England

Campaigner Miller's court attempt to stop UK parliament suspension to be heard Sept. 5

LONDON (Reuters) - Legal campaigner Gina Miller’s attempt to block Prime Minister Boris Johnson from suspending Britain’s parliament for more than a month before Brexit will be heard by a court on Sept. 5.

Former Prime Minister John Major has also applied to be part of the case.

“Court hearing re @BorisJohnson proroguing Parliament will be heard next Thursday 5th September. I will be adjoined by Sir John Major,” Miller tweeted.

Miller successfully challenged the government in 2017 over its authority to leave the EU without a vote in parliament.

UK-EU talks on Brexit to be stepped up

LONDON (AP) — The Latest on Brexit (all times local):

10:30 p.m.

Britain will be stepping up its technical meetings with European Union negotiators as the nation tries to secure a deal to leave the trading bloc.

Downing Street says in a statement its team of Brexit negotiators will meet with their EU counterparts twice a week throughout September, with the possibility of additional technical meetings. Two meetings are set to take place next week.

UK government dares Brexit opponents: Change the law or change the government

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government on Thursday dared lawmakers who want to stop a no-deal Brexit: change the law or change the government if you want to stop Britain leaving the European Union on Oct. 31.

Britain is weeks away from leaving the EU but has yet to secure a deal with Brussels to soften the impact of breaking away from its biggest trading partner. Johnson says he wants a deal, but will leave without one if necessary.

Queen did not challenge suspension of UK parliament: Rees-Mogg

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Queen Elizabeth did not question the government’s request to suspend parliament for over a month ahead of Brexit, House of Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said on Thursday.

“The queen, her majesty, had no discretion over this. There is no precedent for the queen refusing a request by her prime minister under these circumstances,” Rees-Mogg told the BBC.

He denied a suggestion that moving to suspend parliament had put the monarch, who by convention avoids any involvement in politics, in an awkward position.

UK’s Johnson moves to suspend Parliament ahead of Brexit

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson maneuvered Wednesday to give his political opponents even less time to block a chaotic no-deal Brexit before the Oct. 31 withdrawal deadline, winning Queen Elizabeth II’s approval to suspend Parliament. His critics were outraged.

Though Johnson previously had refused to rule out such a move, the timing of the decision took lawmakers — many of whom are on vacation — by surprise.

UK's Johnson plans to restrict parliament time before Brexit

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will limit parliament’s opportunity to derail his Brexit plans by announcing his new legislative agenda on Oct. 14 - his boldest move yet in the push to take the country out of the European Union on Oct. 31.

A government source said Johnson, who has vowed to take Britain out of the EU without a divorce deal if necessary, plans to set an Oct. 14 date for the Queen’s Speech - the formal state opening of a new session of parliament.

UK opposition parties join forces in new bid to block No-Deal Brexit

LONDON, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Political opposition leaders at Westminster held their first joint meeting in London Tuesday, aiming at finding a way of stopping Prime Minister from taking Britain out of the European Union without a deal.

The meeting, chaired by main opposition leader, Labour's Jeremy Corbyn, was also attended by the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), Liberal Democrats, Greens and Plaid Cymru, the Party of Wales.

UK's Corbyn offers to work with Conservative lawmakers to stop no-deal Brexit

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has written to 116 Conservative and independent lawmakers who have voted against a no-deal Brexit to offer to work together to find a practical way to prevent such an outcome.

Recipients of the letter include several former government ministers, such as Theresa May, Philip Hammond and Greg Clark, the Labour Party said on Tuesday.

Oil up 1% as hopes grow for U.S.-China trade breakthrough

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose more than 1% on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump predicted a trade deal with China following positive comments by Beijing, calming concerns raised by an earlier round of tit-for-tat tariff hikes.

Brent crude LCOc1 was up 61 cents, or 1.04%, at $59.31 a barrel by 1405 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 were up 70 cents, or 1.3%, at $54.34.

British opposition parties unite to try to force PM to seek Brexit delay

LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Opposition parties said they would try to pass a law which would force Prime Minister Boris Johnson to seek a delay to Britain’s departure from the European Union and prevent a potentially chaotic no-deal exit at the end of October.

The United Kingdom is heading towards a constitutional crisis at home and a showdown with the EU as Johnson has pledged to leave the bloc in 66 days without a deal unless Brussels agrees to renegotiate the Brexit divorce.

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