Nationwide Protests As Boris Johnson Suspends UK Parliament

Hundreds of people blocked London’s normally busy Whitehall road on
Saturday to protest Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s suspension of the
British parliament.

They gathered outside the gates protecting the prime minister’s London
residence at 10 Downing Street and chanted “Boris Johnson, shame on
you,” “Trump’s puppet, shame on you,” “Liar Johnson, shame on you,”
the Press Association (PA) reports.

The protesters also rang a bell, blew whistles and beat a drum, PA
reported, adding that they carried placards and European Union flags.

A small crowd gathered in Belfast, more than 1,000 gathered in York
and 1,000 in Manchester, according to PA.

Organizers had been expecting hundreds of thousands of people to turn
out in London, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Liverpool,
Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Oxford, and York, among other cities,
and in Aberdeen and Glasgow in Scotland, as well as Belfast.

The anti-Brexit initiative “Another Europe Is Possible” had issued the
call to protest.

It was joined by, among others, the leader of the main opposition
Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour grassroots organization
Momentum and environmental activists from the YouthStrike4Climate
campaign.

Johnson on Wednesday successfully petitioned Queen Elizabeth II to
prorogue or suspend, parliament in London from mid-September to
mid-October, when he plans to submit his government programme in a new
parliamentary session.

“The public outrage at Boris Johnson shutting down democracy has been
deafening,” Labour leader Corbyn tweeted on Friday. “People are right
to take to the streets – and I encourage everyone to join the
demonstrations in London and across the country tomorrow.”

Corbyn did not seem to have turned up on Saturday, but his colleague
and shadow home secretary Diana Abbott addressed the crowd in
Whitehall, saying that he sent his support for the demonstration.

“We cannot allow Boris Johnson to shut down parliament and to shut
down the voice of ordinary British people,” PA quoted her as saying.

Many in the crowd shouted, “Where is Jeremy?” PA reported.

Parliament is in fact routinely prorogued, but the move is highly
controversial shortly before Britain’s planned exit from the European
Union by the deadline of October 31.

The suspension has greatly shortened the time in which members of
parliament could debate possible legislative procedures to prevent
Brexit happening without a deal, News Agency of Nigeria reports.