LONDON: Beleaguered British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to continue his attempts to strike a new Brexit deal with Brussels, after losing yet another vote on Tuesday during a chaotic parliamentary session.
Johnson slammed the opposition for voting against his call for a snap election in the final minutes of a stormy late-night
debate ahead of a controversial suspension of parliament called by the prime minister.
He said he would “strive to get an agreement” at a summit in Brussels next month — the alternative being a “no-deal” departure that critics warn would spark economic chaos.
Johnson accused his opponents of shirking their duty by blocking an early election.
He was due to held a cabinet meeting later in the evening to plot his next move after a series of defections and expulsions left him far short of a parliamentary majority and unable to garner enough votes from MPs to hold an early election.
He will meet with Arlene Foster, leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), amid rumours that he may be softening his negotiating demands over the key issue of the Irish border and associated trade conditions after Brexit.
Foster, whose party wants Northern Ireland to remain part of Britain, warned Johnson that the province must not be sacrificed in talks.
“What people are talking about is the break-up of the United Kingdom,” she told Sky News.
“That is not something that any prime minister in the United Kingdom is going to in any conscience go along with.”
‘WILL NOT DELAY BREXIT’
There were dramatic scenes in parliament as the current session drew to a close early Tuesday.
Opposition Labour MPs waved signs reading “silenced” and shouted “Shame on you!” at government lawmakers during a ceremony for the suspension of parliament.
The move is normally a simple formality but Johnson was accused of acting high-handedly by calling an extended suspension as the Brexit date looms.
House of Commons speaker John Bercow earlier in the debate announced he would be stepping down in a strongly-worded
speech in which he warned the government against trying to “degrade” parliament.
Johnson also lost a separate vote, calling on the government to publish confidential papers about the potential impact of a no-deal Brexit. — AFP
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