Brexit. And, he 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". The government´s chief Brexit adviser David Frost was in Brussels for talks on Wednesday.In the seismic 2016 referendum on Britain’s EU membership, 52 percent voted in favour 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 offence 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 said, adding: "Stopping no-deal is definitely still possible. There is still time." 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. British economy feels the shock: The effects of Boris Johnson's decision were felt immediately by the British economy as the Pound Sterling was volatile and vulnerable within no time! A knee-jerk reaction was thus witnessed across country's markets.The "BBC' had reported: "The pound is down about 0.5 per cent against both the Euro and US dollar. So £1 is now worth €1.10 and $1.22. The FTSE 100, made up of stocks that could benefit from a devaluation of sterling, ended 0.4 per cent ahead to 7,114.71. Many of those listed firms book much of their earnings in foreign currencies, and benefit from a weak pound. The FTSE 250, a stock index that is seen as more representative of the UK economy, closed down 0.7 per cent to 19,202.99."Angela Smith, the leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords (Upper House of British Parliament), has launched a searing attack on Boris Johnson’s government. Writing in the Parliament’s in-house magazine, she literally lambasted the Boris Johnson-led incumbent British regime in the following words:"Despite ongoing speculation that Boris Johnson would try to shut down parliament before the Brexit Day, the formal announcement from No.10 was still deeply shocking and disturbing. Having so often been told that our exit from the European Union was about ‘taking back control,’ it appears our new Prime Minister wants that power to reside with him alone."Angela added: "Lacking the legitimacy of the ballot box, or any public endorsement, Mr Johnson now seeks to thwart the will of the House of Commons by just shutting it down to try to stop elected MPs from doing the job they were elected to. A constitutional outrage, verging on a coup and one that must be challenged. The action of an autocrat not a democrat, the Prime Minister’s decision is part of a pattern of arrogance that is Trumpesque at heart – far removed from the Churchillian statesmanship that he would like people to believe he possesses. And such an act of political chicanery also risks compromising the political independence of our monarch."Mark Drakeford, the first Minister of Wales, had tweeted the following statement: "This evening, I have asked the Presiding Officer to recall the Senedd next week to allow us to discuss the constitutional crisis which now faces Wales and the United Kingdom."Another Member Parliament, Richard Benyon, had opined: "Unwelcome news for some but on doorsteps this morning the great British public are a lot more calm and sensible than most in Westminster village. PM has a window now to get a deal. I am going to cut him some slack. I also want new Queens Speech full of good 1 nation ambition."European politicians have been casting an eye over events in Britain, with a former French Europe minister talking about an "illness" at the heart of British democracy.A former French minister, Nathalie Loiseau, said: "We are going to see a Brexit without agreement and what’s more a Brexit without debate." She questioned: "What illness is British democracy suffering from to be fearful of debate before making one of the most important decisions in its history?"A former Finnish Prime Minister, Alexander Stubb, wrote: "It makes me really sad to see what Brexit is doing to one of the great democracies of our time. Please, stay calm and use common."European Commission's spokesperson, Mina Andreeva, had declined to comment on the UK government's move to suspend Parliament, telling reporters on Wednesday that this was a matter for the British government to answer.Meanwhile, some pro-Brexit campaigners even had a tussle with the protesters outside parliament before the police intervened, esteemed British media house "The Guardian" has reported.Eminent British journalists, Aamna Mohdin and Marvel Kalukembi, reporting from parliament square in London on the protests, had maintained: "The crowds at Commons Greens, opposite parliament, have shut down a major road, chanting "stop the coup." Perhaps unsurprisingly, Boris Johnson is the main subject of ire on many people’s placards, with some stating: "Bollocks to Boris".Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green was one of many oppositional politicians at the protest. She said: "We’re here to stand against Boris Johnson’s coup. We have a representative democracy and by suspending parliament, you are removing people’s democratic right."
08-29-2019, 10:53 AM
Queen suspends parliament on Boris Johnson?s request
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