After suffering a bruising Brexit defeat in Parliament, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday demanded a snap election on Oct. 15 if lawmakers vote against him again and force him to seek a three-month extension from the European Union.
“I will never allow that,” said Johnson, who called the draft law a “surrender bill.”
The Conservative leader insists that his threat to take Britain out of the EU — with or without a divorce deal — on Oct. 31 will eventually force the bloc’s 27 other leaders to agree to better terms.
But Johnson’s critics argue that he is playing with fire because of the economic damage such a breakup could cause after almost a half-century of close ties with the UK’s closest neighbors.
On Wednesday, the European Commission also said the risk of a no-deal Brexit had increased — warning that it saw no alternative to the current withdrawal deal.
Johnson lost his wafer-thin majority on Tuesday, when an alliance of opposition lawmakers backed by 21 rebels from his Conservative Party joined opposition MPs in voting against a no-deal departure.
Johnson cast the rebellion as an attempt to surrender to the EU, promised never to delay Brexit beyond Oct. 31 and challenged opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to agree to an Oct. 15 election.
“Can I invite the leader of the opposition to confirm, when he stands up shortly, that if that surrender bill is passed, he will allow the people of this country to have their view on what he is proposing to hand over in their name with an election on October the 15th,” Johnson told Parliament.
However, Johnson’s bid for an election is set to be initially thwarted because a parliamentary majority of two-thirds is required to hold an early general election.
This means the government would need the support of the main opposition Labour Party, which fears that Johnson might go back on his word and reschedule the polls until after the Oct. 31 deadline to make sure Britain leaves the bloc.
“When he says we are going to have an election on October 15, nobody believes him because the levels of trust in Boris Johnson are very, very low,” Labour’s Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer told ITV.
“So we’re not going to be voting with Johnson today. We want a general election, but we’re not dancing to his tune,” he added.
In a bit of positive news for Johnson, meanwhile, a judge in Scotland has rejected a bid to have the prime minister’s plan to shut down Parliament ahead of Brexit declared illegal.
The developments have left Johnson’s six-week-old government in complete disarray.
It lost its working majority in Parliament on Tuesday after one of its MPs, Phillip Lee, switched to the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats. It then expelled 21 MPs from the Conservative Party for voting against the government a few hours later.
The Conservative rebels backed an opposition motion temporarily allowing Parliament to decide what legislation is put up for a vote — a power traditionally held by the government.
Meanwhile, the EU warned businesses and people likely to be hit by Brexit to make sure they are prepared for the possibility that Britain might leave the bloc without an agreement.
The EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, released a checklist for companies to use to help minimize likely disruptions to trade after Britain departs on Oct. 31.
EU funds set up to respond to natural disasters and help people whose jobs are hit by major changes in world trade should be used to help businesses, workers and countries hardest hit by any no-deal, the commission said.
With Post wires