UK lawmakers will try to stop no-deal Brexit by passing law
LONDON: British lawmakers opposed to a no-deal Brexit will attempt to pass a law this week to stop Prime Minister Boris Johnson from allowing Britain to crash out of the European Union on Oct 31, the opposition Labour Party's Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said.
Mr Johnson has pledged to deliver Brexit with or without a deal, but opposition lawmakers want to push through legislation to rule out no-deal during a narrow window of opportunity before Parliament is suspended in little over a week's time.
Mr Starmer said the plan, which will be published tomorrow, had one "very simple" aim: To stop Mr Johnson from taking Britain out of the EU without a deal.
"Obviously, if we are at the 31st of October, that will require an extension," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr yesterday.
"But I think this should be a very short, simple exercise designed to ensure we don't crash out without a deal."
Senior Minister Michael Gove, however, refused to guarantee the government would abide by any such legislation, depending on what it said.
Mr Gove, who is co-ordinating no-deal contingency plans, said he believed a majority of lawmakers would back the Prime Minister and defeat the attempt.
"We know the Prime Minister is making progress with our European friends and allies in attempting to secure a deal, and I don't believe that people will want to erect a roadblock in his way," he said.
Mr Johnson told the Sunday Times that those backing the opposition to no-deal risked there being no Brexit at all.
"Are you going to side with those who want to scrub the democratic verdict of the people - and plunge this country into chaos?" he said.
"Or are you going to side with those of us who want to get on, deliver on the mandate of the people and focus with absolute, laser-like precision on the domestic agenda? That is the choice." - REUTERS
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