Brexit in the balance as British lawmakers hold historic vote

Opposition parties and Johnson’s own Northern Irish allies have rejected the text

The vote is seen as too close to call, but Johnson said his deal was still the best way out of the Brexit process that’s left the UK in political turmoil since 2016

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British prime minister Boris Johnson. Photo: Bloomberg

Agence France-Presse,ReutersandAssociated Press

Published: 3:41pm, 19 Oct 2019Updated: 7:18pm, 19 Oct 2019

British MPs gathered on Saturday for a historic vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal – a decision that could see the United Kingdom leave the European Union this month or plunge the country into fresh uncertainty.

The House of Commons is holding its first Saturday sitting since the 1982 Falklands War to debate the terms of a divorce agreement Johnson struck with EU leaders on Thursday.

Opposition parties and Johnson’s own Northern Irish allies have rejected the text but the prime minister and his team have spent the past 48 hours frantically trying to win MPs’ support.

Johnson on Saturday warned against any further delay to Brexit, saying there was “little appetite” for another extension. He told parliament it would be “pointless, expensive and deeply corrosive to public trust”.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks at the House of Commons. Photo: Reuters

Johnson also said his new Brexit deal can heal the rift in British politics and unite warring factions, urging lawmakers to back the new plan, which would “take back control”.

But his plans to get his Brexit deal approved have been thrown into doubt as lawmakers will first vote on whether to withhold approval until legislation to implement the agreement has been passed. That would bring another law into play that would force Johnson to seek a Brexit delay from the EU.