Colin O'Malley
Since the official resignation of Theresa May as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on July 24th, the future of the proposition known as Brexit, a proposal essentially stating the UK’s intent to leave the European Union, has become unclear.
In recent news, the new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson leader of the Conservative Party in Britain, has taken a hard-line position on Brexit proposing a No-Deal Brexit where the UK will leave the European Union (EU) with or without a ratified withdrawal agreement. The deadline to ratify the withdrawal agreement is October 31st as stated by the European Union.
On three separate occasions, a withdrawal agreement has been presented to the House of Commons but has failed to be ratified. According to the United Kingdom’s Institute for Government, under current Parliamentary law a “no” vote for the withdrawal agreement under Britain’s Article 50, automatically means a vote for a no-deal Brexit. Contrasting this, a “yes” vote is a vote for Brexit along the lines negotiated by the EU and Theresa May before her resignation.
As such, Boris Johnson has recently convinced the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, to approve his request to suspend Parliament. According to the Times, this has largely been viewed by British news outlets as a ploy to sustain the current parliamentary ruling of a no-deal Brexit, something Johnson wants.
However, Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament was ruled as unconstitutional by Scotland’s highest civil court according to the BBC. The court ruled on the basis that Johnson was attempting to undermine democracy for his own gain. With that being said, the case moves to London’s Supreme Court next week to be tried again.
In all the developments, one thing remains clear: the UK is almost certainly leaving the EU unless Article 50, which defines Brexit in terms of Parliament, is destroyed or the decision deadline of Oct. 31st again extended to allow for further negotiations.
