A rebel alliance of British lawmakers, made up of opposition and Tory MPs, have secured victory in the UK’s parliament, to stop a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, forcing PM Boris Johnson to seek a three-month extension from Brussels.
The bill, tabled by Labour’s Hilary Benn and supported by the likes of Ken Clarke and Churchill’s grandson, Nicholas Soames, who have been expelled from the Conservative Party, was passed by 327 votes to 299 in the House of Commons after the third and final reading on Wednesday night. It’s a hammer blow to Johnson, who has repeatedly promised to take Britain out of the EU, with or without a deal, by October 31.
The new law calls for the prime minister to obtain an extension to Article 50 from the EU that runs to “11pm on 31 January 2020.”
Clarke, Soames were among a number of Tory MPs who were sacked from the party after they defied Johnson to vote for the new legislation at first reading on Tuesday night.
The new ‘no-deal’ Brexit blocking law will now be passed to the Lords to debate where it is expected to be voted through before going to the Queen for Royal ascent.
Johnson who will table a motion for an early election later on Wednesday, with voting scheduled for around 10.30pm BST. The Prime minister is hoping to secure an election for October 15.
However, the odds of the Tory PM receiving the required two-thirds majority of MPs to trigger a snap poll look slim, with Labour signaling that they will not support such a move until the ‘no-deal’ Brexit legislation is officially passed.
