Incidentally, Mr Johnson’s plan to get Parliament to approve his divorce deal with the European Union was thrown into doubt today, as lawmakers were first given a vote on whether – yet again – to delay their final decision on Brexit.
At a rare weekend sitting of Parliament, Johnson implored legislators to ratify the deal he struck this week with the other 27 EU leaders. He said members of the House of Commons should come together as democrats to end this debilitating feud that has wracked the country for more than three years. He told lawmakers that now is the time for what he described as the great House to come together as he believed people at home are hoping and expecting. But he may not get the vote he craves.
House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said he would first allow a vote on an amendment that essentially puts the vote on the deal off until another day. Those behind the amendment say it will remove the risk that the U.K. could stumble out of the bloc without a deal on October 31 because the law is not in place.
If the amendment passes, it also will force Johnson to seek a delay from the EU to Britain’s departure, due to take place in less than two weeks on October 31.