PM promises to “get Brexit done”
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to “get Brexit done” at the Conservative Party conference, which was held in Manchester from 29 September to 2 October. At this time of year, political parties hold these meetings with thousands of their members to announce plans and make important decisions.
There is less than a month left until the UK is due to leave the European Union (EU), which is an organisation of 28 countries in Europe that work together and follow the same rules. Brexit (the name for when the UK leaves the EU) is due to happen on 31 October. Before then, there will be an important EU summit (meeting) on 17 and 18 October. This is a chance for Johnson to try to agree a deal with the EU about how the UK will leave. If he gets a deal and enough Members of Parliament (MPs) vote for it, then the UK would leave the EU as planned.
If Johnson can’t agree to a deal at the summit, he might have to ask the other EU countries to extend the Brexit deadline to a later date. On 9 September, MPs introduced a law saying that Johnson would have to ask for an extension to prevent the UK leaving without a deal. Some MPs think leaving with no deal would damage the country. Johnson has said he will obey the law, but also that he would make sure the UK leaves the EU on 31 October, even without a deal.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the opposition parties (the ones not in Government) have been discussing how to avoid a no-deal Brexit. However, they disagree on the best way to go about it. The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Jo Swinson, wants to stop Brexit completely, something she promised at her party’s conference in September. Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Labour Party, wants to extend the Brexit deadline beyond 31 October and then hold a general election.