British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson faces a hard task pulling through a No-deal Brexit by 31st October after MPs in the common turned down his motion for a general election.
Earlier, MPs backed a bill aimed at blocking a no-deal Brexit if the PM hadn’t agreed a plan with the EU ahead of the 31 October deadline.
Mr Johnson said the bill “scuppered” negotiations and the only way forward now was an election.
Mr Johnson wanted MPs to agree to an early general election on 15 October, saying the bill – which forces him to ask for an extension to the Brexit deadline if no deal had been agreed – left him unable to negotiate a deal.
He needed two thirds of all MPs to vote in favour under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, but the result only saw 298 vote for the motion and 56 against – 136 short of the number he needed.
Tory MP Nigel Evans criticised the opposition, telling the Commons: “They have been given an opportunity [for an election] and they are running scared – not just from the prime minister, not just from a general election, but from the people of this country who in 2016 said they wanted to leave the EU.”
The bill says the prime minister will have until 19 October to either pass a deal in Parliament or get MPs to approve a no-deal Brexit.
Once this deadline has passed, he will have to request an extension to the UK’s departure date to 31 January 2020
