LONDON: Britain was heading towards its first December election in almost a century after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s bet on breaking the Brexit deadlock with an early ballot gained support from opposition parties on Tuesday.
As the European Union agreed a third delay to the divorce that was originally supposed to take place on March 29, the United Kingdom, its parliament and its electorate remain divided on how or indeed whether to go ahead with Brexit.
Johnson, who had promised to deliver Brexit on October 31 “do or die”, has repeatedly demanded an election to end what he casts as a nightmare paralysis that is sapping public trust in politicians by preventing any Brexit outcome at all.After parliament refused Johnson his third demand for an election on Monday, he will try to force a bill through parliament on Tuesday that calls for a December 12 election.
It needs a simple majority in parliament.
In a move that aligns the stars for an election after months of Brexit discord, the opposition Labour Party’s leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said the condition of ruling out a no-deal Brexit had been met so he would support an election.
“Labour will back a general election,” said Corbyn, a veteran socialist campaigner. “The Labour Party loves a debate but they also love the end of the debate, and this is the end of the debate: We are going out there to win.”
The first Christmas election in Britain since 1923 would be highly unpredictable: Brexit has variously fatigued and enraged swathes of voters while eroding traditional loyalties to the two major parties, Conservative and Labour.
Some politicians feel an election so close to Christmas could irritate voters.
Ultimately, voters would have a choice between an emboldened Johnson pushing for his Brexit deal or a socialist government under Corbyn renegotiating the deal before a referendum.
After four years of arguing over Brexit, almost all British politicians now agree an election is needed to break the cycle of inaction that has shocked allies of a country once considered a bastion of stable Western capitalism and democracy. — Reuters
As the European Union agreed a third delay to the divorce that was originally supposed to take place on March 29, the United Kingdom, its parliament and its electorate remain divided on how or indeed whether to go ahead with Brexit.
Johnson, who had promised to deliver Brexit on October 31 “do or die”, has repeatedly demanded an election to end what he casts as a nightmare paralysis that is sapping public trust in politicians by preventing any Brexit outcome at all.After parliament refused Johnson his third demand for an election on Monday, he will try to force a bill through parliament on Tuesday that calls for a December 12 election.
It needs a simple majority in parliament.
In a move that aligns the stars for an election after months of Brexit discord, the opposition Labour Party’s leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said the condition of ruling out a no-deal Brexit had been met so he would support an election.
“Labour will back a general election,” said Corbyn, a veteran socialist campaigner. “The Labour Party loves a debate but they also love the end of the debate, and this is the end of the debate: We are going out there to win.”
The first Christmas election in Britain since 1923 would be highly unpredictable: Brexit has variously fatigued and enraged swathes of voters while eroding traditional loyalties to the two major parties, Conservative and Labour.
Some politicians feel an election so close to Christmas could irritate voters.
Ultimately, voters would have a choice between an emboldened Johnson pushing for his Brexit deal or a socialist government under Corbyn renegotiating the deal before a referendum.
After four years of arguing over Brexit, almost all British politicians now agree an election is needed to break the cycle of inaction that has shocked allies of a country once considered a bastion of stable Western capitalism and democracy. — Reuters
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