LONDON, Sept 10, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Beleaguered British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson vowed to continue with his attempts to strike a new Brexit deal with
Brussels, after losing yet another parliamentary vote on Tuesday to hold an
early election.
Johnson slammed the opposition for voting against his call for a snap poll
next month, in the final minutes of a late-night debate ahead of a
controversial five-week suspension of parliament called by the prime
minister.
He said he would “strive to get an agreement” at a summit in Brussels next
month.
“While the opposition run from their duty to answer to those who put us
here, they cannot hide forever,” he said.
“The moment will come when the people will finally get their chance to
deliver their verdict.”
It was a final show of defiance in a stormy parliamentary session in which
Johnson also lost a separate vote, calling on the government to publish
confidential papers about the potential impact of a no-deal Brexit.
The opposition has said it will not allow an early election, which under
British law requires a two-thirds majority in parliament in favour, until
Johnson has either struck a deal or delayed Brexit beyond October 31.
The prime minister insisted he would not delay, despite a bill being
rushed through parliament in the past few days that could force him to do so
if he fails to reach an agreement with the EU.
“This government will not delay Brexit any further,” he insisted.
– MPs’ angry protests –
In a further sign of the political turmoil, House of Commons Speaker John
Bercow, who has championed the rights of MPs to challenge the government,
announced he was stepping down.
In exceptional scenes as the parliament shut down for five weeks,
opposition Labour MPs waved signs reading “silenced”, while one tried to
restrain the speaker to prevent him leaving for the suspension ceremony.
Opposition MPs jeered and chanted “shame on you” as government MPs left
the chamber, while Bercow, in protest, called the suspension “an act of
executive fiat”.
Johnson took office in July promising to deliver on the 2016 referendum
vote for Brexit, even if that means leaving without exit terms agreed with
Brussels.
But many MPs have rejected a no deal divorce and supported new legislation
forcing Johnson to request a three-month delay if he fails to strike a deal.
His last chance to reach an agreement is at the two-day EU summit starting
on October 17.
Some commentators have said Johnson may be forced to resign if he does not
want to make the delay request. Ministers have also hinted at a potential
legal challenge against the law.
– Degrading parliament –
Britons voted in 2016 to leave the EU, but after three years of political
wrangling, parliament still cannot decide how to implement that decision.
Johnson says he wants to revise the deal agreed by his predecessor,
Theresa May, which MPs rejected, but says this requires keeping open the
option of walking away.
His wafer-thin majority in the Commons vanished last week when he expelled
21 of his own Conservative MPs for voting with Labour on the anti-no deal
legislation.
The bill — which became law on Monday — would force Johnson to delay
Brexit to January or even later if he cannot get a deal with Brussels.
The bill’s passage through parliament prompted anger from the government.
But Bercow, accused by eurosceptics of being biased against Brexit, warned
the government that it could not now ignore parliament as he announced that
he will step down on October 31.
“We degrade this parliament at our peril,” he warned lawmakers, to a
sustained ovation from largely opposition MPs.
– ‘Significant gaps remain’ –
Johnson had earlier visited Dublin for talks with his Irish counterpart Leo
Varadkar, a key player in the search for a Brexit deal.
MPs rejected the current agreement three times earlier this year, in large
part because of its provisions to keep open the border between British
Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.
Johnson wants to scrap the so-called “backstop” plan, which would keep
Britain aligned to EU trade rules long after Brexit, to avoid any checks at
the frontier.
But the EU accuses him of offering no alternative.
“Common ground was established in some areas although significant gaps
remain,” Johnson and Varadkar said in a joint statement following their
talks.