The European Union agreed on Monday to extend the deadline for Britain to ratify an exit agreement until January 31, 2020, giving the United Kingdom three months to approve a deal for their withdrawal from the EU. In response, the House of Commons voted to hold a general election on December 12 to elect a new Parliament.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was obligated to seek an extension for the Brexit deadline by the Benn Act if Parliament did not agree to an exit agreement by October 19. Johnson failed to secure support for his negotiated deal after the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party and the opposition Labour Party refused to support it. The Prime Minister was then forced to send a letter to EU President Donald Tusk requesting an extension to the deadline. Tusk announced on Twitter Monday evening that the remaining member states of the EU had agreed to the requested three-month extension and the decision was formally published on Tuesday.
In response to his failure to secure passage of an exit agreement and the new deadline extension by the EU, Johnson proposed new Parliamentary elections Monday evening.
Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act of 2011, a two-thirds majority of the House of Commons is required to dissolve the body and call a new general election. Johnson’s first motion for an election failed, with only 299 of the necessary 434 Members of Parliament (MPs) voting in favor of holding a general election. Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn refused to back any election unless there were guarantees included that the government would agree to a further Brexit deadline extension if an agreement was not ratified by January 31 and that a “no-deal” Brexit would be prohibited.
After Johnson conceded to Corbyn’s demands, British MPs introduced the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019 and rapidly passed it through the House of Commons. In a statement, Corbyn said that because of the guarantee that Britain will not exit the EU without an agreement, the Labour Party now “backs a General Election because we want this country to be rid of this reckless and destructive Conservative Government.” After voting down Amendments to change the date of the election, the Bill was approved by the House of Commons by a vote of 438 for to 20 against. If the Bill is approved by the House of Lords and receives royal assent, the current Parliamentary term will end and elections will be held on December 12.
