Clive Lewis For Norwich South
n unelected Prime Minister has asked an unelected head of state to shut down parliament so that no one prevents him from delivering his agenda. The Queen said ‘yes’ and normal legislative processes are about to be suspended.
If this happened anywhere else (Turkey perhaps? Or Hungary?) our government would most likely be quick to condemn it as an assault on parliamentary sovereignty. When it’s happening in the UK, the Prime Minister has the cheek to pretend he’s acting in the name of democracy.
We simply cannot let Boris Johnson get away with this. When basic democratic norms are undermined, it gives a green light to anti-democratic extremists to not play by the rules either. It then becomes a race to the bottom. This is how democracy is undermined and the rot sets in.
On Wednesday, I tweeted that if Boris Johnson suspends parliament, they will have to drag me out of the chamber. This wasn’t an empty threat posted in the heat of the moment – I meant it.
When people take to the streets, Labour must be part of the movement. And when workers walk out of their workplaces in protest, I will refuse to leave mine. Multiple colleagues have told me they are prepared to do the same.
Read my full article in Labour List here: https://labourlist.org/2019/08/why-im-ready-to-occupy-parliament-to-stop-the-coup/?fbclid=IwAR27Ni7tBvTI8bW3opxAJ4Q8f9d0kQDHs4UCdw0CIlAsWQuPoV8d4bDDvKg