Shutting down Parliament would be an act of cowardice. Boris Johnson knows the people wouldn’t choose No Deal and that our elected representatives wouldn’t allow it. He is trying to stifle their voices.

A key plank of the Leave campaign was to ‘bring power back to Parliament’. But an unelected Prime Minster is now threatening to stop our democratically elected MPs from meeting.

Brexit continues to be a distraction while this unelected government continues on a path which has cut funding for schools in York, with many having to lay off teaching staff, while knife crime is beginning to soar across the country partially in response to cuts in social services.

The uncertainty caused by Brexit is proving disastrous for our economy: investment in our companies is low, Yorkshire farmers don’t know what market they may have for the spring’s lambs, and anyone going on holiday will have noticed the collapse of the pound. A No Deal Brexit would be a catastrophe. It’s not too late to turn back.

James Blanchard

Curzon Terrace, York

Constitutional outrage that takes away control

So Boris Johnson plans to prorogue Parliament to prevent it discussing Brexit and determining what we should be doing.

One of the major claims for Brexit was that it was intended to bring back control. This move will remove control from Parliament to an unelected Prime Minister, selected by a mere 140,000 members of the Conservative Party.

If this goes ahead we will have a Parliament unable to hold a Prime Minister to account for all but one week of his first eleven weeks in office: a constitutional outrage.

Tom Franklin,

Chair York Green Party,

Frazer Court, York