UK: MPs pass bill blocking Oct. 31 no-deal Brexit

LONDON

Britain’s House of Commons passed a bill that blocks a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31 in a crucial vote on Wednesday evening.

The opposition parties supported by more than 20 Tory rebels voted against the U.K.’s departure from the EU without a deal, which means for the government, a new request for an extension from the EU if a deal cannot be inked

by the end of October.

327 MPs voted for the fast-tracked legislation, which still needs approval from the upper house and the Royal Ascent, while 299 MPs were rejecting it.

Johnson, who lost the working parliamentary majority after former minister Phillip Lee’s defection to Lib Dems and had to endure his first ever defeat in the House yesterday, said earlier that he would submit a motion for a snap

election to be held on Oct. 15, if he lost the vote to block a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.

After debate and deliberation well into the night, the Prime Minister was once again voted down, and could not find the two thirds majority needed to call a general election. The government lost the vote as it failed to reach a two-third majority after a 298 to 56 vote, with many MPs abstaining.

The bill to block a no-deal and force the government to seek an extension in order to find a deal will now be debated in the House of Lords tomorrow, and likely to come into law soon after.

What the Johnson administration will seek to do next is uncertain, as the prime minister’s options become even more limited.

The Labour party has maintained a position of wanting a general election to take place after today’s bill has passed into law, and with any future government not being able to force through a no-deal. This could lead to them

submitting a motion of no-confidence in the current government that itself will lead, if successful, to a 14-day period when a new government could be formed or a general election called if that is not possible.

Today marked another series of humiliating defeats for Johnson and his cabinet, who will likely have predicted such a turn of events – but could do nothing to stop it. The gridlock in the U.K. politics continues.