Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
U.K. crowds turn out to protest shutdown
Johnson urged to abandon no-deal Brexit
LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s provocative decision to suspend the British Parliament for a time before the country’s deadline for leaving the European Union came under fire Saturday in London and other cities where demonstrators took to the streets.
The demonstrations were called ahead of what is expected to be a pitched debate in Parliament this week as Johnson’s opponents scramble to try to pass legislation that would block him from carrying out Brexit on Oct. 31 without an approved withdrawal agreement.
Johnson’s decision to shutter Parliament for five weeks when a debate about Brexit plans had been expected spurred on the demonstrations.
An estimated 10,000 people gathered in central London, while others protested in in Belfast, York and others cities to show determination to block a “no deal” Brexit. Protesters in London briefly blocked traffic on a downtown bridge and in Trafalgar Square.
“If you shut down Parliament, we shut down the streets!” demonstrators shouted in unison as they swarmed black cabs and double-decker buses at Trafalgar Square. After they succeeded in stopping traffic, they pulled out takeout salads and bags of carrots and picnicked in front of the honking cars.
Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who had urged his supporters to show up in large numbers, told thousands of people at a rally in Glasgow, Scotland, that the message to Johnson was simple: “No way. It’s our Parliament.”
Corbyn said Johnson, who became prime minister through a vote of Conservative Party members instead of a general election, does not have a mandate for shutting down Parliament or for leaving the EU without a deal in place. Many economists and academics think a no-deal Brexit would lead Britain into a prolonged recession.
“It’s not on, and we’re not having it,” Corbyn said.
Organizers said protests were held in more than 30 places throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In London, they chanted: “Boris Johnson, shame on you.” Some carried signs saying: “Stop the Coup” in reference to what they say is a move that threatens democracy.
They chanted in defense of migrants and waved European Union flags, but their enthusiasm for staying in the bloc took a back seat on Saturday to anger at what many saw as a blossoming, and more urgent, threat: a willingness by Johnson to stretch or outright disobey the Constitution in service of Brexit.
A pair of demonstrators carried a mannequin meant to depict a gravely wounded member of Parliament on a stretcher. Another carried a model of Big Ben hanging in a noose, saying that Britain’s democracy was being choked by Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament. A throng in the Whitehall area of London brought traffic to a halt and chanted: “Get Boris Out! Get Boris Out!”
The demonstrators were organized by the anti-Brexit group Another Europe Is Possible and by Momentum, which is allied with the opposition Labor Party. The group is urging its membership to “occupy bridges and blockade roads.”
Tony King, 48 and a truck driver from London, supported Brexit and said he was at the protest to demonstrate against “traitors” who are trying to keep Britain in the European Union, despite the popular vote.
“We voted to leave the EU, and we’ve been stitched up,” he said.
In Belfast, protesters gathered outside City Hall. Brigitte Anton, 52, said that people think Johnson is “a bit of laugh and a buffoon” when, in fact, he is treating Parliament with “contempt.”
“I think he thinks he can get away with things, that people won’t notice, or people will be too surprised or scared to do anything,” she said. “Dictator? I would say not yet but it is developing toward that.”
In Exeter in western England, pharmacist Bridie Walton, 55, said she was attending the first demonstration of her life.
“Nobody voted for a dictatorship,” she said, condemning Johnson’s suspension of Parliament. “These are the actions of a man who is afraid his arguments will not stand scrutiny.”
Johnson’s plan is also being opposed by some in Parliament who plan to introduce legislation this week to try to prevent a disorderly departure from the EU.
Their task will be made more difficult if Johnson’s plan to shut Parliament for part of the time period before the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline is carried out.
Johnson’s supporters may well be able to delay any proposed legislation from being enacted in time. Tactics could include introducing a variety of amendments that would have to be debated, or the use of filibusters to stall the process.
The shutdown of Parliament is also being challenged in three court cases scheduled to be heard this week.
Former Prime Minister John Major has joined one of the lawsuits, raising the likelihood that he will argue in court that the current prime minister, a fellow member of the Conservative Party, is acting improperly by shutting Parliament.
Johnson, who helped lead the successful Brexit referendum campaign, says his government is actively pursuing a new deal with EU leaders and claims opposition to his policy will make it harder to wring concessions from Europe.
It has been more than three years since Britain voted 52% to 48% to leave the European Union and the country is as divided as ever. Johnson has vowed to take Britain out of the bloc “do or die” by Oct. 31. He says he wants to strike a deal with the European Union, but the two sides remain at odds over the vexing issue of the Irish border.
Johnson’s willingness to steer Britain out of the EU without an exit deal would lead to food and medical shortages and a return to a hard border in Ireland, a leaked government document said. The government said the document, written Aug. 1, was outdated and that it has ramped up no-deal planning.
In London, they chanted: “Boris Johnson, shame on you.” Some carried signs saying: “Stop the Coup” in reference to what they say is a move that threatens democracy.