LONDON, Oct 30, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – British MPs on Tuesday agreed to hold an
early election on December 12, backing Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call to
try to break the crippling political deadlock that has seen Brexit delayed
three times.
Hours after the EU formally agreed to postpone Britain’s departure again,
up to the end of January, lawmakers voted for the country’s third election in
four years.
It is a gamble for Johnson, who leads a minority Conservative government,
but he had nowhere left to turn after MPs rejected the Brexit terms he struck
with Brussels less than two weeks ago.
His Conservatives are currently well ahead of the opposition Labour party
in opinion polls, and he hopes to win a majority in the lower House of
Commons in order to push through his Brexit plan.
But his failure to keep to his “do or die” pledge to leave the EU on
October 31 risks a backlash.
The election outcome could have huge implications for Britain’s tortuous
Brexit process, which began with the 2016 EU referendum.
Labour is committed to a new “people’s vote”, while two smaller opposition
parties want to reverse Brexit and remain in the European Union.
Many Labour MPs are wary of an election, fearful of defeat under their
leftist leader Jeremy Corbyn, but he swung his support behind the poll.
The other 27 EU member states earlier formally adopted Monday’s decision by
envoys to delay Brexit by up to three months until the end of January, with
an option for Britain to leave early if it ratifies an exit deal.
“To my British friends, The EU27 has formally adopted the extension. It may
be the last one. Please make the best use of this time,” European Council
President Donald Tusk said on Twitter.
The election bill will now go to the unelected upper House of Lords for
debate on Wednesday, but peers are expected to back the plan, paving the way
for parliament to be dissolved early next week .
– ‘New mandate’ –
Johnson took office in July promising to end the wrangling over Brexit
which has bitterly divided the country, but a rebellion over his hardline
strategy left him without a majority in parliament.
Unable to win MPs’ support for his divorce terms, he was forced by law
earlier this month to ask his fellow EU leaders for a delay.
After three failed attempts to pass a normal election motion, which
requires the support of two-thirds of MPs, Johnson on Tuesday took an
alternative path.
He introduced a bill to legislate for an election — a method which
required only a simple majority, and this passed by 438 votes to 20.
“We are left with no choice but to go to the country to break free from
this impasse,” he had told MPs.
A newly elected parliament would have a “new mandate to deliver on the will
of people and get Brexit done”, he said.
In a move to unite his Conservative party ahead of the poll — the first to
be held in December since 1923 — Johnson readmitted 10 of the 21 MPs he
expelled last month for defying his Brexit plan.
– Radical campaign –
Labour had sought to push for the general election to be held on December
9, but this was defeated by 315 votes to 295.
Veteran socialist Corbyn had been torn between rival camps over whether to
support Johnson’s election initiative.
But the smaller Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats — who
both oppose Brexit — wanted an election, making it hard for Labour to stand
in their way.
Corbyn had refused to back an election until Johnson’s threat to leave the
EU without a divorce deal was removed, but said this was resolved by the
three-month Brexit delay.
“This election is a once-in-a-generation chance to transform our country
and take on the vested interests holding people back,” he said Tuesday.
“We will now launch the most ambitious and radical campaign for real change
that our country has ever seen.
“This is our chance to build a country for the many not the few and fit for
the next generation.”
Experts warn that British politics remains deeply volatile more than three
years after the referendum vote, and say the election result could be
unpredictable.
There was significant voter switching between the 2015 and 2017 elections.
Election specialist John Curtice from the University of Strathclyde in
Glasgow said Johnson is in a strong position to get a majority — but an
election remains a gamble.
“Boris has to win. A hung parliament and Boris is out,” he said, warning
that a Labour-led coalition would likely take over.