MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Tens of thousands in UK cities protest the suspension of parliament

The demonstrations in London and elsewhere are against Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to prorogue parliament

Tens of thousands of protesters hit the streets across the UK on Saturday to show their opposition to government moves to close parliament ahead of the Brexit deadline on October 31.

The demonstrations in London and elsewhere are against Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to prorogue parliament — a move that increases the chances of Britain leaving the European Union without agreement.

With only 60 days until the October 31 deadline for Britain’s withdrawal, anti-Brexit politicians and campaigners are running out of time to prevent a no-deal Brexit, which business leaders say will disrupt Britain’s economy and could even lead to shortages of food or medicine.

The main organizer of Saturday’s protests is Another Europe; an umbrella campaign group linked to the opposition Labour party, trade unions and affiliated groups.

Michael Chessum, its national organizer, is a supporter of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

“We've seen absolutely massive crowds come out spontaneously all over the country; we're in a situation now where an unelected prime minister is shutting down what little democracy we have in this country in order to implement a Brexit agenda which will wreck people's lives and communities, undermine their rights and freedoms, and you know attempt to create a post Brexit Britain which is mortgaged to Trump's America.“

Protests also included one outside the British embassy in Brussels

The House of Commons is still on summer recess until Tuesday. Corbyn has already indicated he will try to pass legislation outlawing a no-deal Brexit or move to block the prorogation of parliament as soon as it reconvenes.

A growing number of rebel lawmakers in Johnson’s own Conservative party have been in discussions with Labour and anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats about grouping together to pass a law forcing Johnson to request an extension of Article 50 beyond October 31, The Times reported.

However, to do this they would need to introduce the legislation and pass it within three days — a significant challenge, even if the opponents and rebels could out-vote Johnson’s government.

One option could be to force the House of Commons and House of Lords to sit over the weekend of September 7-8. Among the Conservative rebels is a former minister, Oliver Letwin.

An anti-Brexit campaigner, Gina Miller, has applied to the High Court in England for a judicial review to block the proroguing of parliament. Her team of lawyers won a high profile court victory over the government in 2017, forcing it to hold a parliamentary vote on triggering Article 50.

Former Conservative Prime Minister John Major said on Friday that he will seek the court's permission to join the application.

”If granted permission to intervene, I intend to seek to assist the court from the perspective of having served in government as a minister and prime minister, and also in parliament for many years,” he said.

Separately, a court hearing in Scotland on a parallel bid to block the prorogation will be heard on Tuesday. Judge Raymond Doherty refused to grant a request immediately on Friday but agreed that a “substantive” hearing would be held at the Court of Session.

A third case is being brought in Belfast.

Johnson has warned of “lasting and catastrophic damage” to Britain's political parties if the result of the Brexit referendum is not honored.

He said people protesting his decision to suspend parliament should realize that “the worst thing for democracy” would be to fail to make Brexit a reality.

He also says the protests and legal challenges to his policy are making it harder for Britain to forge a new deal with European Union leaders because they may believe parliament can stop Brexit.

Meanwhile, the first cracks are appearing in Johnson’s cabinet — even before its first meeting after summer. Chancellor Sajid Javid has reportedly challenged Johnson over the dismissal of an aide by Johnson's top advisor, Dominic Cummings.

The Financial Times said on Saturday that Javid was “livid” about the firing. “He's absolutely furious,” the newspaper quoted a colleague of Javid's as saying.