Britain’s leader Boris Johnson flew home early from New York to face a re-opened Parliament Wednesday — and was met with a raucous chorus of “Resign!” from rival politicians.
The prime minister was repeatedly jeered in the house, having raced back from the UN General Assembly after a court ruled that his five-week suspension of Parliament amid a looming Brexit deadline was “unlawful.”
“After yesterday’s ruling … the prime minister should have done the honorable thing and resigned,” opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn declared amid loud shouts of “resign!”
“Quite frankly, for the good of this country, he should go,” Corbyn said to another chorus of cheers.
But Johnson remained defiant, insisting he was “confident” he would get a new divorce agreement to pull Britain out of the European Union by the end of October as he has promised.
He attacked his “zombie” rivals — and goaded them to declare “no confidence” in him to force a general election.
“This parliament must either stand aside and let this government get Brexit done, or bring a vote of confidence and finally face the day of reckoning of the voters,” he said.
Johnson attacked rival politicians who “thumb their noses at the 17.4 million who voted to leave” by blocking a quick exit.
He even questioned whether Corbyn really wanted to take over as prime minister, saying his party voted down an election because its members “recoil at the idea of him negotiating on the people’s behalf.”
“The electorate are being held captive by this zombie Parliament and this zombie opposition,” he said.
“Let’s get Brexit done and let’s take this country forward.”
Johnson’s suspension of Parliament came as other lawmakers — including many members of his own Conservative Party — passed a law that would force him to seek an extension on Brexit if he can’t secure an exit agreement with the EU by mid-October.
He has already twice failed to force a snap election.