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(CNN) - The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, asked the queen to suspend the Parliament since mid-September, a measure that would shorten the time available for legislators to block a brexit without agreement and that has been criticized by opponents as a "constitutional outrage."
Parliament would be "extended" (suspended) until October 14, Johnson said in a statement. October 31 is the date of brexit, and Johnson has promised that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union (EU) on that date with or without an agreement.
Members of Parliament will return from a summer break on September 3, and the Government's measure means that they will effectively have about a week to pass any legislation to avoid a brexit without agreement.
Johnson's plan will be considered at a Private Council meeting at the Queen's Balmoral Castle, according to reports. The queen would have to formally approve the request.
British governments generally organize a new parliamentary session to start each year. The new sessions begin with a speech by the queen, which describes the government's legislative priorities for the session. But former Prime Minister Theresa May allowed the previous session to be prolonged, as she tried repeatedly to persuade legislators to approve her Brexit agreement.
According to the Press Association, the spokesman for the House of Commons, John Bercow, described the measure as a "constitutional outrage."
"It is obviously obvious that the purpose of the extension now would be to prevent Parliament from debating Brexit and fulfilling its duty to define a course for the country," he said.
'Do or die'
During the televised interview on Wednesday, Johnson denied that he was trying to prevent Parliament from limiting his Brexit plans.
“That is completely false. If we look at what we are doing, we will present a new legislative program, ”he said.
"We need to continue with our domestic agenda and that is why we are announcing a speech by the queen for October 14," Johnson said.
Letter from PM to MPs pic.twitter.com/lxNwQZjBtc
- Max Foster (@MaxFosterCNN) August 28, 2019
In a letter to the legislators, the prime minister said that Parliament “will have the opportunity to discuss the general program of the Government and address Brexit, in the period before the Council of the European Union, and then vote on this on the 21st and October 22, once we know the outcome of the Council. ”
Johnson demands that the EU reopen the brexit agreement, something that European leaders have been reluctant to do.
However, "if I reach an agreement with the EU, Parliament will have the opportunity to approve the bill required for the ratification of the agreement before October 31," Johnson wrote.
But its "do or die" position in brexit has led several leaders of the UK opposition party to agree on a strategy to avoid a brexit without agreement on Tuesday.
The options include "the possibility of passing legislation and a vote of distrust," according to a joint statement by the United Kingdom Labor Party, the SNP, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, the Green Party and the Independent Group for Change.
Opposition politicians were furious over the measure on Wednesday.
"Unless parliamentarians meet to stop it next week, today it will go down in history as a dark day for the democracy of the United Kingdom," Scotland's Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon wrote on Twitter.
"We don't have a 'new government'. This action is a completely scandalous affront to our democracy. We cannot allow this to happen, ”Deputy Labor Party Director Tom Watson wrote on Twitter.
Green parliamentarian Caroline Lucas called Johnson "cowardly" on Twitter, adding that the prime minister "knows that his imprudent brexit without agreement will never get the support of parliamentarians. It is a constitutional outrage that Parliament and the people will oppose. ”
Currently, Johnson has a parliamentary majority of one. This makes him vulnerable to losing a distrust vote. While overthrowing his government would not automatically stop a brexit without agreement, it could trigger a series of events that will lead him to request an extension of brexit.
Sheena McKenzie and Sarah Dean contributed to this news.
Boris johnson
