Published 20:20 IST, October 19th 2019
Brexit: UK Parliament votes to delay EU exit in a setback for Johnson
In a major setback to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, UK lawmakers in British Parliament voted 322-306 to delay Brexit and did not ratify his new deal
Advertisement
In a major setback to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, UK lawmakers in British Parliament have voted 322-306 to delay Brexit. The motion was led by MP Oliver Letwin. PM Johnson faced a harsh majority when the Parliament voted to postpone the decision on Britain's divorce from the 28-nation bloc. It again clouds the referendum proposed by the UK PM to make Brexit happen on October 31. The Parliament gathered in a rare weekend session to go review the new deal Boris Johnson had earlier announced with the EU on October 17, which EU's Juncker had termed as “balanced and fair”.
The House of Commons has approved the amended motion on the new Brexit deal agreed between the UK Government and the EU.
— UK House of Commons (@HouseofCommons) October 19, 2019
The Government must ask for an extension of Article 50 under the Benn Act and set out how it intends to proceed.
Amended motion: pic.twitter.com/6gMpUOSiBz
Further delay in Brexit
During the weekend session in Parliament, the UK PM had implored the legislators to ratify the deal which was decided on October 17 between the EU leaders and the UK during the EU summit. Moreover, Boris Johnson had also said that the lawmakers should come together as “democrats” to end this feud which has created uncertainty in the country since 2016. However, UK lawmakers voted 322 to 306 crossparty led by an ammendment by Oliver Letwin to delay Brexit.
MPs have decided by 322 votes to 306 to amend the Government’s approval motion.
— UK House of Commons (@HouseofCommons) October 19, 2019
#BrexitVote pic.twitter.com/4b0y3rF71F
Did not support the new deal
PM Johnson's deal getting Parliamentary approval was unsure form the beginning due to the withdrawal of support of the Tory party's key ally, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The deal which Juncker termed as “fair” has not been supported the Northern Ireland party who also released an official statement about why the members will not be able to support the proposals in Parliament.
Jeremy Corbyn has also said that from the information which he had received, the new deal was worse than what was proposed by the former British PM Theresa May. According to Corbyn, the present agreement also puts the citizens' rights at risk and, therefore, should be rejected. Fleur Anderson, a Labour Party candidate for Parliament, also said that the vast majority of Wandsworth residents do not agree with the Brexit deal and that many people have started feeling the impact.
(With inputs from agencies)
19:43 IST, October 19th 2019