News / More / Society / Editor's Choice

Johnson’s parliament plan not serving British national interests: Analyst

Thursday, 29 August 2019 10:23 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 29 August 2019 11:32 AM ]

John Wight (left side of screen), journalist and political commentator from Edinburg, speaks on Press TV’s The Debate program.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to suspend parliament for five weeks as the government’s Brexit deadline approaches is “unprecedented” and serves his own political agenda, not British national interests, says a commentator.

“This is entirely unprecedented because this prorogation is designed for political purposes and is not meant to do with the constitution and not to do with the usual business of parliament and advance the Queen’s speech… this is to do with hard Brexit,” John Wight, journalist and political commentator from Edinburg, said on the Wednesday edition of Press TV’s The Debate program.

He pointed to the spontaneous demonstrations in London as well as other protests across the UK as proof of how the public was opposed to Johnson’s plan, saying the move could lead to a “significant polarization” of the country.

PressTV-Hundreds protest against UK parliament suspension

Hundreds of Londoners marched on Wednesday evening against Boris Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament for most of September.

Wight also warned that the parliament suspension could have “real consequences for... social peace.”

He expressed pessimism about the resolution of Ireland’s backstop issue, denouncing Brexit as a move driven by “nativism, xenophobia, empire nostalgia, and by a brand of British exceptionalism.”

The backstop aims to end border checks between EU-member Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland by keeping Britain in the EU customs union if no post-Brexit trade deal is signed.

Under Johnson’s plan, the parliament will be “prorogued” from September 9 to October 14.

The timeline effectively means that the House of Commons’ ability and opportunity to stop a no-deal Brexit is much reduced.

The move by Johnson was condemned as a “constitutional outrage” by the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that his party will put forward legislation to prevent the parliament from being suspended.

With just 65 days until exit day, British parliamentarians struggle to prevent the prime minister from steering the country out of the EU without a transition deal.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk