UK PM could target election as EU mulls Brexit extension

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson could pivot towards a general election as the EU mulls granting a Brexit deadline extension on Wednesday, after a fresh twist to the divorce saga cast doubt over his hopes of leaving on October 31.

In tense parliamentary votes on Tuesday, Johnson won initial backing for the divorce deal he agreed with the EU, but MPs then rejected his timetable to rush it through parliament in a matter of days.

Following that setback, Johnson said he would halt the ratification process while European Union leaders consult on a delay, which MPs had forced him to ask for on Saturday by law.

European Council President Donald Tusk has recommended that EU’s 27 other member states grant the extension as requested, which would be until January 31, 2020 unless the deal is ratified before then. As it stands, without that unanimous agreement, Britain is due to crash out of the EU in eight days’ time.