Petition to stop suspension of UK Parliament tops 1.3M signatures

A petition calling for the British government to reverse the decision to discontinue a session of Parliament has gained more than 1.3 million signatures this week. 

“Parliament must not be prorogued or dissolved unless and until the article 50 period has been sufficiently extended or the UK’s intention to withdraw from the EU has been cancelled,” the petition, which was launched Tuesday, reads. 

Mark Johnston, pro-European Union campaigner from Reigate in Surrey, launched the petition a day before British Prime Minister Boris Johnson officially requested that Parliament be suspended between Sept. 9 and Oct. 14, The Guardian noted. The request came as Johnson’s administration tries to block Parliament from stopping a no-deal exit from the EU. 

The petition amassed more than 100,000 signatures by Wednesday afternoon, meaning it had reached the threshold to be considered for debate in Parliament. The Guardian reported that it pushed past 1 million signatures Wednesday night, making it the fastest-growing parliamentary petition since millions signed one that demanded the United Kingdom cancel its formal exit from the EU earlier this year. 

That petition gained more than 6 million signatures, and had at one point crashed Parliament’s website because of high activity.

Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday approved Johnson’s request to suspend Parliament for an extended period of time in the lead-up to the Oct. 31 deadline for the U.K.’s exit from the EU. The prorogation will give lawmakers just 17 days to negotiate a possible Brexit deal.

Johnson’s move sparked intense backlash from lawmakers and led to protests across the country. 

“Shutting down Parliament would be an offense against the democratic process and the rights of Parliamentarians as the people’s elected representatives,” said John Bercow, speaker of the Lower House of Commons, according to The Associated Press. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said in an interview that he was “appalled at the recklessness of Johnson’s government.” 

Fifty-two percent of British voters supported a referendum in 2016 to leave the EU, but the government has struggled to formulate a transition plan. Johnson, who became prime minister following Theresa May’s resignation, has been a staunch advocate of Brexit and has expressed support for leaving the EU without a deal if lawmakers cannot agree to one.