Johnson will ask for Brexit delay after losing parliament vote
- 5 years ago
Boris Johnson will send a letter on Saturday requesting a further extension to Britain's departure from the European Union, an EU official said, with the British prime minister obliged to ask for a delay after losing a vote in parliament.
Johnson had hoped that Saturday would see recalcitrant lawmakers support the divorce deal he agreed with EU leaders this week and finally end three years of political deadlock since the 2016 referendum vote to leave the bloc.
Instead, lawmakers voted 322 to 306 in favour of an amendment that turned Johnson's planned finale on its head by leaving the prime minister exposed to a humiliating obligation to ask the EU for a delay until the end of January 2020, and increasing the opportunity for opponents to frustrate Brexit.
Johnson had hoped that Saturday would see recalcitrant lawmakers support the divorce deal he agreed with EU leaders this week and finally end three years of political deadlock since the 2016 referendum vote to leave the bloc.
Instead, lawmakers voted 322 to 306 in favour of an amendment that turned Johnson's planned finale on its head by leaving the prime minister exposed to a humiliating obligation to ask the EU for a delay until the end of January 2020, and increasing the opportunity for opponents to frustrate Brexit.