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.

One of the several measures Johnson's team has been cooking up is the creation of new national public holidays. Conservative MP Dominic Grieve, an anti-Brexit rebel, tabled an amendment that theoretically forces Parliament to sit if the government suspends Parliament specifically with the goal of forcing through a no-deal Brexit, which appears to be the case here, even if it's not the official government line. But the amendment states that Parliament would not have to sit on a holiday. Johnson's government was reportedly considering asking the queen to create a new one — which is allowed thanks to a 1971 law — to prevent Parliament from regrouping.

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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.

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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.