Brexit pangs
Brexit, once hailed as a grand natural experiment for economists to dissect the repercussions of leaving a low-friction trade environment, has proven messier than anticipated.
British lawmakers on Wednesday voted in favour of a bill to stop a no-deal Brexit at the end of October, a second heavy blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson in two days.
The bill was passed in its final reading in the House of Commons by 327 votes to 299.
There were claims pro-Brexit peers could deliberately hold up the bill so it could not get royal assent before Parliament is prorogued next week, the BBC reported.
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Downing Street said that the prime minister will deliver an address later setting out the “vital choice that faces our country”.
“It is clear the only action is to go back to the people and give them the opportunity to decide what they want, Boris to go to Brussels and get a deal, or leave without one on 31 October or Jeremy Corbyn arriving in Brussels with his surrender bill begging for more delay, more dither and accepting whatever terms Brussels imposes over our nation,” the spokesperson said, the BBC reported.
Johnson’s address comes after the Conservative chief whip in the Lords announced a breakthrough on the bill in the early hours after talks with Labour.
On Wednesday, Johnson suffered a massive defeat in his parliamentary majority, ahead of a crucial vote sought by a group of MPs opposing his “no-deal” Brexit.
In July this year, Johnson, who succeeded Theresa May as Prime Minister, had a working majority of just one in the 650-member House of Commons, but even lost that as a party MP Philip Lee defected to the Liberal Democrats.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn previously said his party required the bill to gain royal assent before it would consider backing Johnson’s call for a general election.
The bill, presented by Labour MP Hilary Benn, said that the prime minister will have until 19 October to either pass a deal in Parliament or get MPs to approve a no-deal Brexit.
The bill also requires ministers to report to the House of Commons over the next few months. potentially providing more opportunities to take control of the timetable.
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