Not unlike Theresa May's similar deal with the EU, this one too was rejected by the UK parliament yesterday while roughly one million protesters against Brexit demonstrated outside, waving EU flags and signs with slogans like "I'M 17 AND BREXIT STOLE MY FUTURE" and "UK AND NORTHERN IRELAND AT PEACE, NOT IN PIECES" and pulling floats like one of "Demonic Cummings", demanding a second Brexit referendum in the largest protest action organized by the People's Vote campaign to date. Jo Swinson, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, and and actor Patrick Stewart (perhaps best known for his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation) were among those to address the crowd.
The defeat of Prime Minister Johnson's Brexit deal in the parliament was met by jubilation in the streets and legally obliged Johnson to send a letter to European leaders requesting an extension of the Brexit deadline until January 31st of next year. He was legally required to send such a letter after the parliament crafted and voted for the Benn Act early last month in response to Johnson suspending parliament until after October 31st, the current Brexit deadline. The UK's Supreme Court subsequently ruled that Johnson's suspension of parliament was illegal and ordered MPs back to work, which is why the aforementioned vote could be held yesterday in the first place.
Johnson has always maintained that he would obey the Benn Act, yet also persisted in committing himself to the United Kingdom leaving the European Union on October 31st anyway, leading to confusion over how he might respond to a last-minute Brexit deal being voted down by the parliament. We now know the answer: he responded by sending not one, but three letters to EU leaders:
1) a cover note from Britain's EU envoy explaining the government was simply complying with the law,
2) an unsigned photocopy of the text that the law forced him to write, and...
3) a third letter in which Johnson outlined his opposition to an extension.
The move has proven massively controversial and could draw legal challenges. The opposition Labour Party's finance minister, John McDonnell, for example, said that Johnson "is now treating parliament and the courts with contempt" by sending out the two additional letters, as they clearly weren't in keeping with the spirit of the Benn Act. Repeating his predecessor's failed strategy of simply holding the same deal up for multiple votes, Johnson has said he intends to hold a second vote on this same deal next week.
Immediate economic disaster awaits if Brexit occurs at the end of the month as scheduled without a deal. Social disaster that awaits if there is anything other than a Brexit deadline extension.
Last edited by Jaicee - on 20 October 2019
