Prime Minister Boris Johnson is pushing ahead with a plan to suspend the UK Parliament to force through Brexit.

The decision, which Queen Elizabeth II approved on Wednesday, is political dynamite.

Opponents accused him of overriding the UK's democratic norms.

However, others suspect this could all be an elaborate bluff designed to cement Johnson in power before a snap general election.

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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday confirmed his long-rumored plan to shut down the houses of Parliament as part of what opponents believe is an attempt to force through Brexit.

The request, which Queen Elizabeth II agreed to as part of the UK's antiquated constitution, is political dynamite and has drawn condemnation from members of Parliament across the House of Commons, including within Johnson's own party.

House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said it was a "constitutional outrage," while Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon compared it to the actions of a dictatorship.

Read more: The Queen agrees to Boris Johnson's request to shut down Parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit

So is Johnson really planning to overturn democracy in Britain, or is this all part of a plan to outmaneuver his opponents and cement his place in power?

Johnson has promised to deliver Brexit, 'do or die'

The UK's planned exit from the European Union has twice been delayed after MPs refused to ratify the Withdrawal Agreement that former Prime Minister Theresa May had with European leaders.

Johnson, who helped lead the campaign for Brexit in 2016, won the contest to replace May largely on his promise to push the UK's exit through by the end of October "do or die," even if it means leaving without a deal.

The problem for Johnson is that he inherited a minority government from May, meaning he has only two real means of fulfilling this promise.

The first is to negotiate and then pass a new agreement with the EU in a matter of weeks. The second is to simply run down the clock until the end of the latest Brexit extension, on October 31, and allow the UK to leave without a deal.

The first of these options is unlikely. There is little time left to agree to a new deal with the EU and little willingness on European leaders' part to agree to Johnson's demands to rip up the controversial Northern Ireland backstop element of the deal. Even if both sides were to come to a new agreement, Johnson's minority government would almost certainly fail to pass it through Parliament, just like May's government before him.

This then leaves Johnson only one real option: a no-deal Brexit. However, MPs have repeatedly voted against the principle of leaving the EU without a deal and plan to pass legislation early next month that could, in theory, prevent Johnson from going ahead with it.

Johnson's decision to push ahead with suspending Parliament is therefore the clearest signal yet that he intends to follow through on his promise to leave the EU on October 31 with or without a deal.

But is this all really a bluff designed to win a general election?

The Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Johnson. Getty

There is an alternative theory that Johnson's actions are really a deliberate bluff designed to trap his opponents. Under this theory, the prime minister's threats to push through a no-deal Brexit are actually designed to goad MPs into blocking the UK's exit at the end of October.

When May was prime minister, her opponents felt confident in rejecting her deal with the EU because they never really believed her threats to take the UK out of the EU without one.

By making it clear that he really will leave the EU with or without a deal, Johnson could be deliberately making it more likely that MPs will take the dramatic steps required to stop him. Whether it's passing legislation to block Brexit or holding a vote of no confidence in his government. Johnson could be trying to trap MPs into taking the blame for stopping a no-deal Brexit that he secretly doesn't want to go ahead with anyway.

Not only would this plan prevent a chaotic exit from the EU for which he would otherwise be blamed, but it would be the perfect pretense for launching a snap general election, which Johnson plans to fight on the platform of what insiders describe as being the prime minister for the "people versus the politicians."

That this could be Johnson's real plan was made clear by campaign ads launched by the Conservative Party this week accusing opposition-party leaders of "plotting to cancel the votes of 17.4 million people" who voted for Brexit.

If this is Johnson's plan, then it could already be working. Both the Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and the Liberal Democrats leader, Jo Swinson, on Wednesday demanded meetings with Queen Elizabeth to prevent the suspension of Parliament.

Read more: Jeremy Corbyn requests urgent meeting with the Queen to demand she blocks Boris Johnson's Brexit plan to shut down Parliament

Can a no-deal Brexit still be stopped?

Johnson addressing Parliament. Getty

While Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament will limit the opportunities for MPs to block a no-deal Brexit on October 31, it does not eradicate them.

Next week, Johnson's opponents plan to work with Bercow to introduce legislation that could force Johnson to seek another extension to the Article 5o process.

Passing such legislation would be difficult, and Johnson would likely attempt to call a general election before that. However, even if it were successful, it would merely prolong the impasse rather than end it.

Despite the outrage at Johnson's decision on Wednesday, the fact remains that MPs have had over three years to resolve Brexit — and have so far gotten nowhere.

Delaying Brexit would therefore merely prolong what is in reality a simple, binary choice.

If MPs don't want a no-deal Brexit, they can either pass a Brexit deal or revoke Article 50 and cancel the whole project. So far, they have demonstrated opposition to both of these outcomes. The longer they seek to delay that decision, the greater the chance that Johnson takes it out of their hands.