UK opposition mulls whether to endorse Johnson election call – World

After a turbulent week in British politics, opposition parties faced a big decision on Friday: back Boris Johnson's call for an election or try to pressure the prime minister in conflict first.

Jeremy Corbyn, who heads the main opposition Labor Party, held talks with other party leaders about a vote scheduled for next week in the UK Parliament on the October election call.

Johnson has lost one of those votes, but plans to try again on Monday, saying that an election is the only way to break the country's stalemate over Brexit.

But the opposition wants to make sure that Johnson, who says he would "rather be dead in a ditch" than delay Brexit, cannot get Britain out of the European Union on October 31 without a divorce agreement.

Parliament is about to pass a law backed by the opposition that would force the conservative government to seek a postponement of Brexit if an agreement is not reached at the end of October. The bill is likely to become law on Monday, and many pro-EU lawmakers want to delay the start of an election until it is finalized, for fear that Johnson will try to get out of the compromise.

Foreign Labor Affairs spokeswoman Emily Thornberry said Johnson was "as slippery as it can be" and that he could not be trusted.

Johnson's drive to leave the EU for Halloween, with or without a divorce agreement to pave the way, faces strong opposition, both in Parliament and in the courts.

On Friday, the High Court of Great Britain rejected a claim that Johnson is acting illegally by suspending Parliament for several weeks before the scheduled exit of the EU country.

Johnson angered his opponents by announcing that he would send lawmakers home sometime next week until October 14, just over two weeks before Britain leaves the EU. Critics accused him of subverting democracy and carrying out a "coup".

Transparency activist Gina Miller took the government to court, arguing that the suspension was an "illegal abuse of power."

A panel of three Superior Court judges ruled against him, but said the case can be appealed to the Supreme Court, which has set a hearing for September 17.

Outside the court, Miller said she was disappointed with the ruling but "pleased that the judges have given us permission to appeal to the Supreme Court."

"Giving up now would be an abandonment of our responsibility," he said. “We need to protect our institutions. It is not right to be closed or intimidated, especially at this momentous moment in our history. "

EU officials confused by the UK position on Brexit

Senior European Union officials say Britain's position to leave the block is confusing and it seems increasingly likely that the country will leave without an agreement.

Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne, whose country currently occupies the rotating EU presidency, said on Friday that "the situation in Britain is a disaster now and we don't know what is happening there."

He says, "It seems very obvious that we are not getting Brexit with an agreement."

The president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, says "everything seems to be quite confused. It is very difficult to understand what the British government and parliament want to do now."

They add that the EU is prepared for a Brexit without agreement and is united to defend the divorce agreement.

British and British negotiators are holding a second round of technical talks in Brussels with the aim of breaking the Brexit stalemate.