Petition against suspending parliament ahead of Brexit passes 1.3 million signatures
The latest plot-twist in the interminable epic poem that is Brexit has (somewhat unsurprisingly) prompted mass outrage.
ICYMI, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked the Queen on Wednesday to suspend parliament (something that's officially termed proroguing) and his request was granted — prompting opprobrium from the general public.
An online petition titled "Do not prorogue Parliament" emerged on Wednesday afternoon and has since gained more than 1.3 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," read the description of the petition, started by Mark Johnston.
Proroguing parliament will prevent MPs from blocking a no-deal Brexit.
The UK is set to leave the EU on Oct. 31, but in the event of a no-deal Brexit, it would immediately exit the bloc without an agreement. According to the BBC, that means: "Overnight, the UK would leave the single market and customs union — arrangements designed to help trade between EU members by eliminating checks and tariffs (taxes on imports)."
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Petitions that get more than 100,000 signatures will be considered by parliament for a debate.
At the time of publication had garnered 1,384,838 signatures. Watch this space.
Topics Politics
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
