Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, faced a growing and angry
backlash on Thursday as his decision to suspend Parliament next month
prompted protests and legal challenges, and political opponents
scrambled to salvage efforts to stop a disorderly Brexit.
The normally fractious opposition swiftly united in outrage at
Mr. Johnson’s maneuver on Wednesday, which brought protesters onto the streets in London and other cities across the country, while
an online petition against the action drew well over a million signatures.
The move also strained relations within Mr. Johnson’s Conservative Party
and prompted claims from critics that the government was trampling the
conventions of the country’s unwritten Constitution, undermining its
democracy.
On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson had Queen Elizabeth II approve a plan to
restrict the sittings of Parliament in September and October. That
reduces his critics’ chances of legislating to prevent Britain from
leaving the European Union without first reaching an agreement with
Brussels, as the prime minister has threatened to do.
In an overnight poll, far more Britons
opposed than supported his suspension of Parliament, and angry comments
calling it undemocratic peppered social media, many with the hashtag
#StopTheCoup.
The Speaker of the House
of Commons, John Bercow, and a former Conservative chancellor of the
Exchequer, Philip Hammond, each called it a “constitutional outrage;”
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, labeled it a “a
sort of smash and grab on our democracy.”
Read more: Boris Johnson’s Parliament Suspension Prompts Protest and Resignations - The New York Times
