British lawmakers would be unable to stop a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31 by bringing down the British government in a vote of no confidence next month, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s top aide has said, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
Dominic Cummings, one of architects of the 2016 campaign to leave the US, told ministers that Johnson could schedule a general election after the Oct. 31 deadline if he loses a vote of no confidence in Parliament, the newspaper said, citing sources.
Johnson has promised to lead the UK out of the EU on Oct. 31 with or without a deal, but has a working majority of just one after his Conservative Party lost a parliamentary seat on Friday.
Some of his lawmakers have hinted they would vote against him to prevent a no-deal Brexit — a rising prospect that has sent the pound tumbling to 30-month lows against the US dollar over the past few days.
Lawmakers are unable to table a motion of no confidence before next month, because the British House of Commons is in recess until Sept. 3.
Lawmakers “don’t realize that if there is a no-confidence vote in September or October, we’ll call an election for after the 31st and leave anyway,” Cummings was quoted by one of the newspaper’s sources as saying.
Johnson has said he would prefer to the leave the EU with a deal, but has rejected the Irish backstop — an insurance policy to prevent the return of a hard border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland — which the EU says is key to any agreement.
Meanwhile, Johnson’s government has urged EU leaders again to drop their opposition to renegotiating the terms of Brexit, saying that the latest European elections required a change of approach.
Johnson, who took office late last month, said the current terms are unacceptable.
In an article in the Mail on Sunday newspaper, British Secretary of State for Exiting the EU Steve Barclay said that European Parliament elections in May had changed the political dynamic and urged EU leaders to amend the mandate of European Chief Negotiator for the UK Exiting the EU Michel Barnier.
“The political realities have changed since Mr Barnier’s instructions were set,” Barclay wrote.
“Since the last mandate was agreed, 61 percent of all the EU states’ MEPs have changed. Such a fundamental shift illustrates the need for a change of approach,” he wrote.
“Mr Barnier needs to urge EU leaders to consider this if they too want an agreement, to enable him to negotiate in a way that finds common ground with the UK,” he added. “Otherwise, no deal is coming down the tracks.”
Former British prime minister Theresa May quit after delaying Brexit twice while she tried unsuccessfully to get the divorce terms she struck with Brussels through the British parliament.
However, the EU has refused to reopen the deal, the result of 17 months of tough negotiations.
Johnson has ramped up preparations for leaving without any agreement.
However, some British lawmakers have vowed to stop him, fearing the economic consequences of severing ties with the UK’s closest trading partner overnight.
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