LONDON (AP) — The leader of the U.K.’s opposition Labour Party told fellow lawmakers Tuesday that he’ll back an early election for Britain now that the prospect of crashing out of the European Union without a deal has been taken off the table.
The move by Jeremy Corbyn pushes the country closer to its first December election since 1923. Corbyn’s remarks came only hours before Prime Minister Boris Johnson was set to ask lawmakers for a fourth time to approve an early election, saying voters must have the chance to break the Brexit deadlock in Parliament.
In an effort to blunt opposition to an early vote, the government said Monday it would delay further consideration of the EU divorce deal until after the election, which the government wants to hold on Dec. 12.
Voted down three times
The British prime minister said last week he will give MPs more time to debate his Brexit deal if they agree to a December 12 general election.
-The way to get Brexit done is to, I think, be reasonable with parliament … if they genuinely want more time to study this excellent deal they can have it but they have to agree to a general election on December 12,” Boris Johnson told TV broadcasters in an interview. “It is time, frankly, that the opposition summon up the nerve to submit themselves to the judgment of our collective boss, which is the people of the U.K.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was headed for a showdown Tuesday with lawmakers who want to put the brakes on his drive to push his European Union divorce bill through the House of Commons in just three days and take Britain out of the bloc by Oct. 31.
A general election
Johnson said that if Parliament imposes a longer timetable, he will withdraw the bill and call a vote on holding a snap general election — a threat aimed at breaking the political deadlock over Brexit that has dragged on for more than three years since British voters opted to leave the EU. IIf the bill doesn’t pass and Britain leaves the EU without a deal, there will be no transition period, uncertainty for millions of citizens and a host of new tariffs, customs checks and other barriers to trade on Day 1. Most economists say that would send unemployment rising, the value of the pound plummeting and plunge the U.K. into recession.
Turn the Page
Johnson said backing the bill would allow lawmakers to «turn the page and allow this Parliament and this country to begin to heal and unite.» The Brexit deal sets out the terms of Britain’s departure, including measures to maintain an open border between the U.K.’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland. It also enshrines the right of U.K. and EU citizens living in the other’s territory to continue with their lives, and sets out the multibillion pound (dollar) payments Britain must make to meet its financial obligations to the EU.
Brexit Deadline
The government says such major amendments would wreck its legislation, and it will withdraw the bill if the opposition plan succeeds. With the Brexit deadline looming and British politicians still squabbling over the country’s departure terms, Johnson has been forced to ask the EU for a three-month delay to Britain’s departure date.
Postphone Brexit
He did that, grudgingly, to comply with a law passed by Parliament ordering the government to postpone Brexit rather than risk the economic damage that could come from a no-deal exit. European Council President Donald Tusk said Tuesday that EU leaders «will decide in coming days» whether to grant Britain that extension — what would be the third, writes Associated Press.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking in the House of Commons, London during the debate for the European Union Withdrawal Agreement Bill: Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s European Union divorce bill faces two votes Tuesday, with lawmakers first being asked to approve it in principle, followed by a vote on the government’s schedule for debate and possible amendments, writes Associated Press.
Brexit Summary
Britain and the European Union said Thursday that they have struck an outline Brexit deal after days of intense see-saw negotiations — though it must still be formally approved by the bloc and ratified by the European and U.K. Parliaments.
EU parliament experts to assess vote Monday , writes Associated Press saturday. Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg says the government will seek a debate Monday on its Brexit-implementing legislation that would effectively be a vote to approve the deal, according to Associated Press.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pressed ahead Sunday with plans to try to win parliamentary backing for his new Brexit deal even as the European Union began considering his grudging request to extend the looming Brexit deadline, reports Associated Press from Londo
Scottish National Party legislator Joanna Cherry, part of a group that brought the earlier successful case against Johnson, said the legal battle over Brexit continues. «We’re back in court on Monday morning and it will be possible then to secure the court’s assistance if the prime minister has flouted the law and the promises he gave to the court,» she said according to Ap.
Hours before a summit of all 28 EU national leaders, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker tweeted: «We have one! It’s a fair and balanced agreement for the EU and the UK and it is testament to our commitment to find solutions.
Great New Deal
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted that the two sides had struck a «great new deal» and urged U.K. lawmakers to ratify it in a special session on Saturday The breakthrough came just hours after Johnson’s Northern Irish government allies threw a spanner in the works by saying they couldn’t support the draft agreement because of provisions for the Irish border.
The prime minister needs all the support he can get to push any deal past a deeply divided Parliament. It only added to the high anxiety that reigned on Thursday morning, as the last outstanding issues of the divorce papers were hammered out.
Technical negotiators again went into the night Wednesday to fine-tune customs and sales tax regulations that will have to regulate trade in goods between the Northern Ireland and Ireland — where the U.K. and the EU share their only land border.
After months of gloom over the stalled Brexit process, European leaders have sounded upbeat this week. French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that «I want to believe that a deal is being finalized,» while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said negotiations were «in the final stretch.»
Corbin voted for Johnsons proposal
Johnson — who took office in July vowing Britain would finally leave the EU on Oct. 31, come what may — was slightly more cautious. He likened Brexit to climbing Mount Everest, saying the summit was in sight, though still shrouded in cloud.
Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party added to those clouds early Thursday. DUP leader Arlene Foster and the party’s parliamentary chief Nigel Dodds said they «could not support what is being suggested on customs and consent issues,» referring to a say the Northern Irish authorities might have in future developments.
Both the customs and consent arrangements are key to guaranteeing an open border between the U.K.’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland — the main obstacle to a Brexit deal. Foster and Dodds said they would continue to work with the U.K. government to get a «sensible» deal. The problem is that the closer Johnson aligns himself with the DUP, the further he removes himself from the EU, leaving him walking a political tightrope, reports Associated Press.
