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October 23, 2019

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Johnson threatens poll over Brexit bill snag

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament yesterday that if it delayed his Brexit legislation he would abandon his attempt to ratify the deal to leave the European Union and push for an election instead.

As the clock ticks down to the latest October 31 deadline for Britain’s departure, Brexit is hanging in the balance as a divided parliament debates when, how and even whether it should happen.

After he was forced by opponents into the humiliation of asking the EU for a delay that he had vowed he would never seek, Johnson is battling to ram legislation through the House of Commons that will enact his last-minute Brexit deal.

In yet another day of high drama, lawmakers were due to vote early this morning (China time) on the 115-page Withdrawal Agreement Bill and then vote on the government’s extremely tight timetable for approving the legislation.

Johnson cautioned parliament that if it delayed Brexit again by defeating his timetable then he would pull the legislation and push for an election which he would fight under the slogan of “Get Brexit Done.”

“The bill will have to be pulled,” Johnson said when asked what he would do if parliament defeated him.

“We will have to go forward to a general election.”

The prime minister would need to win a vote to trigger an early election because one is not scheduled until 2022.

Defeat in either of yesterday’s votes in parliament would scupper Johnson’s plans to leave the EU on October 31. He would have to decide whether to abide by a law that demands he accept any Brexit delay offered by the EU or somehow leave without a deal.

Victory, an imperfect indicator of support for Johnson’s deal, would give opponents in parliament another chance to ambush the government with amendments that could wreck Johnson’s plans by demanding a much closer post-Brexit relationship with the EU.

Johnson said the best way to avoid a no-deal Brexit would be to approve his Brexit legislation, adding that the country was tired of the discussion in parliament.

More than three years since the United Kingdom voted 52 percent to 48 percent to leave the European Union, the Brexit crisis is straining Britain’s political and constitutional system to the breaking point.

Johnson confounded his opponents by winning a Brexit deal from the EU on Thursday, although he was forced by his opponents — reluctantly and with a mere unsigned photocopy — to ask for a Brexit delay on Saturday. House of Commons speaker John Bercow refused a vote on his deal on Monday.

If Johnson is defeated in parliament, much will depend on how the EU plays yet another Brexit quandary.

European Council President Donald Tusk said he was discussing the request for a Brexit delay with the leaders of the other 27 member states and would make a decision “in the coming days.”

“I have no doubt that we should treat the British request for an extension in all seriousness,” Tusk told lawmakers in the European Union parliament.




 

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