Crashing out
Boris Johnson has said he will press on “undaunted” with Brexit on 31 October, despite losing a crunch Commons vote.
The prime minister must now ask the EU for an extension to that deadline after MPs backed a motion designed to rule out a no-deal exit by 322 votes to 306.
He told MPs: “I will not negotiate a delay with the EU and neither does the law compel me to do so.”
He vowed to bring in legislation on Monday to implement the deal he struck with Brussels this week.
MPs could also be given another vote on the deal on Monday, if Commons Speaker John Bercow allows it.
The Commons defeat is a major setback for the PM, who has repeatedly insisted that the UK will leave at the end of the month come what may.
So they’re staring each other down on either side of an abyss?
Downing Street refused to offer any explanation as to why the prime minister did not consider he was obliged to negotiate a fresh extension.
Probably because there is no explanation? It’s just more attempted dictatorship, like what we have over here only not quite so crude in the execution?
It is possible that he intends to request an extension from the EU, complying with the law, but not negotiate it. The Benn Act would compel acceptance of an extension to the end of January, it does not actually require him to obtain one on terms acceptable to the EU
Nobody seems to know whether there’s a coup going on or not. I certainly don’t. We started down this crazy paving with a vote that wasn’t even legally binding and we ended up somewhere nobody at all wants to be surrounded by fiery bridges in every direction.
Tusk has now confirmed Johnson advised him a letter requesting an extension would be sent
An unsigned letter requesting an extension was sent, as had to be done! Followed by a signed letter explaining that the Borish government did not want an extension. I was glad to see Jacob Rees-Mogg and Andrea Leadsom heckled in the streets afterwards (though I felt sorry for R-M’s son, whom he had brought along to enjoy a famous victory that went the wrong way, as all Boris & Mogg’s hoped-for victories have done so far -going down like leadsom). ‘Boris & Mogg’ – it sounds like the name of some dreadful cartoon film about a little boy and his cat.
A cat that lounges insultingly which is JUST WHAT A CAT WOULD DO.
It’s what my cat does – well, one of my cats. The other does not. She rarely lounges at all, preferring to tear things up and rampage.
My husband and I were just trying to decide which one of them has more call to be a stable genius.