Queen Agrees To Boris Johnson's Request To Suspend Parliament

The Queen has agreed to approve Boris Johnson's request to suspend Parliament.

After meeting with the Privy Council at Balmoral earlier today, she greenlit an order to prorogue Parliament from any date between 9 September and 14 October.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson had written to all MPs who sit in the House of Commons, explaining he planned to ask The Queen for a suspension of Parliament in the first half of September.

Critics of Johnson's decision said the proposed shutdown of Parliament was an attempt to stop MPs from blocking a No Deal Brexit.

However, Johnson said it was 'completely untrue' that he was trying to give Parliament less time to debate and potentially scupper his Brexit plans.

Speaking about his decision in a letter to MPs, Johnson wrote: "We've got to move ahead now with a new legislative programme, and there will be ample time on both sides of that crucial 17 October [European Council] summit, in Parliament, for MPs to debate the EU, to debate Brexit, and all the other issues."

PA

The Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow expressed his opposition to the move, saying: "However it is dressed up, it is blindingly obvious that the purpose of prorogation now would be to stop Parliament debating Brexit and performing its duty in shaping a course for the country."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "I am appalled at the recklessness of Johnson's government, which talks about sovereignty and yet is seeking to suspend Parliament to avoid scrutiny of its plans for a reckless No Deal Brexit. This is an outrage and a threat to our democracy."

Following the news of Johnson's request to the Queen, a petition calling for him to end his plans to prorogue the UK parliament gained traction, and soon passed the 100,000-signature threshold that guarantees a parliamentary debate.

UK Government and Parliament Petitions

The petition, which has become one of the fastest growing ever on the UK Parliament petitions site, reads: "Parliament must not be prorogued or dissolved unless and until the Article 50 period has been sufficiently extended or the UK's intention to withdraw from the EU has been cancelled."

According to Business Insider, there is now also growing speculation that Johnson's government may soon call a snap general election.

Topics: uk news

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

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