Johnson Again Bids for Snap Poll as Brexit Delay Bill To Become Law

By Staff, Reuters

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will try for a second time on Monday to call a snap election, but is set to be thwarted once more by opposition lawmakers who want to ensure he cannot take Britain out of the European Union without a divorce agreement.

With no majority in parliament, which is determined to prevent what many businesses fear would be a calamitous way to quit the EU, Johnson wants to hold an election to keep his promise of leaving by Oct. 31, with or without an agreement.

On Monday, a bill is due to become law that would force him to seek a three-month extension to that deadline unless parliament has either approved a deal or consented by Oct. 19 to leave without one.

That has prompted Johnson, who has said he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than request such an extension, to ask for an election on Oct. 15.

He will put forward a motion in parliament on Monday to propose this, but it would require the support of two-thirds of lawmakers - and opposition parties have said they will not agree to an election until a ‘no-deal’ exit is ruled out.

This means that, three years after Britain voted to leave the EU, there is deep uncertainty about how the Brexit dilemma will play out what it will mean for the world’s fifth-largest economy and its people and politics.