Britain's Boris Johnson has 2 not-so-secret plans to thwart a new Brexit law
Britain's cross-party bill seeking to prevent Prime Minister Boris Johnson from crashing Britain out of the European Union without an exit deal is expected to become law Monday, following a final vote in the House of Commons and royal assent. The bill requires Johnson to submit a Parliament-drafted letter seeking a three-month Brexit extension if he hasn't negotiated a Parliament-approved withdrawal agreement by mid-October. If you need a refresher of what happened last week, BBC News has a 5-minute explainer.
Johnson's Cabinet huddled on Sunday to come up with ways to "sabotage" the legislation, The Daily Telegraph reports, and they hatched two plans: Send a second letter alongside the mandated one to clarify to the EU that Johnson's government doesn't really want an extension; and try to convince an EU member state to veto the request. The latter plan seems more promising — two EU officials have already suggested they are frustrated enough by Britain's Brexit chaos to consider saying no to an extension. The first plan is likely illegal.
"To send the letter and then try and neutralize it seems to me to be plainly a breach of the act," Lord Sumption, a former judge of the U.K.'s Supreme Court, told BBC Radio 4. Other legal experts concurred.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The House of Commons will also vote Monday on Johnson's call for snap elections — and once again, lawmakers are expected to reject the call. That will likely be Parliament's last action before it is prorogued (suspended) for a month, at Johnson's order. Meanwhile, a member of Johnson's Cabinet, Amber Rudd, resigned over the weekend, saying there's "very little evidence" the government is even trying to get a new Brexit deal and is instead spending up to 90 percent of its time planning for a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Today's political cartoons - November 23, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - qualifications, tax cuts, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Long summer days in Iceland's highlands
The Week Recommends While many parts of this volcanic island are barren, there is a 'desolate beauty' to be found in every corner
By The Week UK Published
-
The Democrats: time for wholesale reform?
Talking Point In the 'wreckage' of the election, the party must decide how to rebuild
By The Week UK Published
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba have a rough day in defamation court
Speed Read Trump's audible grousing as E. Jean Carroll testified earned him a warning he could be thrown out of court, and Habba showed she 'doesn't know what the hell she's doing'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published