Demonstrators gather outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain on Sept. 3, 2019.(Xinhua/Han Yan)
With neither of the two fighting sides, Boris Johnson and the parliament, wants to give in over Brexit at this moment, the prime minister is set to gamble his entire premiership on an election that would be fought as a rerun of the 2016 Brexit referendum. If he lost, he would be the shortest-serving prime minister in the British history.
by Xinhua writer Gu Zhenqiu
LONDON, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing a showdown in the parliament in this pivotal week as cross-party alliance is working hard to stop his no-deal Brexit strategy.
The first real test will come later Tuesday as Tory rebels are to join opposition Labour to bring forward a bill in the parliament in order to stop Britain from leaving the European Union (EU) on Oct. 31 without an agreement.
Demonstrators gather outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain on Sept. 3, 2019.(Xinhua/Han Yan)
Between 15 to 20 Conservative members of parliament, mostly former cabinet ministers, are collaborating with Labour and other opposition parties to take control of the House of Commons agenda to pass an emergency law in a bid to stop the no-deal Brexit.
The government's closed-door meetings with rebel MPs and open ultimatum failed to change the situation on the ground in the government's favor as the parliament returns on Tuesday after summer recess.
Demonstrators gather outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain on Sept. 3, 2019.(Xinhua/Han Yan)
Tensions are rising between the prime minister, who pledged to take his country out of the EU on Oct. 31 with or without a deal, and the parliament, where a majority of MPs want to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
Johnson began a series of meetings this week with senior government officials and rebel MPs in efforts to head off revolt and garner wider support for his Brexit plan, including his efforts on Monday to set out his plan to the cabinet at an emergency meeting and directly address Tory MPs in a reception at Downing Street.
However, if the rebel group, led by former Chancellor Philip Hammond, holds firm, the prime minister faces defeat.
Hammond said Tuesday that he believes Tory rebels will back the bill, and he vowed to fight deselection, threatened by Johnson as he called on Tory members of parliament to support him on Brexit or get sacked.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he is ready to go to the polls, but some in his party are suggesting otherwise.
Johnson said in his televised statement that he does not want a general election, but Corbyn said "a general election is a democratic way forward, to give the people the choice between two very different directions for our country."
In reality, Johnson's negotiating hand is not very strong as he is not an elected prime minister to head the current minority government.
Demonstrators gather outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, Sept. 3, 2019.(Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)
"When a government finds itself without a majority, the solution is not to undermine democracy -- the solution is to let the people decide, and call a general election," Corbyn said.
Johnson threatened to kick rebel MPs out of the Conservative party if they fail to support his government over Brexit on Tuesday night. The rebels, with support from opposition parties, want to use the vote to control Wednesday's parliamentary business, which would enable them to force through legislation blocking no-deal Brexit and delaying Brexit until at least Jan. 31, 2020.
The prime minister said there is "no circumstance" in which he will ask the EU for "another pointless delay" of Brexit.
Brexit has been delayed twice already because of British lawmakers' refusal to ratify the agreement, reached by the EU and Theresa May when she was the prime minister.
Three years after the shock referendum vote to leave the EU, Brexit remains a highly divisive issue in Britain. Johnson, who himself was a rebel leader only a few weeks ago, inherited the premiership together with the same old problem of Brexit.
Demonstrators gather outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain on Sept. 3, 2019.(Xinhua/Han Yan)
At present, he is still being haunted by the same unanswered important political question: how to lead his country out of the regional bloc.
Johnson, shortly after taking office in July, asked the EU to take the Irish border backstop out of the existing UK-EU agreement, but Brussels does not buy his words, insisting to keep the backstop arrangement in order to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland after Brexit.
To further exert pressure on Tory rebels, the prime minister is reported to publish his motion later this week calling for an election in six weeks' time, so that they can be in no doubt what will happen if they vote against the government on Tuesday night.
Downing Street has warned the prime minister would push for a general election on Oct. 14 if MPs successfully vote to block a no-deal Brexit.
If MPs agree on Tuesday to allow the cross-party group to seize control of the parliamentary business, the legislation will be considered on Wednesday.
But to trigger an election, Johnson would need the backing of two-thirds of members of parliament, including some opposition legislators.
The next general election is not due until 2022.
With neither of the two fighting sides wants to give in over Brexit at this moment, Johnson is set to gamble his entire premiership on an election that would be fought as a rerun of the 2016 Brexit referendum.
If he lost, he would be the shortest-serving prime minister in the British history.
