Johnson mulls early election over Brexit impasse

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was weighing yesterday whether to push for an early election or try again to pass his stalled European Union divorce deal, after Parliament blocked a fast-track plan to approve his Brexit bill before the UK‘s scheduled departure from the bloc on 31 October.

Lawmakers backed the substance of Johnson’s divorce deal in principle late Tuesday but rejected the government’s plan to fast-track the legislation through Parliament in a matter of days, saying it didn’t provide enough time for scrutiny.

The government is now waiting for the EU’s response to its request for a three-month extension to the Brexit deadline.

European Council President Donald Tusk said in a tweet that because of Tuesday’s votes in London he would recommend that the other 27 EU nations grant Britain a delay to its departure to avoid a chaotic no-deal exit in just eight days.

European Parliament President David Sassoli echoed that sentiment, saying that European leaders should accept the Brexit extension because that will “allow the United Kingdom to clarify its position and the European Parliament to exercise its role.”

But in London yesterday, talk quickly shifted to holding an early election.

British Justice Secretary Robert Buckland told the BBC that Parliament’s failure to break the logjam means “we are left with the option of a general election ... That seems to me to be the only way to break this impasse.”

Britain’s next scheduled election is in 2022. If Johnson wants an early election, he needs to win a vote in Parliament to call for an election or lose a no-confidence vote, which so far opposition parties have refused to call.

The main opposition Labour Party, whose leader Jeremy Corbyn met with the prime minister yesterday, said it would “support a general election when the threat of a nodeal crash-out is off the table.”

House of Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg conceded Tuesday that, “it is very hard to see how it is possible” to leave the EU with a deal on 31 October.

Johnson had grudgingly asked the EU to delay Brexit to comply with a law passed by Parliament ordering the government to postpone Britain’s departure rather than risk the economic damage that could come from a no-deal exit.

All 27 other EU leaders must agree to an extension, which would be the third time Britain’s departure date has been postponed.

Johnson has not abandoned his Brexit deal, which sets out the terms of Britain’s departure from the EU after almost five decades of membership. It will form the centerpiece of his Conservative Party’s campaign if there is an early election.

Johnson hopes an election will give his Conservatives a majority in Parliament so he can push through his plans.

“One way or another, we will leave the EU with this deal to which this House has just given its assent,” Johnson told lawmakers after Tuesday’s votes.