BY PAULA AKAKPO
STAFF WRITER
Amidst Prime Minister Boris Johnson trying to suspend parliament in the United Kingdom for three weeks, there are new revelations that the prime minister may have broken the law.
BREXIT means the British exit is the United Kingdom’s attempt to leave the European Union. The European Union (E.U.) is a union between twenty-eight European countries which allow free trade and movement within the countries.
The U.K. has been trying to leave the E.U. for the past three years since the referendum vote. The referendum vote, or public vote, was held on June 23, 2016; about 52%-48% of people voted to leave the E.U. out of a 72% turnout. One main reason people wanted to leave the E.U. was because of the increase in immigration. Some felt that immigrants were “stealing” their jobs, and others felt that there was a total shift in culture. People were speaking languages other than English. The idea that a surge of immigrants is the cause for the new competition in the workforce is incorrect and highly misleading, causing some to call for a second vote, but nothing came of it.
Former Prime Minister Theresa May tried twice to pass a deal in parliament, but they were both voted down. This led up to her resignation, which she says is for a new perspective.
According to Theresa May, “I know there is a desire for a new approach – and new leadership – in the second phase of the Brexit negotiations — and I won’t stand in the way of that.”
Now the new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has inherited the issue. He has said that the U.K. will leave the E.U. even if there is no deal on October 31st.
Part of the reason parliament continues to reject the deals is because of the backstop. At the moment, there are no border posts or physical barriers at the Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland border; backstop would allow this to continue. However, the backstop would only continue if the U.K. did not find better border checks. Many conservatives opposed this because the U.K. could be trapped in backstop for years, forcing the country to be stuck in the E.U.’s customs union.
This led to Prime Minister Boris Johnson trying to suspend parliament from September 10th to October 14th, which he says was to prepare for a new Queen’s speech, which takes place every year. But his opponents have stated that he tried to suspend parliament to limit the debate on a no deal. Speaker of the House John Bercow has said, “Shutting down Parliament would be an offense against the democratic process and the rights of Parliamentarians as the people’s elected representatives.”
The U.K. Supreme Court ruled that Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament was unlawful because it prevented parliament to carry out its constitutional functions, so parliament is now in session.
Though it is hard to believe that BREXIT could have an impact on U.S. economy, some economists have said otherwise.
“American investment in companies in the U.K. is huge. Similarly, British investment in America is huge,” says Kai Ryssdal on The Market Place. “Some people say that Brexit, however it happens, could affect up to 2 million jobs — British and American. It’s hard to say how many of which, but that’s a lot of jobs. Global downturns affect us all. Brexit is part of that.”
As BREXIT continues with no deal in sight, it will be interesting to see how the conflict will end on October 31st.
Sources (with MLA):
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/09/uk/boris-johnson-prorogation-explainer-gbr-intl/index.html
Picheta, Rob. “Why Was the UK Parliament Suspended and What Does It Mean for Brexit?” CNN, Cable News Network, 10 Sept. 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/09/uk/boris-johnson-prorogation-explainer-gbr-intl/index.html.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887
“Brexit: All You Need to Know about the UK Leaving the EU.” BBC News, BBC, 3 Oct. 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887.
https://www.marketplace.org/2019/08/29/your-brexit-questions-answered/
Image Link: https://www.dw.com/image/47902166_303.jpg