Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson waves from the steps outside 10 Downing Street. Photo / AP
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson waves from the steps outside 10 Downing Street. Photo / AP
EDITORIAL:
The British public can expect to hear a lot more of the phrase "the will of the people" as the mother of parliaments faces the mother of battles over Brexit.
The idea that the 2016 referendum result to leave the European Union needs to be delivered, deal or no-deal,is behind Prime Minister Boris Johnson's hardcore tactics over parliamentary debate.
Parliament will now not sit between the start of next week and October 14. October 31 is Johnson's scheduled Brexit day, and he is slicing the time MPs have to discuss it. Will MPs manage to stop a no-deal Brexit before then?
But what exactly is the will of the people within such a complex and divisive issue?
The original referendum was narrowly decided by 52 to 48 per cent. Voters were asked whether they wanted Britain to leave or remain not what type of Brexit they wanted. Details on the Brexit process were thin. The idea that Britain could be staring at an exit without a deal, that could result in food and medical shortages, that could endanger the economy, threaten peace in Northern Ireland or the very union seemed remote.
A grill holds placards as anti Brexit protesters take part in a rally outside Downing Street in London. Photo / AP
Is the will of the people represented by a simple yes, no vote held three years ago that takes no account of change since based on new information or developments? Or by a potential new referendum with different questions that has so far been denied? Is it represented by attitudes towards no-deal, or a new election, or shutting Parliament or towards trade with the EU?
A series of YouGov poll questions last week showed different facets of opinion on Brexit. When asked who respondents would rather have as a closer trading partner for the UK, people preferred the EU to the US by 50 to 21 per cent. When asked whether it was acceptable to suspend Parliament, 53 per cent thought it wasn't to 31 per cent who thought it was. And by 55 to 34 per cent Britons didn't trust Johnson to make the right decisions on Brexit.
Johnson is essentially daring MPs to take him on in order to trigger an election while also trying to convince all sides he's prepared to drive off the cliff, as part of his negotiation strategy. The deadline for a withdrawal deal is a mid-October European summit. If Parliament blocks Johnson, he would fight an election on delivering the 2016 vote against a people versus Parliament-themed backdrop.
Anti-Brexit protestors protest in Trafalgar Square, central London. Photo / AP
Johnson has so far only been elected to his job by a tiny percentage of the voting public – Conservative Party members. But he has tried to be forceful and set the agenda.
Essentially, he is batting on the same tricky wicket as his predecessor Theresa May. Johnson is dealing with a hung parliament and rules only with the support of Northern Ireland's DUP. The Brexit Party is snapping at his heels.
It's an unsustainable position if Johnson plans to be more than a stop-gap leader.
A Survation poll has the Conservatives on 31 per cent, Labour 24 and the Lib Dems 21. An Opinium Research poll showed Johnson ahead by as preferred prime minister over Labour's Jeremy Corbyn by 31 to 15 per cent.
A new election is a key factor in Johnson's high-stakes roll of the dice.
