The Boris Johnson-led government in the United Kingdom on Thursday dared the opponents of Brexit to bring them down or change the law if they wanted to stop Britain’s exit from the European Union.
“All these people who are wailing and gnashing of teeth know that there are two ways of doing what they want to do,” Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit supporter who is in charge of managing government business in Parliament, told BBC. “One is to change the government and the other is to change the law. If they do either of those that will then have an effect. If they don’t have either the courage or the gumption to do either of those then we will leave on the 31st of October in accordance with the referendum result.”
Boris Johnson had on Wednesday decided to suspend Parliament from mid-September until October 14. Johnson justified his decision by saying it will help him focus on funding the national health service and stopping violent crime.
The suspension would leave no time for the Parliament to block no-deal Brexit from happening. The United Kingdom would leave the European Union immediately on October 31 with no agreement about the procedure.
UK Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament shows his “deep-seated arrogant sense of entitlement”, The Guardian reported.
Following Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament, there is a likelihood of an early election. Asked about this, McDonnell replied: “Bring it on. The issue for us now is that we have to do everything we can, working on a cross-party basis, to block a no-deal Brexit.”
Meanwhile, Ruth Davidson resigned as the leader of the Scottish Conservative Party. “I have attempted to chart a course for our party which recognises and respects the referendum result, while seeking to maximise opportunities and mitigate risks for key Scottish businesses and sectors,” she said.
The Opposition Labour Party will seek an emergency debate in Parliament next week, the party’s Trade Spokesperson Barry Gardiner said according to Reuters. There is a small majority against a no-deal Brexit in the House of Commons.
Meanwhile, an online petition has been started against the proroguing of Parliament. The petition, hosted on https://petition.parliament.uk, has already received over 1.4 million signatures.
Johnson, who took charge as Britain’s prime minister in July, had promised that the United Kingdom would leave the European Union on October 31 “no ifs, no buts”.
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