The House of Commons in the UK will be suspended for about five weeks in the run up to Brexit, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson formally asked the queen to suspend parliament earlier today, August 28.
This afternoon, the queen granted the prime minister’s request, which is being seen as an effort by Johnson – who is in favour of Britain leaving the EU – to prevent discussion on Brexit so a ‘no-deal’ could not be stopped by Parliament.
According to reports in the Guardian, Johnson’s decision to seek a suspension of parliament is being met with anger from many politicians, with John Bercow, the speaker of the house – the equivalent of the Dáil’s Ceann Comhairle – labelling it a “constitutional outrage”.
Earlier today, after Johnson revealed that he had made the request to the queen, TDs here began to raise fears that it would make a no-deal Brexit more likely.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has called on the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, to recall the Dáil from recess early so the issue can be discussed.
“As it stands, the Dáil is due to return on September 17, by which time the House of Commons will already have been prorogued, with an increasing likelihood of a no-deal Brexit,” Ryan warned.
“We cannot control the increasingly fraught developments in Westminster, but we should have the Dáil in session to make sure that our response is debated in full,” he added.