British opposition parties may initiate impeachment proceedings against Prime Minister Boris Johnson. This was reported by The Sunday Times. A formal reason for this step could be a verdict issued on September 24 by the Supreme Court, which declared it unlawful for the head of government to suspend parliament for five weeks until mid-October.

"Act of treason"

A proposal for impeachment of Johnson was made by the Welsh party Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales). At the beginning of next week, it can be submitted to the House of Commons, the newspaper said. The Sunday Times notes that the last time in the UK, an attempt to impeach a government representative took place as far back as 1848 with respect to then-foreign secretary Henry John Temple Palmerston. It ended at the preliminary review stage. Not a single head of government in the entire history of the British Parliament has been impeached.

In 2004, at the suggestion of one of the deputies from Plaid Cymru in the UK, the initiative to impeach the then Prime Minister Tony Blair was discussed, but there was no debate in parliament on this issue. Interestingly, one of the few members of the Conservative Party who publicly supported Blair’s impeachment was Johnson.

As the representative of the Plaid Cymru faction in the British Parliament, Liz Saville-Roberts, noted in an article for The Sunday Times, Johnson was a former supporter of Blair’s impeachment, but now he can be subjected to this procedure.

“I admit that the idea of ​​impeaching the prime minister seems extraordinary, if not exceptional. But now it’s just an extraordinary time, ”the politician emphasizes.

Earlier, the Labor MP imposed the initiative on impeachment of the Prime Minister Liam Byrne, who accused Johnson of misleading Queen Elizabeth II and thereby committed an “act of treason against the Crown”.

one/. #ImpeachBoris

Boris Johnson
❌ Tried to smoother the mother of Parliaments
❌ Led the Queen into signing unlawful Orders
❌Thereby committed an act of disloyalty to the Crown

He should now be impeached

Here's the procedure from Erskine May ....

- Liam Byrne (@LiamByrneMP) September 24, 2019

According to British media, the trust between the Prime Minister’s office and Buckingham Palace was undermined after the suspension of parliament, approved by the monarch on the recommendation of the head of government, was declared illegal by the Supreme Court.

As Alexander Tevdoy-Burmuli, associate professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, said in an interview with RT, talk of impeachment is "within the framework of Johnson’s general decline in political prestige."

“This threat is unlikely to be realized. It is much more natural and easier to pass a vote of no confidence, ”the expert emphasized.

Vote of no confidence

The Daily Telegraph previously wrote that the two largest opposition parliamentary parties - the Labor Party and the Scottish National Party (SNP) - could initiate a vote of confidence in Johnson’s government early next week.

  • Westminster Palace
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  • © Moritz Wolf / imageBROKER.com

This information in an interview with the BBC was confirmed by the representative of the Scottish National Party, Stuart Howey. According to him, in this way, parliamentarians are trying to prevent Johnson from completing the Brexit procedure on October 31. Previously, they even adopted a special law on this subject, banning exit from the European Union without a deal, but Johnson still insists that he will carry out a brexit in that time.

“We have to do this, because now there is no certainty that the Prime Minister will obey the law and ensure the postponement for which the parliament voted just a few weeks ago,” said Howie.

In turn, SNP head Nicola Sturgeon in her Twitter agreed with the proposal, after a vote of no confidence, to choose Labor leader Jeremy Corbin as interim prime minister to prevent the conservatives from leaving the EU. In her opinion, only after this should early parliamentary elections be held.

Agree with this. VONC, opposition unites around someone for sole purpose of securing an extension, and then immediate General Election. Nothing is risk free but leaving Johnson in post to force through no deal - or even a bad deal - seems like a terrible idea to me. https://t.co/VYSOLLdR21

- Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) September 27, 2019

Note that Johnson himself on September 25 invited the opposition to submit a motion to vote on confidence in the government. However, Corbin said then that the prime minister should first ask the EU to delay the brexitis.

On the eve of the Conservative Party's party conference, which began on September 29, Johnson said in an interview with the BBC that he aims to complete the brexit on October 31. He also stressed that he was ready for early elections and expressed confidence that, based on their results, he could expand his support in parliament.

Recall that earlier the Conservative Party lost its working majority in parliament.

As Kira Godovanyuk, senior researcher at the Center for British Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with RT, "if a vote of no confidence in the government is announced, it will be necessary to decide on the formation of a new cabinet."

According to her, "the dissolution of the current government will entail the dissolution of parliament."

“The question is whether the Labor Party will agree to hold these elections now. Her principal position is to hold early elections and dissolve parliament after Johnson formally requests an extension of the 50th article of the Lisbon Treaty, that is, an extension of the Brexit negotiations from October 31 to the end of January 2020. "

According to the expert, it is theoretically possible to create a new government without elections, based on the consensus of opposition forces in parliament. However, such a cabinet, in her opinion, is doomed to be unstable and short-lived due to contradictions in the camp of the British opposition themselves.

Malpractice

Johnson is now occupied not only with political problems - he is accused of corruption. On September 28, the City Hall of London handed over to the police materials about a possible abuse of power by a politician while he was mayor of the British capital (from 2008 to 2016).

The fact is that the British entrepreneur Jennifer Arkuri, who, according to the media, was the mayor's mistress, received grants from Johnson in the amount of £ 125 thousand (about € 141 thousand) The prime minister himself denies these allegations.

  • Jennifer arkuri
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  • © @Jennifer_Arcuri

“Of course, this is a serious blow to Johnson’s image,” says Kira Godovanyuk. “He was called a person who exceeded his authority, and this is very serious.” However, according to the expert, the head of government can wrap any scandal in his favor.

“Surveys show that he enjoys the support of hard Brexit supporters because he has a clear and unambiguous position. Johnson stands for a tough option to exit the EU, so he holds this part of the electorate, ”the expert notes.

In turn, Alexander Tevdoi-Burmuli emphasized that "the verdict of the Supreme Court greatly shook Johnson's position as prime minister."

“He was charged with breaking the law. Johnson can "play" risky, have an exotic image. But in England, a politician has no right to break the law, ”the expert emphasized.

According to Tevdoi-Burmuli, the fate of the head of government and his cabinet will be decided in the coming weeks.

“We do not know how events will develop, Johnson clings to the post of prime minister with all his might,” the political scientist notes. “But now, in general, it will be difficult for him to stay on as prime minister.”