House of Commons Speaker refuses new Brexit vote

LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a potentially perilous ratification of his Brexit divorce deal in the British parliament after the speaker refused to allow a vote on it on Monday.

With just 10 days left until the United Kingdom is due to leave the EU on Oct. 31, the divorce is again in disarray as Britain’s politicians argue over whether to leave with a deal, exit without a deal or hold another referendum.

House of Commons speaker John Bercow said a vote should not be allowed on Monday as the same issue had been discussed on Saturday when opponents turned Johnson’s big Brexit day into a humiliation.

“In summary, today’s motion is in substance the same as Saturday’s motion and the House of Commons has decided the matter. Today’s circumstances are in substance the same as Saturday’s circumstances,” Bercow told parliament.

“My ruling is therefore that the motion will not be debated today as it would be repetitive and disorderly to do so,” Bercow said, provoking the ire of Brexit supporting lawmakers who said they had been refused a chance to vote on Johnson’s deal.

Bercow said the government could still secure ratification for the Brexit deal by Oct. 31 if it had the numbers in parliament. Johnson was disappointed by the decision, a spokesman said. But the speaker’s decision means that the government will have to try to push on with the legislation needed for ratification, a process opponents are plotting to wreck with amendments that would destroy Johnson’s deal.

Johnson was ambushed in parliament on Saturday by opponents who demanded a change to the sequencing of the ratification of the deal, exposing the prime minister to a law which forced him to request a delay until Jan. 31. He sent the note to the European Union unsigned - and added another signed letter arguing against what he said was a deeply corrosive delay.— Agencies