There was a feeling of outrage and anger in Midsomer Norton High Street on Thursday evening, as members of the public joined demonstrators from all political parties to protest against the Government’s suspension of Parliament.

Among other speakers, the North East Somerset Labour Party’s Parliamentary candidate, Mark Huband, told the crowd: “This is not about Remain or Leave and EU membership – this is about the future of our democracy. The Government has taken this outrageous step, because it wants to shut down debate and push through a No Deal Brexit, for which it has no mandate and which it knows most MPs oppose."

A young woman told the local Labour Party representative: “I was under-age at the European Referendum and could not vote on an issue that will affect me for years. Since then, my Prime Minister has not been elected by the British people, Parliament has been side-stepped, and now I feel that my voice is being totally ignored.”

Others noted that the undermining of the UK’s system of parliamentary democracy set a dangerous precedent, with one resident holding a sign that read, “This is how dictatorships begin.” There was also anger at Jacob Rees-Mogg’s earlier dismissal of protests against prorogation as “confected”.

Labour candidate, Mark Huband, added: “Johnson used the sacrosanct sovereignty of our Parliament as an argument to leave Europe, at a time when leaving without a deal was not presented as a serious possibility. Now he has turned his back on our Parliament’s sovereignty in a grab for power, to avoid Parliament holding him to account for the consequences of leaving the EU without a deal.”