GB: Johnson wants elections, the opposition denounced a maneuver

LONDON (Reuters) – Prime minister Boris Johnson will try to adopt Wednesday a motion paving the way for early elections in mid-October, an initiative that is perceived by its opponents as an attempt to prevent a vote on a bill to prevent “Brexit” without an agreement.

The deputies adopted Tuesday a motion that allows them to submit on Wednesday a draft bill aiming to force the Prime minister to ask for a delay of the output of the european Union up to January 31, 2020, unless an agreement is reached by then with Brussels, or if the Parliament votes in favour of a “no deal”.

Shortly before this vote, obtained thanks to the support of 21 “slingers” Tories now threatened with exclusion from the conservative Party, Boris Johnson had lost its absolute majority in Westminster after the defection of its elected representatives.

The Prime minister, who has repeated several times since taking office that the Brexit will be held on October 31, what happens, and has, therefore, filed a motion to request the holding of early parliamentary elections, which should be submitted to a vote of mps to 18: 00 GMT on Wednesday.

“My government will bring our country out of the european Union on 31 October, and the only thing that is a barrier, it is the ‘law of surrender’ (surrender bill), proposed by the leader of the opposition (ed, labour’s Jeremy Corbyn)”, he said on Wednesday before the parliament.

“Can I invite the leader of the opposition to confirm (…) that if this act of surrender is adopted, it will leave the people of our country to have its say on what it offers by means of elections on 15 October,” said the conservative leader.

If they are not necessarily opposed to the calling of elections, the opposition and the “slingers” to denounce a manoeuvre of Johnson attempt to prevent them to adopt their proposal for a law on the postponement of the Brexit, and warned that they will not allow the government to “sneak in” a “no deal”.

“We’re not going to dance to its rhythm”, a summary Keir Starmer, the “Mr. Brexit” of the labour Party. “You see what he concocts. He wants to short-circuit the proposal for a law, after having lost control of the Parliament and prevent us from finishing the work.”

“We’re not going to vote today with Boris Johnson to deprive us of the opportunity to complete the work for which we took control of the House of commons,” said Keir Starmer.

The arm wrestling will continue on Wednesday with the weekly sessions of questions to the Prime minister, the vote of the motion filed by the government on the early elections and a vote on the proposed deferral of the Brexit.

A possible future scenario would be that the mps reject the motion of Boris Johnson until the adoption of the proposed law blocking a “no deal” then, once their mission is accomplished, they must agree on the organisation of elections which could take place on 15 October.

(Michael Holden, Guy Faulconbridge and Elizabeth Piper; Tangi Salaün for the French service, edited by Henri-Pierre Andre)

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