London: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is preparing to ask Queen Elizabeth II to prorogue or suspend Parliament until mid-October, the BBC reported, a move that would significantly hamper lawmakers’ efforts to block a no-deal Brexit. The pound slumped.
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Under the plan, all business would be suspended until a Queen’s speech on October 14 kicks off a new session of Parliament. Downing Street called it business as usual for a new government, with the “useful political side effect” of denying time to MPs trying to stop Britain from leaving the European Union without a deal on October 31.
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British opposition lawmakers reacted with fury to the reports.
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The timing means that lawmakers would be unlikely to have enough time to pass laws blocking the UK’s exit from the European Union without a negotiated deal. Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “So it seems that Boris Johnson may actually be about to shut down Parliament to force through a no deal Brexit. Unless MPs come together to stop him next week, today will go down in history as a dark one indeed for UK democracy.”
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