Outgoing parliament deals new Brexit blow to British PM Johnson – World

The besieged British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, promised to continue his attempts to reach a new Brexit agreement with Brussels, after losing another parliamentary vote on Tuesday to hold early elections.

Johnson criticized the opposition for voting against his call for a quick poll next month, in the final minutes of a nightly debate before a controversial five-week suspension of parliament convened by the prime minister.

He said he will "strive for an agreement" at a summit in Brussels next month.

"While the opposition runs away from its duty to respond to those who put us here, they cannot hide forever," he said.

"The time will come when people will finally have the opportunity to issue their verdict."

It was a final show of defiance in a stormy parliamentary session in which Johnson also lost a separate vote, asking the government to publish confidential documents on the potential impact of a Brexit without agreement.

The opposition has said it will not allow an early election, which under British law requires a two-thirds majority in parliament in favor, until Johnson has reached an agreement or delayed Brexit beyond October 31.

The prime minister insisted that it would not be delayed, despite the fact that a bill was rushed in parliament in recent days that could force it to do so if it fails to reach an agreement with the EU.

"This government will not delay Brexit anymore," he insisted.

Furious protests by deputies

In another sign of political turmoil, the president of the House of Commons, John Bercow, who has defended the rights of parliamentarians to challenge the government, announced that he would resign.

In exceptional scenes when the parliament closed for five weeks, Labor opposition parliamentarians waved posters saying "silenced," while trying to contain the speaker to prevent him from going to the suspension ceremony.

Opposition parliamentarians mocked and chanted "shame" when government parliamentarians left the chamber, while Bercow, in protest, called the suspension "an act of executive mandate."

Johnson took office in July promising to comply with the 2016 referendum vote for Brexit, even if that means leaving without exit terms agreed with Brussels.

But many parliamentarians rejected a divorce without agreement and supported new legislation that forces Johnson to request a three-month delay if he cannot reach an agreement.

His last chance to reach an agreement is at the two-day EU summit that begins on October 17.

Some commenters have said Johnson may be forced to resign if he does not want to make the request for delay. Ministers have also hinted at a possible legal challenge against the law.

Degrading parliament

The British voted in 2016 to leave the EU, but after three years of political disputes, parliament still cannot decide how to implement that decision.

Johnson says he wants to review the agreement agreed by his predecessor, Theresa May, that parliamentarians rejected, but says that this requires keeping the option to withdraw open.

Its low majority in the Commons faded last week when it expelled 21 of its own conservative parliamentarians for voting with Labor over legislation against non-agreement.

The bill, which became law on Monday, would force Johnson to delay Brexit until January or even later if he can't reach an agreement with Brussels.

The approval of the bill by parliament provoked the government's anger.

But Bercow, accused by Eurosceptics of being predisposed against Brexit, warned the government that it cannot ignore Parliament now, as it announced that it will resign on October 31.

"We degrade this parliament at our own risk," he warned lawmakers, in the face of a standing ovation from opposition parliamentarians.

& # 39; Important gaps persist & # 39;

Johnson had previously visited Dublin to chat with his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar, a key player in the search for a Brexit deal.

Parliamentarians rejected the current agreement three times earlier this year, largely because of their provisions to keep the border between British Northern Ireland and Ireland, an EU member, open.

Johnson wants to eliminate the so-called "back-up" plan, which would keep Britain aligned with EU trade rules long after Brexit, to avoid any border control.

But the EU accuses him of not offering another alternative.

"Common ground was established in some areas, although significant gaps persist," Johnson and Varadkar said in a joint statement following their talks.