LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday ruled out ever asking the European Union to delay Britain’s departure from the bloc, making an implicit warning to lawmakers that he could be forced to call an election if they tied his hands on Brexit.
Johnson’s promise to take the country out of the European Union on Oct. 31 with or without a divorce deal has propelled the United Kingdom toward a constitutional crisis and a battle with the 27 other members of the bloc.
An alliance of opposition lawmakers are plotting with rebels in Johnson’s Conservative Party to take control of parliament and tie the government’s hands with legislation that would block a no-deal exit.
Johnson, giving an hastily organized statement at a lectern outside Number 10 Downing Street, said he would never delay Brexit which was delayed twice by his predecessor, Theresa May.
“I want everybody to know there are no circumstances in which I will ask Brussels to delay: we are leaving on 31st Oct, no ifs or buts,” Johnson said.
In an implicit warning to lawmakers, Johnson said: “We will not accept any attempt to go back on our promises.”
“I don’t want an election. You don’t want an election. Let’s get on with the people’s agenda,” he said.
Johnson added that if lawmakers voted to delay Brexit they would “plainly chop the legs out from under the UK position and make any further negotiation absolutely impossible.”
More than three years since the United Kingdom voted 52-48% to leave the European Union, it is still unclear on what terms, or indeed whether, Brexit will take place.
The British parliament returns on Tuesday from its summer break and an alliance of opposition lawmakers and some rebels in Johnson’s party will seek to grab control of parliament to force him to delay rather than go for a no-deal Brexit.
Johnson’s enforcers warned rebels that if they voted against the government they would be kicked out of his Conservative Party.
With little clarity on whether the deadlocked British parliament might be able to come up with a resolution to the three-year Brexit crisis, talk turned to a possible election.
“We want a general election,” opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said, to oust Johnson’s “phony, populist cabal.”
He added: “We must come together to stop no deal — this week could be our last chance.”
However, former Labour leader Tony Blair warned Corbyn, a veteran socialist, to avoid what he cast as an election “elephant trap” Johnson had laid for Labour.
“Boris Johnson knows that if no-deal Brexit stands on its own as a proposition it might well fail, but if he mixes it up with the Corbyn question in a general election he could succeed despite a majority being against a no-deal Brexit because some may fear a Corbyn premiership more,” Blair said.
Asked if the prime minister was planning an election, Johnson’s spokesman said: “He has been asked this on many, many occasions and his answer has always been that he doesn’t want there to be an election.”
Betting odds indicate an October election is now favorite, Ladbrokes said, with a 75% implied probability of an election before the end of 2019.
The United Kingdom has held a variety of extraordinary votes in recent years: In 2014, Scots rejected independence in a referendum; in 2015, then-Prime Minister David Cameron won a surprise majority on a pledge to hold an EU referendum but lost the referendum the following year.
After winning the top job in the chaos following the referendum, then-Prime Minister Theresa May bet on a 2017 snap election but lost her majority.
More than three years since the United Kingdom voted 52-48% to leave the European Union, it is still unclear on what terms, or indeed whether, Brexit will take place.