Thousands take to the streets to tell Johnson where to stick it

Protest in London against Johnson


Support us and go ad-free

Thousands of people have taken to the streets across the UK to protest against Boris Johnson and his right-wing government’s attack on democracy.

Stop the coup!

On 28 August, Johnson asked the queen to suspend parliament. Now, as we hurtle towards the Brexit deadline on 31 October, MPs only have two short windows to either secure a Brexit deal or to pass a new one. The process of ending a parliamentary session is formally called proroguing parliament.

Critics, including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, believe it’s an attempt to force through a no-deal Brexit. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has described it as a “coup”.

Protests were called across the country for Saturday 31 August to “Defend democracy. Resist the parliament shutdown”. These protests were called because: “we can’t just rely on the courts or parliamentary process to save the day”.

So on 31 August, thousands of people gathered in London:

Speakers included Labour’s Diane Abbott:

Dawn Butler and Barry Gardiner also spoke out:

With an aim to cause as much disruption as possible, some people also blocked Westminster Bridge:

“Smash and grab raid on our democracy”

Corbyn, meanwhile, thanked those who protested in Glasgow and criticised Johnson’s “smash and grab raid on our democracy”:

And protests took place around the country:

We’re not even a week into Johnson’s disgusting attack on democracy, but the people are rising, revolting, and long may that continue. One thing’s for sure if we want to stop Johnson, these protests need to be louder and more disruptive than ever before.

Featured image via screengrab

Support us and go ad-free

We know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support

The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.

The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.

So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.

Support us
  • Show Comments

    4. I think this was the “Plan” even before the 2016 Referendum so I don”t see it as a smash, and grab.
      This has been well thought out with support from the Trump Regime Change People I’d say even before Trump was elected.
      Imagine a coup of a democracy who is unaware it’s happening.
      The Americans do it on the sly all the time, and now is turning upon an ally.
      This beginning of a revolution against these crazy power schemers will be really interesting to watch.
      A new door has been opened for us to walk through by the Tory suspension of Parliament, and Winner Takes All mentality.
      The Monarchy will never have any credibility after this.
      Everywhere in the Commonwealth who has a representive of the Queen will come under the question of “We need a different way to preserve our noble aspirations, and intellect from corrosive partisian politics.

      Report comment

    Leave a Reply

    Join the conversation

    Please read our comment moderation policy here.

Related articles