British PM Johnson threatens MPs with election if they block no-deal Brexit

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that he would ask to hold a snap election on October 14 if rebel Conservative members of parliament (MPs) sided with Labour MPs on a significant vote being held on Tuesday.

The vote on Brexit on Tuesday is meant to extend the deadline for Brexit, asking the European Union for an extension until January 31, 2020, rather than the current Brexit date of October 31, 2019. The vote aims to prevent a no-deal Brexit and to give the United Kingdom more time to negotiate the terms of its divorce from the EU.

The bill is backed by a cross-party group of lawmakers who are trying to prevent the UK from leaving the EU without an agreement (no-deal Brexit). Johnson said the bill would “chop the legs out” from the country’s Brexit negotiations, the Guardian reported.

The current schedule for a general election for the UK is 2022. Johnson needs two-thirds of the UK’s 650 MPs (434 MPs) to be able to trigger a snap election before then, according to the Fixed Term Parliaments Act of 2011. If Johnson were to achieve this support, he would be able to recommend a date to the Queen.

Johnson told the press on Monday that he would not under any circumstances request another delay in withdrawing from the EU in case of a no-deal, the New York Times reported.

He had held an emergency cabinet meeting and addressed Conservative MPs at Downing Street before his televised appearance, the Guardian reported.

Some MPs from both the  Conservative and Labour parties were wondering whether if Johnson would really go forward with an election, but a government source told the Guardian he would.

The source pointed out: “A prime minister would need to be in place before European Council on 17 October.” The source added that “If you are to have any chance of securing a deal, you must have an election before then, and the prime minister has been very clear he wants to get a deal.”

During his speech outside Downing Street No 10, Johnson was interrupted several times by protesters calling out “Stop the coup!” Johnson told the crowd and TV viewers that he was “encouraged by the progress we are making” in talks with Brussels.

He went on to say that if MPs “find some way to cancel the referendum” it would hold the UK back in talks with the EU. He added that “if they do, they will ... make any further negotiation absolutely impossible”. 

Johnson also stated: “There are no circumstances in which I will ask Brussels to delay. We are leaving on 31 October, no ifs or buts. We will not accept any attempt to go back on our promises or scrub that referendum.”

The Guardian reports that the bill Johnson is so vehemently against would force him to seek a three-month extension from the EU if he has not passed a new Brexit agreement by October 19, after a crucial European Council meeting on October 18. That is unless MPs have passed a motion approving a no-deal Brexit.

Should the EU counter-offer another date rather than January 31 for Brexit, the bill states that Johnson must accept it after a vote in parliament. If both the EU and the UK were to agree to a deal sometime between October 19 and January 31, Brexit could happen earlier. The bill has no provision for a no-deal Brexit if a deal is not reached by January 31.