Boris Johnson reportedly might attack Parliament with a slew of national holidays

Palace of Westminster.
(Image credit: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)

Suspending Parliament might just be the beginning.

Buzzfeed News reports that U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his aides have been crafting a "meticulously constructed" strategy to stave off any attempts by rebel MPs to block a no-deal Brexit. Queen Elizabeth II granted Johnson's request Wednesday to end the current session of Parliament, preventing members from meeting until mid-October, and therefore giving them little time to try to prevent the U.K. from leaving the European Union without an agreement.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Meanwhile, Buzzfeed reports that the opposition's best chance at upending Johnson's strategy is to hold, and win, a no confidence vote. Downing Street reportedly considers a potential vote the "moment of maximum danger," but in doing so, the rebels could also risk "being checkmated immediately" if they lose. No. 10 reportedly feels confident Johnson would survive such a vote, but he could also theoretically refuse to resign, call for elections and dissolve parliament, forcing the U.K. to leave the EU without a deal, anyway. Read more about Johnson's strategy at Buzzfeed News.

Explore More
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.