Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to gather this Saturday in London to protest against Boris Johnson's decision to prorogue the UK parliament for a month.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called on people to hit the streets as more than 80 demonstrations have already been planned for Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Bristol, Glasgow and Swansea.
“The public outrage at Boris Johnson shutting down democracy has been deafening. People are right to take to the streets – and I encourage everyone to join the demonstrations in London and across the country tomorrow,” Corbyn said.
Critics have accused Johnson of an attempt to violate democratic processes as his move will impede lawmakers' attempts to bring forward legislation to prevent a no-deal Brexit scenario.
“Boris Johnson is trying to shut down our democracy so that he can deliver on his Brexit agenda. We can’t just rely on the courts or parliamentary process to save the day. We all have a duty to stand up and be counted,” a statement published on Facebook page of 'Stop the coup, defend democracy' event says.
On Wednesday, Queen Elizabeth II approved Johnson’s request to prorogue parliament in mid-September as Britain is on the verge of its scheduled departure from the EU.
Johnson explained his decision by saying that the previous parliamentary session had lasted for an abnormally long 340 days.
Boris Johnson has repeatedly stated that he will withdraw the United Kingdom from the EU by the October 31 deadline, with or without a deal, despite there being strong objections to a 'hard Brexit' among many parliamentarians.
The UK still faces a stumbling block over its departure from the EU. A deal reached by London and Brussels last year was rejected three times by the UK parliament. Although the European Union has stressed that the deal is not up for further negotiation, Johnson has stated that some provisions on the deal have to be changed, most notably the so-called ‘Irish backstop.”
