UK opposition parties outline election plan
The leaders of two British opposition parties unveiled a plan Saturday to give Prime Minister Boris Johnson the snap election he wants -- but only if EU leaders delay Brexit until January.
Johnson has tried twice to call an early election to break the deadlock in the House of Commons over Britain’s departure from the European Union and will try again in a vote today.
But he needs the support of opposition MPs and they have refused to back a poll until the risk of a disorderly “no deal” Brexit on October 31 is completely removed.
Johnson was forced by law to ask EU leaders last weekend to delay Brexit after MPs refused to back the divorce terms he struck with Brussels.
EU leaders are expected to decide today or early tomorrow whether to grant the three-month delay requested, or to set another date.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Liberal Democrats, who between them have 54 MPs in the 650-seat Commons, said that a three-month delay to end-January would see them put forward plans for an early election.
“If that meaningful extension is secured we will then work together to bring forward an election this year,” said SNP leader Ian Blackford.
He and Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson have laid out their offer in a letter to European Council president Donald Tusk.
Johnson has proposed an election on December 12, but only if parliament ratifies his Brexit deal before then.
The SNP and Lib Dems -- who both strongly oppose Brexit -- want an election on December 9.
A source at Johnson’s Downing Street office said the prime minister would do all he can to force an election to “get Brexit done”, including considering options offered by other opposition parties.
Johnson late Saturday accused MPs of holding Britain “hostage” by refusing to back an election or a Brexit deal, reported AFP.
“Millions of businesses and people cannot plan their futures, this paralysis is causing real damage and the country must move on in 2020,” he said in a statement.
His culture minister, Nicky Morgan, doubled down on the message yesterday, warning lawmakers that Thursday was still “the default leaving date”.
“So that should focus minds,” she told Sky News.
LABOUR WAITS
Last week, Johnson called for a general election on December 12, offering parliament until November 6 to ratify his Brexit deal - the first time Britain’s prime minister had conceded he would not meet his October 31 deadline.
It is his third attempt to get the required backing in parliament, where he needs the support of two-thirds of its 650 lawmakers for a new election, reported Reuters.
The easiest path for the governing Conservatives would be if the prime minister’s move was supported by the Labour Party, which so far has said it needs to see what kind of delay the EU would offer before making a decision.
The EU has agreed there should be an extension but has set no departure date, saying it would wait to see how parliament voted on Johnson’s call for an early election.
“Of course we want a general election but we’ve got to make sure that we get those absolute reassurances that Boris Johnson won’t use a general election and the campaign to crash us out of the European Union with a disastrous no-deal Brexit,” said Jon Ashworth, Labour’s health policy chief.
“That is what we’re waiting for.”
Comments