- Labor’s proposal for a taking over of the parliament timetable has been rejected
- The proposal was in a bid to prevent a no deal Brexit
- Boris Johnson has stated that he is not pursuing a no deal Brexit
It has previously been reported that Labor intended to push forward a deal that would allow opponents of a no deal Brexit to take control of parliament’s timetable in an effort to stop a possible no deal Brexit from moving forward.
Unfortunately, as of June 12, 2019, the deal has fallen through and the House of Commons has rejected it. In a final vote, 309 members of Parliament went against the proposal and 298 voted for it. Had it been passed, it would have been a major victory in the fight to prevent the UK leaving the EU with no deal on October 31, 2019.
The Vote and Its Implications
When is the result of the vote was announced, Tories in the House of Commons erupted in cheers which led Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to say that they will not be cheering in September. The vote, however, did show that the disapproval of a no-deal Brexit runs across party lines in certain cases as 10 Tory MPs backed Labor’s motion.
Despite the disappointing results the opposition has stated that they will continue to fight against a no deal Brexit on all fronts and that they will not give up.
“There will be other procedural mechanisms we can use,” shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer said. “We are already looking at what those other opportunities will be.”
A situation in which the UK leaves without a deal will mean that they would be out of the single market, customs unions and institutions such as the European Court of Justice. There are also many concerns about what it will mean for trade, travel and also the Irish border.
This is also a bit troubling considering parliaments history of repeatedly rejecting Brexit deals that have been proposed to them and there is still worry that whoever replaces former Prime Minister Theresa May might attempt to move the UK out of the EU without a deal.
All About Boris
Prime ministerial candidates have given their opinions on how they would handle the UK’s exit from the EU and Boris Johnson, a rather controversial candidate, has stated that he is not aiming for a no deal outcome during the launch of his campaign.
According to him, the threat of a no deal Brexit is a powerful negotiation tool and the UK needs to be better than the current deal. He also argued during his speech that the party should not vote for old insiders but should, instead, favorite a leader from the new generation.
Johnson is considered one of the biggest frontrunners in the contest as he has many more endorsements from Tory MPs than any other candidate.
