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Defiant UK lawmakers move to block ‘no-deal’ Brexit as PM Boris Johnson faces ‘zero trust’
- Opposition lawmakers, supported by rebels in the ruling Conservative Party, plan to fast-track a law that would prevent a no-deal departure
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Britain’s parliament was attempting to defy Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit plans on Wednesday as lawmakers sought a way out of the impasse that has gripped the nation since the 2016 vote to leave the European Union.
The House of Commons was set to confront Johnson over his insistence that the UK leave the EU on October 31 even without a withdrawal agreement to cushion the economic blow.
Opposition lawmakers, supported by rebels in Johnson’s Conservative Party, planned to fast-track a law that would block a no-deal departure, amid cries from lawmakers that it would cause irreparable harm.
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“To deliver Brexit like this is to create a poison pill which for 40 years will divide this country straight down the middle,” former Conservative Party leadership candidate Rory Stewart told the BBC. “If you are going to deliver Brexit at all, try to do it legally, constitutionally and with consent.”
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Johnson accused his opponents of undermining the government’s attempt to strike a new divorce deal with the EU, and said he would seek a general election if the lawmakers succeed this week, taking his message directly to the people in his bid to deliver Brexit come what may.
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