Thousands of people took to the streets of major cities in the UK in protest against the decision of Prime Minister Johnson to suspend parliament. People organized themselves literally within a few hours after the news of the actions of the British prime minister. In London, crowds of protesters marched on Downing Street, chanting “Save our democracy, stop the coup!” And “No one voted for Boris.”

The Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth II agreed to suspend the work of parliament from September 9-12 to October 14.

“By decree of Her Majesty’s Privy Council from today on, parliament’s work will be suspended no earlier than Monday, September 9, and no later than Thursday, September 12, 2019 for the period until Monday, October 14, 2019, to address various urgent and important questions. The Honorable Lord, the Supreme Chancellor of Great Britain, should in a standard manner ensure that the commission is prepared to suspend the work of parliament, ”the statement of the Privy Council in Balmoral reads.

Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he asked the queen to suspend the work of the legislative body. It is argued that this should allow the head of government to introduce a new program on domestic policy and give parliamentarians time to consider issues related to Brexit.

“The decision to put an end to the current parliamentary session - the longest in almost 400 years, and one of the least active in recent months - will allow the Prime Minister to present to the deputies a new domestic political agenda, while leaving enough time for Parliament before and after the European Council (it will be held 17- October 18) to consider further issues related to Brexit, ”the statement said.

Note that at the moment, the British parliament is on vacation, from which it returns on September 3. Consequently, parliamentarians have to work out just a few days before the suspension of work.

President of the Center for Strategic Communications Dmitry Abzalov in a conversation with RT noted that the suspension of work blocks the work of the opposition.

“The fact is that if the parliament worked, most likely, negotiations would go on, or they would try to hold some bills in the calculation specifically for conservatives who would support this position. What Johnson is doing is actually paralyzing the work of parliament. however, he does not hold early elections as he wanted (opposition leader Jeremy. - RT ) Corbin. Johnson plans to just sit by October 31, ”he said.

Thus, Johnson demonstrates that he is a tough leader and, in spite of everything, will lead the UK to Brexit, Natalya Yeryomina, associate professor of the European Studies Department of the Department of International Relations of St. Petersburg State University, believes.

“It is very important for Johnson to show that he is the tough leader who will carry out his agenda. Naturally, his number one task is to carry out the results of the referendum and hold a brexit. The problem is. that the opposition parties have concluded agreements that they are opposed to Britain’s withdrawal without a deal, ”said the expert.

  • British Parliament meeting
  • AFP
  • © MARK DUFFY

“Suspension is unacceptable”

At the same time, exit from the European Union is scheduled for October 31. According to Johnson, it will be held regardless of whether London succeeds in concluding a new agreement with Brussels or not. The opposition has already declared the unacceptability of this decision. Its leader, Jeremy Corbin, warned that after starting work next week, he would raise the question of confidence in the prime minister.

“The suspension of the parliament is unacceptable. The Prime Minister trampled and seized our democracy in order to forcefully withdraw the country from the EU without an agreement. The first thing we will do (when parliament is likely to return to work next week) is to enact laws to prevent what he (Johnson) is doing. Second: we will raise the question of confidence in the prime minister, ”Corbin said.

Corbin also said that he also wrote a letter to the Queen, however, apparently, he was not successful.

“I wrote the Queen a letter in which I expressed my protest against the seizure of our democracy, which was carried out in order to push the way out of the EU,” the opposition leader emphasized.

However, Yeryomina doubts that the opposition will be able to influence the situation.

“It is difficult to say how much they will support this situation. The opposition is motley. They have different views on Brexit, on how the agreement should be. They are rather expectant. Opposition forces do not constitute a consolidated force, ”the analyst explained.

“Will leave the EU under any circumstances”

Boris Johnson led the UK government on July 24. Prior to this, Teresa May held the post, who twice failed to negotiate an agreement with the European Union through parliament and resigned.

Johnson has already said that he will seek a new deal, but stressed that the UK can leave the EU without an agreement.

“The Prime Minister said that the UK will leave the EU on October 31 under any circumstances and that we certainly want to do this with a deal,” Johnson’s press service said following talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Moreover, the British prime minister considered that the European Union itself should offer a new deal. He sent a letter with relevant content to the head of the European Council, Donald Tusk. The document also noted that London is not satisfied with the so-called back-stop - the preservation of the British region of Northern Ireland in the EU Customs Union.

The problem of backstop is that Northern Ireland borders on an independent Ireland, which was and remains a member of the EU. Johnson noted that they oppose both the establishment of a border between them, and against the preservation of Northern Ireland in the Customs Union.

The prime minister called backstop “anti-democratic and not consistent with the sovereignty of the United Kingdom as a state.” And setting a full border, Johnson noted, violates the terms of the Good Friday Agreements, which almost ended the confrontation between Irish Catholics and Protestants.

Brussels should offer its option by October 31, Johnson said.

“There is very little time, but the UK is ready to move forward quickly, and I hope that the European Union will also be ready, given the existing common ground. I am equally confident that if we manage to reach a satisfactory agreement without an “Irish clause”, our parliament will be able to act promptly: it has already demonstrated that the majority support this kind of agreement, ”the letter says.

  • The border between Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland
  • Reuters
  • © Clodagh Kilcoyne

However, Brussels has a tough backstop, reminded Eremin.

“Since the EU is taking a tough stance on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, then, of course, no compromise can be expected here. Given the fact that Johnson, due to the fact that, like in the situation with May, is opposed by a number of parties led by Labor, he is forced to resort to tough decisions, ”she emphasized.

It is worth noting that leaving the EU without a deal is also fraught with many risks. Thus, according to the government report Operation Yellowhammer ("Operation Yellowhammer"), which published the newspaper The Sunday Times, the UK may be faced, among other things, with a shortage of food, fuel and medicine.