BRITISH lawmakers inflicted a fresh defeat on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy by approving in principle a law that could stop him taking Britain out of the European Union without a deal next month. The House of Commons voted by 329 to 300 in favour of a draft bill that could delay Brexit for three months, although it still must pass further stages to become law.
Johnson took office in July, three years after the 2016 referendum to leave the EU, promising to deliver Brexit whatever happens. He said he wants to renegotiate the divorce deal struck with Brussels by his predecessor Theresa May, arguing that his threat of leaving with “no deal” will force EU leaders to agree better terms. Thus so far Brexit has been a thorn in the side for three consecutive Conservative PMs–Cameron, May, and now Boris Johnson. Instead of calling for a fresh referendum to really find out if the British people are behind the Brexit plan fully–after all, the first referendum won only by a paper thin majority. They have dibbled and dabbled with Brussels on the dots and points behind a Brexit deal for Britain.
Johnson’s threat of a no-deal Brexit will not leave Brussels cowering in the shadows. They know full well that they have enough leverage to counter that–and doing so would be harmful for British economic interests, despite claims that Britain pumped more into the EU than what the EU spent on it.
This is because the EU is more than just a free trade area–it is the first experiment of it’s kind in the world where members of neighbouring countries in a single continent can move freely between themselves to find work, or indeed play. If after 46 years the UK says that the EU is bad then it has only itself to blame. Every major economic study shows that the UK will be badly affected by a no-deal Brexit, with the worst estimates stating that per capita income will fall from 3.5 to over 8 percent within a decade. Whatever the outcome of the Brexit vote in the UK Parliament the citizens of the UK are in for a rough ride.
