UK spins towards pre-Christmas poll
Corbyn supports election; Boris calls for end to Brexit obstructionism
Britain was heading towards its first December election in almost a century after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s bet on breaking the Brexit deadlock with an early ballot gained support from opposition parties yesterday.
As the EU agreed a third delay to the divorce that was originally supposed to take place on March 29, the United Kingdom, its parliament and its electorate remain divided on how or indeed whether to go ahead with Brexit.
Johnson, who had promised to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31 “do or die”, has repeatedly demanded an election to end what he casts as a nightmare paralysis that is sapping public trust in politicians by frustrating any Brexit outcome at all.
After parliament refused Johnson his third demand for an election on Monday, he will try to force a bill through parliament later that calls for a December 12 election. It needs a simple majority in parliament.
In a move that aligns the stars for an election after months of Brexit discord, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said he would back an election now that the threat of Britain exiting the EU without a deal had been removed.
“Whatever date the House decides the election will be, I’m ready for it, we’re ready for it,” Corbyn told parliament, adding that he supported allowing EU citizens with settled status and 16-17 year olds to vote.
The first Christmas election in Britain since 1923 would be highly unpredictable: Brexit has variously fatigued and enraged swathes of voters...
Britain was heading towards a December election yesterday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s bet on breaking the Brexit deadlock with an early vote gained support from opposition parties.
As the European Union (EU) finalises a third delay to the divorce that was originally supposed to take place on March 29, the United Kingdom, its parliament and its voters remain divided on how or indeed whether to go ahead with Brexit.
Johnson, who had promised to deliver Brexit on October 31 “do or die”, has repeatedly demanded an election to end what he casts as a nightmare paralysis that is sapping public trust by preventing any Brexit outcome at all.
After parliament refused Johnson his third demand for an election on Monday, he was scheduled to try to force a bill through parliament later yesterday that calls for a December 12 election. It needs a simple majority in parliament.
Labour backs election
In a move that raises the chances of a rare parliamentary success for Johnson, the opposition Labour Party’s leader Jeremy Corbyn said its condition of ruling out a no-deal Brexit had been met so it would support an election.
“Labour will back a general election,” said Corbyn, a veteran socialist campaigner. “The Labour Party loves a debate but they also love the end of the debate, and this is the end of the debate: We are going out there to win.” Lawmakers could bring significant changes to Johnson’s bill.
Opposition parties are squabbling over which day in early December is best for an election and whether to allow settled European Union (EU) citizens a vote.
Meanwhile, the legislation enacting Johnson’s Brexit deal has been put on hold, pending an election, Jacob Rees-Mogg, who oversees the government’s legislative agenda in the House of Commons, said.
The first Christmas election in Britain since 1923 would be highly unpredictable: Brexit has variously fatigued and enraged swathes of voters while eroding traditional loyalties to the two major parties, Conservative and Labour.
If no party wins conclusively, the Brexit deadlock will continue. “I think we’ve just got to bring this to some sort of resolution. We’ve had many votes in the last 12 months in parliament and I think a general election might be a way to sort it all out,” one commuter, Matt Finch, 36, told Reuters outside London’s Charing Cross rail station.
While almost all British politicians agree that an election is needed, Johnson’s opponents want to inflict maximum political damage by preventing his last-minute deal from being ratified before the poll.