His Brexit plans in crisis, Johnson pushes for new elections

Johnson's office said he will seek the public's support for his bid to hold a general election in coming weeks. Downing Street says Johnson plans to speak directly to the people Thursday, but details of a planned speech or rally were not immediately released.

Johnson's failure on Wednesday to secure a quick ballot was the embattled leader's third Parliamentary defeat in two days. It was also evidence that scarcely six weeks after taking office with a vow to break Britain's Brexit deadlock — which ensnared and eventually brought down his predecessor, Theresa May — Johnson's plans to lead the U.K. out of the EU are in crisis.

Events have spiraled out of his control. He leads a government with no majority in Parliament and an election that could change that fact may be beyond his reach. The latest setback for Johnson came Wednesday evening after he called for a national election on Oct. 15, saying it was the only way out of Britain's Brexit impasse after lawmakers moved to block his plan to leave the European Union next month without a divorce deal.

But Parliament turned down his motion and the prime minister indicated he would try again, saying an election was the only way forward for the country and urging opposition lawmakers to "reflect overnight and in the course of the next few days."

Johnson's office reiterated Thursday that the prime minister will not seek another Brexit delay from Brussels that would take the United Kingdom's departure past the current Oct. 31 deadline. He says Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn's refusal to endorse an election is a "cowardly insult to democracy."

Johnson insists Britain must leave the bloc on the scheduled date of Oct. 31, with or without a divorce deal, but many lawmakers — including several from Johnson's Conservative Party — are determined to thwart him.

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Last Edited by Cartel™ on 09/05/2019 05:49 AM