Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

1 day ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

1 day ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

2 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

2 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

2 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

2 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

2 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

2 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

2 days ago
As UK-EU Relations Cool, Battle Looms to Stop No-Deal Brexit
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
August 6, 2019

Share

LONDON — In Brussels and London, one question is growing louder: Can Boris Johnson be stopped?
Britain’s prime minister says the U.K. is leaving the European Union in less than 90 days, either with a divorce deal, or — it seems increasingly likely — without one. With Britain and the bloc each accusing the other of torpedoing an agreement, pro-EU British lawmakers are gearing up for a last-ditch effort to prevent a no-deal Brexit. But it’s not clear whether Parliament can halt a prime minister who insists the U.K. will leave on Oct. 31 “come what may.”

“In theory it can. In practice it is very, very difficult.” — British constitutional expert Vernon Bogdanor
“In theory it can,” British constitutional expert Vernon Bogdanor told the BBC. “In practice it is very, very difficult.”
By law, Britain will leave the EU on Oct. 31 when the official countdown period set by EU treaty expires. The original deadline of March 29 was extended twice as British politicians wrangled over departure terms and repeatedly rejected then-Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal with the bloc.
Johnson says he will “strain every sinew” to get a new and improved deal. But he has held no talks with EU leaders, and has made demands the bloc is almost certain to reject. Britain insists the EU must reopen the withdrawal agreement and remove an Irish border provision that is opposed by Brexit-backing British lawmakers. The EU says it will not renegotiate the deal.
The two sides are accusing each other of torpedoing talks. Michael Gove, the British minister in charge of no-deal preparations, said Tuesday he was “deeply saddened” that the EU was “refusing to negotiate with the U.K.” But EU Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt said the bloc’s door was open “should the United Kingdom wish to hold talks and clarify its position in more detail.”

No-Confidence Vote on Johnson Has Good Chance of Success

As tensions rise, Johnson has ordered British officials to “turbo-charge” preparations for a no-deal exit, setting aside more than 2 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) to hire border officials, stockpile medicines and prepare for backlogs of trucks around the major Channel port of Dover.
Many economists say a no-deal Brexit will trigger a recession and cause economic mayhem, with shortages of fresh food and other goods likely as customs checks snarl Britain’s ports.
Pro-EU members of Parliament are vowing to put up a fight once Parliament returns from its summer break Sept. 3. They have two possible strategies: pass a law ruling out a no-deal Brexit, or topple the government and replace it with a new one that will abandon Johnson’s intransigent approach.
“The odds of an election are rising as backbench MPs contemplate ways in which they can frustrate Johnson’s plans,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group. “We’re moving to a situation where there is unlikely to be much progress in August. September and October are going to be frantic. And that’s an understatement.”
Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said Monday that he would call a no-confidence vote in the government once Parliament returns, to “make sure this government is not allowed to take this country out of the union (EU) with no deal.”
A no-confidence vote has a good chance of success, since Johnson’s Conservatives have a working majority of just one vote, and some Conservative lawmakers are deeply opposed to a no-deal Brexit. If the government lost, it would have 14 days to overturn the result by winning a new vote. If it could not, an election would be held.

 

Government Controls the Parliamentary Timetable

But the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act — an election-regulating law introduced in 2011 — leaves questions about what happens during that crucial 14 days. The opposition says Johnson would have to resign, and see if anyone else could form a government. Opponents of Brexit believe they could cobble together a national unity administration whose only purpose would be to ask the EU to delay Brexit while an election or a new referendum, or both, was held.

“We don’t know how far Boris Johnson would be willing to challenge the constitutional conventions that we usually expect to see. That’s just a huge, huge unknown.” Maddy Thimont Jack, senior researcher on Brexit, Institute for Government
But Johnson’s allies say he could hang on for the two weeks, running down the clock, and then call an election for after Oct. 31. Britain would automatically leave the EU on Halloween, during the campaign period.
That would be controversial, though it’s unclear whether it would be illegal.
Conservative lawmaker Dominic Grieve said Tuesday that the idea “that if you lose a vote of no confidence you will simply sit it out and barricade yourself in Downing Street” was “simply breathtaking, stupid, infantile — and it won’t work.”
The other way Parliament can stop a no-deal departure is by passing a law either cancelling Brexit or ordering the government to ask the EU for another delay. Pro-EU lawmakers from several parties have held informal talks on their strategy for making this happen in the fall.
But the government controls the parliamentary timetable, and will try to limit chances for opposition lawmakers to introduce or amend legislation. Johnson has also refused to rule out suspending Parliament if it tries to stop Brexit, though he would probably face a legal challenge if he did so.
Maddy Thimont Jack, a senior researcher on Brexit at the Institute for Government think-tank, said Britain was heading for a “war of attrition between the government and Parliament” with unpredictable consequences.
“We don’t know how far Boris Johnson would be willing to challenge the constitutional conventions that we usually expect to see,” she said. “That’s just a huge, huge unknown.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

DON'T MISS

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

UP NEXT

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

UP NEXT

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

UP NEXT

Colombia President Recalls Ambassador to US

UP NEXT

US-Backed 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire Envisions Gradual Return of Hostages, Official Says

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

UP NEXT

US Paves Way to Resume Ethane Exports to China Amid Trade Truce

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

1 day ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

1 day ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

1 day ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

1 day ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

1 day ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

1 day ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

1 day ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

1 day ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

1 day ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

1 day ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Can you hear it — that loud roar coming from the East? It’s the sound of 1.4 billion Chinese laughing at us. Thomas L. Friedman The New Yo...

9 hours ago

Solar Farm in Riesel, Texas
9 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Caitlin Clark Signs T-Shirt
9 hours ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
1 day ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

1 day ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
1 day ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend