British lawmakers on Friday gave preliminary approval to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill, clearing the way for the UK to leave the EU next month.
The British House of Commons voted 358-234 for the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
It would receive more scrutiny and possible amendment next month, and also has to be approved by the British Parliament’s upper chamber, the House of Lords.
However, Johnson’s commanding Conservative majority in parliament means it is almost certain to become law next month.
The UK would then leave the EU on Jan. 31.
Johnson said on Friday that passing the bill would end the “acrimony and anguish” that has consumed the country since it voted in 2016 to leave the EU.
Opponents have argued that leaving the EU would only trigger more uncertainty over the UK’s trade relations with the bloc.
Friday’s vote was a moment of triumph for Johnson, who won a commanding parliamentary majority in last week’s general election on a promise to end more than three years of political gridlock and lead the UK out of the EU on Jan. 31.
The UK’s departure would open a new phase of Brexit, as Britain and the EU race to strike new relationships for trade, security and host of other areas by the end of next year.
However, Johnson painted Friday’s vote as a moment of closure.
Opening debate on the bill, he said that after Jan. 31, “Brexit will be done, it will be over.”
“The sorry story of the last three-and-a-half years will be at an end and we will be able to move forward together,” he said.
“This is a time when we move on and discard the old labels of ‘leave’ and ‘remain,’” Johnson added. “Now is the time to act together as one reinvigorated nation.”
The UK voted narrowly to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum. However, previous attempts by Johnson and his predecessor, former British prime minister Theresa May, to pass a Brexit deal through parliament foundered as lawmakers objected to sections of the agreement and demanded a bigger say in the process.
Johnson’s election victory finally gave him the power to get his way.
“The election has produced a result: We will leave the EU at the end of January,” pro-EU Liberal Democrat legislator Wera Hobhouse said. “The battle to stop Brexit is over.”
The bill commits the UK to leaving the EU on Jan. 31 and to concluding trade talks with the bloc by the end of next year.
Trade experts and EU officials have said that striking a free-trade deal within 11 months would be a struggle, but Johnson insisted he would not agree to any more delays.
The Brexit bill has been amended to bar ministers from agreeing to extend the transition period with the EU.
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