Boris plan in disarray as MPs vote to delay Brexit
Hundreds of thousands of pro-EU protesters erupt in cheers
Boris Johnson’s Brexit plans were again thrown into chaos after the UK parliament voted to take more time to scrutinise the deal the prime minister struck with the EU last week, forcing him to seek the delay he vowed he never would.
Without Parliament’s sign-off, Johnson is required by law to send a letter to Brussels requesting that Brexit be delayed until January 31 — three months after his selfimposed deadline. In the first Saturday sitting of parliament for 37 years, lawmakers voted by 322 to 306 in favour of a rebel Tory’s proposal to withhold their approval for now. Afterwards, Johnson wrote to MPs saying he would tell the EU that a further Brexit delay was not a solution and that the bloc might well reject what he said was parliament’s request for an extension.
Another vote tomorrow?
Johnson vowed to bring in legislation tomorrow to implement the deal he struck with Brussels. MPs could also be given another vote on the deal tomorrow, if Commons Speaker John Bercow allows it.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of pro-EU protesters from across Britain wielding banners, placards and flags converged on parliament, erupting in cheers as MPs forced the government to ask Brussels for another Brexit delay.
Hundreds of thousands of Britons marched through London yesterday to demand a new Brexit referendum and celebrated as lawmakers in parliament voted to postpone Britain’s departure from the European Union (EU).
The protesters, some having travelled for hours from around the United Kingdom to get to the capital, waved EU flags under sunny skies and held placards that employed creativity and wit.
The crowd clogged vast stretches of central London, with thousands of people waiting to begin the march at Hyde Park by the time others had reached parliament as lawmakers held the first Saturday session since the 1982 Falklands war.
“I am incensed that we are not being listened to. Nearly all the polls show that now people want to remain in the EU. We feel that we are voiceless,” said Hannah Barton, 56, a cider maker from central England, who was draped in a EU flag.
‘Still uncertain’
“This is a national disaster waiting to happen and it is going to destroy the economy.” After more than three years of tortuous debate, it is still uncertain how, when or even if Brexit will happen as Prime Minister Boris Johnson tries to pass his new Brexit deal and plots a way out of the deepest political crisis in a generation. While Brexit has divided families, parties, parliament and the country, both sides agreed yesterday that the coming days could be some of the most important in recent British history: A juncture that could shape the fate of the UK for generations.
Lawmakers voted to withhold support for the Brexit deal until formal ratification legislation has passed, a step that will oblige Johnson to seek a delay.
As the crowd watched events in parliament unfold on large screens and mobile phones they cheered and shouted “people’s vote” as they viewed the result as another chance to stop Brexit.
Many protesters carried placards, some comparing Brexit to the election of United States President Donald Trump. Some wore elaborate costumes with one dressed as a banana holding a sign saying “we are ‘ripe’ for change”.
I am incensed that we are not being listened to. Nearly all the polls show that now people want to remain in the EU. We feel that we are voiceless.” Hannah Barton | Protester and London resident