The British people took to the streets of London to vent their anger at Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to prorogue the dysfunctional Westminster Parliament. The Queen’s assent was given on August 28 in a secret meeting held at Balmoral in Scotland with Jacob Rees-Mogg, Baroness Evans, the Leader of the Lords, and Mark Spencer, the Chief Whip. MPs have also reacted with indignation, comparing the move to a coup d’état. Only six Cabinet ministers, together with Johnson, according to the Telegraph, knew of the secret plans to suspend Parliament for a month, beginning in the second week of September. Thousands of people made their way to Parliament Square at short notice, advertising their efforts with the social media hash tag #StopTheCoup. In addition, a petition against Johnson’s plan had already exceeded 1.3 million signatures at the time of publication, as the public outrage rumbled on. A petition earlier this year demanding the British government reverse its course on Brexit received more than 4.5 million signatures in just three days. It is not simply that it is rule by executive fiat, but that the chaos and illegal maneouvres are demonstrating that these political institutions are not consistent with the needs of the times. Two views.
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