Embattled British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was yesterday to gather his Conservative Party for what could be its final conference before an election, with the gathering set to be dominated by Brexit.
Despite a string of parliamentary setbacks and a defeat in the British Supreme Court, Johnson insists he will take the country out of the EU, with or without a deal, on Oct. 31.
His stance has put him at odds with the British House of Commons, which has passed a law blocking a “no deal” exit, and lost him a number of his lawmakers.
However, it resonates with many pro-Brexit voters and particularly with Conservative Party members who elected him in July.
In an interview yesterday with the BBC’s Andrew Marr, Johnson suggested he would not resign if Brexit negotiations are extended beyond the Oct. 31 deadline.
“I’ve undertaken to lead my country and party at a difficult time and I am going to do that,” Johnson said.
He declined to comment on questions about whether he had been in discussions with other EU leaders to ask one of them to veto any extension to the deadline.
Instead he said: “I do think there is a good chance” of the UK reaching an agreement with the bloc.
Johnson again defended his use of what critics say is inflammatory language in the Brexit debate.
“Martial metaphors, military metaphors are very old standard parliamentary practice,” he said.
Johnson said he thought “everybody” should calm down, adding that he was being a “model of restraint.”
“The best thing for the country and the best thing for people’s overall psychological health would be to get Brexit done,” he said.
The conference “will be a rally for Boris Johnson and a rally for Brexit,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.
However, the four-day meeting in Manchester, England, risks being disrupted by parliamentary business in London.
Lawmakers were furious at Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament for five weeks early this month — a move the Supreme Court quashed on Tuesday — and refused to agree to the normal conference recess.
Opposition parties are threatening as yet unspecified maneuvers that could force ministers to race back to parliament over the coming days.
However, in what would be seen as a snub to lawmakers, Johnson is to deliver his closing speech as planned on Wednesday, when he should be answering questions in the British House of Commons.
Johnson has had a turbulent two months in office, having suffered seven successive defeats in the Commons — in the process losing his majority.
He expelled 21 Conservative lawmakers when they backed a law requiring him to delay Brexit if he cannot get a divorce deal with the EU by the middle of next month.
Johnson suspended parliament but the Supreme Court ruled this unlawful.
When he called for an election before Brexit day, lawmakers blocked him.
In a further headache, a police watchdog is looking into whether he should face investigation over his links to a US businesswoman when he was London mayor.
However, Johnson responded with defiance to the court ruling and has focused his ire on lawmakers, accusing them of “surrendering” to the EU and trying to undermine the 2016 referendum vote to leave.
His rhetoric drew accusations of stoking division, but it appears to be winning over pro-Brexit voters.
The Conservatives have had a clear lead over the main opposition Labour Party since Johnson took over.
A YouGov survey last week put them 11 points ahead, while an Opinium poll yesterday put this lead at 12 points.
“What he’s trying to do is maximize support among Leave voters,” YouGov political research manager Chris Curtis told reporters.
Poll numbers matter, because, with parliament deadlocked, most commentators expect an election in the next few months.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
‘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
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
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