An online petition calling to stop the UK Parliament being suspended until Brexit has been delayed or cancelled has garnered more than 1 million signatures.
“Parliament must not be prorogued or dissolved unless and until the Article 50 period has been sufficiently extended or the UK’s intention to withdraw from the EU has been cancelled,” the document read.
Remain MPs urged voters to sign the petition, which had attracted more than 500,000 signatures by 6 pm CEST on Wednesday.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced earlier on Wednesday that a new domestic legislative agenda will be set out in a Queen’s Speech on October 14 — prompting outrage from across the political spectrum.
The timing means Parliament will not sit from September 12, or as early as September 9, reducing the amount of time in which lawmakers could try to block a no-deal Brexit.
Johnson denied that his plan was aimed at limiting opposition to his Brexit plans but Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn labelled it “a threat to democracy”.
This sentiment was echoed by the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, who called it a “constitutional outrage.”
“However it is dressed up, it is blindingly obvious that the purpose of prorogation now would be to stop parliament debating Brexit and performing its duty,” he told the BBC.
The online petition will now be considered for debate by Parliament, which is the case for all petitions on its website that get more than 100,000 signatures.
