London, August 29 (RHC)-- The opposition Labour Party said Thursday it would trigger an emergency debate in Parliament next week to try to stop Prime Minister Boris Johnson from taking Britain out of the European Union without a withdrawal deal.
The British Queen approved Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plea of suspending Parliament from early September to Oct. 14. On Wednesday Johnson moved to limit parliament's opportunity to stop Brexit by cutting the amount of time it sits between now and E.U. exit day on October 31, infuriating opponents who accused him of leading a "very British coup."
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said that as soon as Parliament returns from its summer break on Tuesday, his party would initiate a process to legislate against a no-deal Brexit that he said would be damaging for the jobs and the economy.
“What we are going to do is try to politically stop him (Johnson) on Tuesday with a parliamentary process in order to legislate to prevent a no-deal Brexit and also to try and prevent him shutting down Parliament in this utterly crucial period,” Corbyn told reporters.
“This country is in danger of crashing out on the 31st of October with no deal,” he said. “We have got to stop that and that is exactly what we will be doing next Tuesday.” “It does look like next week is essentially the only opportunity that Parliament will have to maintain some control over this process and ensure that it has a say before we leave without a deal,” Conservative lawmaker David Gauke said.
Conservative peer Lord Young of Cookham resigned from his role as the government whip in the House of Lords in protest. He said that this move "risks undermining the fundamental role of Parliament at a critical time in our history.” Ruth Davidson, the leader of Scottish Conservatives also quit her position.
Meanwhile, citizens took to streets in large numbers blocking the whole Parliament square Wednesday evening to protest this latest move by Johnson.
A public petition against Johnson’s suspension of Parliament passed the one-million signature milestone within 24 hours of being online. Along with London, protests took place in Manchester, Liverpool, and Edinburgh.
Conservative MP Ken Clarke said: “I hope it will bring together the sensible majority in Parliament who will find an alternative to this, not only debating it properly but actually saving us from just crashing out with a no-deal Brexit, which he is only pursuing because he has sold out to the people he has surrounded himself with, who appear to want it.” He also added that Johnson has yielded to “fanatic element of his followers."
