British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday braced for another showdown in parliament after a humiliating defeat over his Brexit strategy, with lawmakers to vote on a law aimed at blocking a no-deal departure.
Johnson had said that he would seek an early general election if lawmakers vote against him again, intensifying a dramatic political crisis ahead of the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline.
Johnson has vowed to take Britain out of the EU on Oct. 31 regardless of whether a divorce deal with Brussels is in place, more than three years after the referendum vote to leave the EU.
Photo: AFP
However, his opponents warn that a no-deal Brexit would have disastrous economic consequences and must be avoided.
In a sign of the government’s determination, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid was yesterday to unveil another £2 billion (US$2.4 billion) of funding to deal with Brexit, including for new port infrastructure.
However, Johnson’s Conservative government is in disarray.
It on Tuesday lost its working majority in parliament after one of its lawmakers switched to the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats and, a few hours later, it expelled 21 lawmakers from the party for voting against the government.
“Humiliation for Johnson as Tory rebels turn against him,” read the front page of the left-wing Guardian newspaper, while the Independent wrote: “Johnson loses control.”
However, the strongly euroskeptic Daily Express said that rebel lawmakers had voted “to betray Brexit” and called Tuesday’s vote “another shameful day in our so-called democracy.”
The rebels included Conservative Party grandees such as Ken Clarke, the longest-serving member of parliament, and Nicholas Soames, former British prime minister Winston Churchill’s grandson.
They joined with opposition lawmakers to inflict a first blow against Johnson’s hardline Brexit strategy.
That opened the way for a vote yesterday on a law which would force Johnson to delay Brexit by three months if he does not strike a deal with the EU by Oct. 19. Voting on the law was scheduled to finish by about 6pm.
After a lengthy and heated session of parliament, Johnson said that the proposed legislation would undermine his discussions with Brussels on a new divorce deal and would cause “more dither, more delay and more confusion.”
However, Johnson’s critics have said his claim that he wants a new deal with Brussels is a sham and that the EU has said Britain is yet to come forward with “any concrete proposals.”
“I don’t want an election, but if MPs [members of parliament] vote tomorrow to stop the negotiations and to compel another pointless delay of Brexit, potentially for years, then that will be the only way to resolve this,” Johnson said on Tuesday.
Aides have previously said that any poll would be held before a crucial EU summit on Oct. 17 and 18.
Under British election law, a two-thirds parliamentary majority is required to hold an early election, meaning that the main opposition Labour Party must support it.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Tuesday said that he was in favor of an election, but only once the legislation was passed “in order to take no-deal off the table.”
The decision on whether to extend the Oct. 31 deadline has to be taken by all 28 EU leaders unanimously.
Johnson last week caused widespread anger among lawmakers with his decision to drastically reduce the number of days they would be able to meet before the Brexit deadline in what was seen as a move to try to curb his opponents.
A judge was later yesterday to issue a ruling on the decision in one of three ongoing legal challenges.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese