The Brexit deadline is approaching and the United Kingdom’s political system is in chaos. Brexit has already left the political career of two Conservative Party prime ministers dead and buried. Now, a third Conservative PM Boris Johnson has taken on the mantle. Not known for being particularly astute, Johnson’s first couple of months in power have done even more damage to the UK’s political system that anyone could have predicted. Facing defeat after defeat in the British parliament over his non-existence strategy over Brexit, Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament is now in force. But this was not before a chaotic week in parliament where a proposal to rush through an election before the October 31 deadline for a deal with the European Union was also defeated. The importance of parliament being in session in the final weeks of the Brexit negotiation was simple: the parliament should vote on any deal or ‘no deal’ for Brexit. With protests against Brexit continuing to take place, there are few who doubt that the UK is willingly steering itself into a wall.
The trigger button was pressed over two years ago by the British public, which narrowly voted in favour of Brexit based on a campaign based on malicious anti-migrant rhetoric and pure lies. One must wonder if a clean Brexit was ever possible. Politicians, such as Boris Johnson, who supported Brexit were attempting to ride on the tides of populism to polish their political careers. The trouble is that Johnson is not a popular PM and the Conservative Party could lose more seats when an election is called. The decision to suspend parliament has been contested in court. If the court orders the government to bring back parliament, the word from 10 Downing Street is that they could refuse. This could steer the crisis deeper. This also means that, amidst the chaos, the real discussion about how the UK economy would deal with Brexit is not taking place. European citizens who live in the UK remain worried. International experts expect the UK economy’s growth to shrink by three percent in the three years after Brexit. While PM Boris has attempted to show muscle to the EU, the fact that there are still over half a dozen proposals on the table for what kind of Brexit the UK wants means there will be more trouble ahead as Brexit day approaches.