Brexit: Opposition demands that Boris Johnson recall Parliament

Brexit: Opposition demands that Boris Johnson recall Parliament
Credit: Creative Commons/The Brussels Times

The British opposition is demanding that parliament be reconvened after a Scottish court decision has ruled that Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to suspend it for five weeks is illegal.

The government, however, does not seem ready to respond to this request.

The Edinburgh Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that Boris Johnson's decision to suspend parliament until 14 October, two weeks before the Brexit scheduled for 31 October, was "illegal".

“We are disappointed by today’s decision, and will appeal to the UK Supreme Court," Downing Street said in a statement just after the announcement. "The UK Government needs to bring forward a strong domestic legislative agenda. Proroguing Parliament is the legal and necessary way of delivering this,” it added.

However, some opposition MPs believe that Johnson should immediately reconvene parliament. "I call on him to recall Parliament. Let's get it back open, and sitting this afternoon and tomorrow, so we can debate what happens next and we can debate this judgement," said Labour's Keir Starmer.

This position is shared by Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon who called for the a parliament recall to "allow the essential work of scrutiny to continue."

House of Commons SNP leader Ian Blackford has also sent a letter to the head of government calling on him to follow up on the court decision.

Jules Johnston

The Brussels Times


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