United Kingdom Prime Minister Bori Johnson has asked the Queen to suspend Parliament just days after MPs return to work in September – and only a few weeks before the Brexit deadline.
Johnson said that a Queen’s Speech would take place after the suspension, on 14 October.
The move has been met with outrage from various quarters, with House of Commons Speaker John Bercow saying:
However it is dressed up, it is blindingly obvious that the purpose of [suspending Parliament] now would be to stop [MPs] debating Brexit and performing its duty in shaping a course for the country.
Opposition Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn said he had written to the Queen to request a meeting. He said:
Suspending Parliament is not acceptable, it is not on. What the prime minister is doing is a smash and grab on our democracy to force through a no-deal.
Prime Minister Johnson has since written to all of the MPs who sit in the House of Commons, outlining his plans to ask for a suspension of Parliament in the first half of September.
Meanwhile, according to BBC News, the Queen has approved Johnson’s request to suspend Parliament.