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British PM Suspends Parliament Until Oct. 14

Ken Bredemeier

   British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday that parliament
   would be suspended until mid-October, a move that angered lawmakers
   opposed to his planned withdrawal from the European Union on October 31
   without a deal and cuts the time they will have to try to block him.

   The new British leader's unexpected announcement threw the debate over
   Brexit into a new uproar three years after voters narrowly decided to
   leave the EU 46 years after it joined the 28-nation bloc.

   Queen Elizabeth, as the head of state, approved Johnson's plan to
   suspend parliament. She will reopen parliament October 14 with an
   address outlining the government's legislative priorities.

   Johnson said that would give parliamentarians favoring and opposing
   Brexit "ample time" for debate ahead of an October 17-18 summit of EU
   leaders, which could reach an ultimate decision on whether Britain
   leaves the EU with or without a divorce deal spelling out the terms of
   its departure.

   Johnson said it was "completely untrue" that the suspension of
   parliament was designed to block lawmakers from thwarting his Brexit
   plans. Rather, he said, it was to "bring forward a new bold and
   ambitious domestic legislative agenda for the renewal of our country
   after Brexit."

   Opposition anger
   But lawmakers opposed to Johnson's action expressed their anger, a day
   after six opposition parties pledged to try to reach an agreement on
   how they would block a no-deal Brexit rather than attempt to bring down
   the government, with Johnson holding only a single-seat majority.

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