MOSCOW, July 23 (Sputnik) – Nicholas Cobb, the chairman of the Westminster Russia Forum think tank, told Sputnik on Tuesday that a possible decision of Boris Jonson, who is set to become the United Kingdom’s next prime minister, to suspend the parliament in order to force through a no-deal Brexit would set a dangerous precedent and undermine the credibility of his government.
“This would be an explosive thing to do – If you look at the makeup of Parliament there are significant forces against him and he would struggle for support from his own benches if he did this. The Queen would, I assume, grant it but at what cost – his government would lose credibility very quickly and would set a dangerous precedent,” Cobb said.
Earlier in the day, Johnson, who pledged to leave the European Union with or without a withdrawal deal by October 31, was elected new Conservative party leader.
According to Cobb, finalizing Brexit by October 31 is a “tough task” but it is still possible to accomplish it if the sides manage to overcome the major sticking points.
“I think he [Johnson] will play for an expanded and more palatable version of the [Brexit] deal, which is the best outcome – a no deal walk-away is in no ones real interest but if needed, yes I think he would walk,” he stressed.
Last week, the House of Commons, the lower house of the UK parliament, approved amendments to make it harder for the government to suspend the parliament as part of an effort to force through a no-deal exit from the European Union.
Earlier in July, Johnson refused to take the possibility of proroguing the parliament off the table.
