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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s dreams of an election that would clear his path to Brexit by the end of October were decisively dashed. Photo: Reuters

Brexit countdown: parliament suspended after UK PM Boris Johnson’s election bid fails again

  • Boris Johnson loses sixth vote in six days as election bid fails
Agencies

British lawmakers early Tuesday rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s second call for a snap election on October 15, in a marathon sitting before a controversial five-week suspension of parliament.

Parliament’s elected main house, the Commons, voted by 293 to 46 for Johnson’s motion calling for an election, but he needed the support of two-thirds of the 650 lawmakers for it to pass.

The main opposition parties agreed before the vote that they would not support Johnson until he complies with a new law designed to delay Brexit and prevent Britain from leaving the EU without a deal.

“I urged the house to trust the people, but once again the opposition think they know better,” Johnson said following the vote.

“They want to delay Brexit yet again... and they have now twice denied the British people their say,” he added, following a similar vote last week.

Pro-Brexit politicians earlier urged Johnson to avoid compliance with a new law, which received royal assent on Monday, to block a no-deal Brexit on October 31.

Anti-Brexit protesters with signs and EU flags lit up with fairy lights demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament in London on Monday. Photo: AFP

During the debate, Johnson accused opposition lawmakers of “thwarting the will of the people” by seeking to delay Brexit.

He hinted that he may not comply with the new act, which his supporters insisted is contradicted by other Brexit legislation.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told broadcaster Sky News on Sunday that the government would “test to the limit what [the legislation] actually lawfully requires”.

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Ahead of the vote on a snap election, the lawmakers agreed to compel Johnson’s government to reveal documents discussing the reasons for his suspension of parliament and the potential impact of a no-deal Brexit.

Johnson said he wanted to suspend parliament and then submit his government programme for a new session, but opposition lawmakers and critics in his own Conservative party accused him of trying to “run down the clock” to engineer a no-deal Brexit on October 31.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour party, said Johnson’s government was a “disgrace” for suspending parliament and avoiding scrutiny of its plans.

Speaker of the House John Bercow gestures after announcing he will be standing down on Monday. Photo: House of Commons via AP

“This is a sad day for our democracy,” Ed Davey, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said of the decision to suspend parliament.

House of Commons Speaker John Bercow voiced his displeasure, saying many regard it as “an act of executive fiat”

There were raucous scenes in the House of Commons as opposition lawmakers chanted “Shame on you”.

Ian Blackford, the Scottish National Party’s parliamentary leader, told the BBC that lawmakers “should be sitting through this constitutional crisis”.

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Blackford accused Johnson of “acting like a dictator” by shutting down parliament at a crucial time for Brexit.

“This is as serious as it gets,” he said.

“It’s a democratic outrage.”

Johnson insisted earlier Monday, during a visit to Ireland, that Britain must leave the EU as planned on October 31, with or without an exit deal.

He said that he would “overwhelmingly prefer to get a deal” with Brussels and that it would be achievable by October 18.

Lawmakers will return October 14, little more than two weeks before Britain is due to leave the European Union.

It is the first time in more than 70 years a British government has suspended parliament when faced with opposition.

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Meanwhile, Bercow, whose control of business in the House of Commons has made him a central player in the Brexit drama, announced he would step down after a decade in the job.

The colourful speaker, famous for his loud ties and even louder cries of “Order!” during raucous debates, told lawmakers he will quit the same day Britain is due to leave the EU, October 31.

DPA, The Guardian and Associated Press

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