The struggle in parliament is about far more than Brexit. It is about protecting the very heart of democracy itself from a dangerous authoritarian demagoguery that threatens the entire planet.

Boris Johnson’s regime seems to be openly at war with planet earth. When Green Party MP Caroline Lucas challenged the prime minister to distance Britain from Brazilian leader Bolsonaro due to his “acceleration” of the devastating fires in the Amazon, Boris refused to rule out a trade deal with Brazil.

Johnson’s intransigence is no surprise. The parliamentary Science and Technology Select Committee has warned that precisely due to the Conservative government’s own policies, Britain is on course to miss its own legally-binding target for net-zero emissions by 2050.

Meanwhile, industry trade body Oil and Gas UK has just called for oil and gas production to continue at maximum levels. British investment giant Schroders warns that such a scenario, if pursued worldwide, could lead global average temperatures to rise by as much as 8 degrees Celsius within 80 years – creating a catastrophically uninhabitable planet.

But Johnson’s government is, in my view, the least willing to take any action against climate change. Apart from Johnson himself, both his environment minister Theresa Villiers and his business secretary Andrea Leadsom have previously supported the ramping up of shale gas fracking.

Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating Show all 22 1 /22 Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 03: Icebergs float jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord in a bank of fog during a week of unseasonably warm weather on August 3, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: In this aerial view meltwater forms a lake on an iceberg in the Ilulissat Icefjord on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: In this aerial view ice floats jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: An iceberg looms behind a boat carrying tourists at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Visitors look out onto free-floating ice jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: In this aerial view melting ice forms a lake on free-floating ice jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: A boat carrying tourists motors past an iceberg at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Free-floating ice floats jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: Humpback whales spout water as they swim next to an iceberg in the Ilulissat Icefjord on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: Icebergs and ice float in the Ilulissat Icefjord on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 31: Tourists on an excursion boat photograph an iceberg during unseasonably warm weather on July 31, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Inuit fishermen prepare a net as free-floating ice floats behind at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Water drips from ice in the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: An iceberg floats in Disko Bay behind houses during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 in Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: In this aerial view melting ice forms a lake on free-floating ice jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: In this view from an airplane rivers of meltwater carve into the Greenland ice sheet near Sermeq Avangnardleq glacier on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Visitors walk among free-floating ice jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 03: Whales swim among icebergs jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during a week of unseasonably warm weather on August 3, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe also reached Greenland earlier this week. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: In this view from an airplane icebergs float in Disko Bay at sunset on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Flowers stand on a hillside at the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 03: A massive iceberg floating in the Ilulissat Icefjord peeks through a bank of fog during a week of unseasonably warm weather on August 3, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) ***BESTPIX*** Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: In this view from an airplane humpback whales swim next to an iceberg at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images

That is because I believe they do not represent the British people by any stretch of the imagination.

On the contrary, many in the cabinet have ties to the notorious Tufton Street network of hard-right lobbyists, revolving around entities like the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) – which I would suggest is working hard to subjugate Britain’s economy into a vassal state for US corporate interests tied to Trump.

From the neoconservative Atlas Network (a group of fundamentalist free-market think tanks), to Big Oil actors like the Koch empire and ExxonMobil (among the world’s biggest funders of climate science denial), the interests pulling the strings of the Brexit lobby want to break up the EU to pave the way for the invasion of unfettered American capital.

Both the Trump election and the Brexit referendum were effectively stolen by this interlocking of finance, arms, and fossil fuels run largely by unaccountable white men. Many argued that the campaigns were characterised by racist and Islamophobic xenophobia as their principal weapon of control, as well as digital and psychological manipulation.

In this context, Johnson’s racist comments regarding Muslim women appeal to the basest of instincts, just like when Nigel Farage stood in front of his infamously fraudulent anti-migrant Brexit poster.

Johnson is the man who secretly sought advice from Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, as part of the latter’s bid to build a pan-European alliance of far-right xenophobes. Johnson’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, believes that genetics are more important than teaching when it comes to schooling. His head of digital, Chloe Westley, was not only a “Young Influencer’”at Turning Point UK (whose US originators have a consistent history of racism), she also once described as a "hero" For Britain party chief Anne Marie Waters – a far-right ideologue with direct ties to the racial separatist group Generation Identity.

And so the vision that Boris and his clique represent is plain (for some of us) to see. They appear to be unabashed authoritarians, and their grand scheme consists of austerity for the poor, welfare for the wealthy and marginalisation for minorities.

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In the face of this onslaught, the most pivotal institution of British democracy, parliament, has offered a valiant last stand. For all that might be said of the problems and limitations of one of the oldest continuous representative assemblies in the world, this embattled institution has, so far, successfully fended off Johnson’s attempted crackdown on the upsurge of dissent from across the political spectrum, including from within his own party.

No one can say that democracy is dead. But the fight is not yet won. If we are to save ourselves and our planet, we must strengthen and protect the core institutions of democracy against those who wish to undermine it for their own gain.