Britain's Parliament has once again rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson's call for early elections, giving him his second major defeat in a week.
The vote took place early Tuesday morning, a few hours after a law went into effect blocking Johnson from going through with a no-deal Brexit. Right now, the deadline to leave the European Union is Oct. 31, and under the new law, if Johnson is unable to reach a divorce deal by Oct. 19, he must request an extension.
Johnson will attend a critical EU summit on Oct. 17. After Tuesday's vote, he said the government "will press on with negotiating a deal, while preparing to leave without one," adding that "no matter how many devices this parliament invents to tie my hands, I will strive to get an agreement in the national interest. ... This government will not delay Brexit any further."
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Parliament will now be suspended until Oct. 14. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said his side is "keen" to hold elections, but "we are not prepared to risk inflicting the disaster of no-deal on our communities." Johnson wants early elections because he lost his legislative majority last week, after a Conservative MP defected to another party and he ejected more than a dozen others, as he was angry that they supported the opposition.
The drama didn't start in the wee hours of Tuesday morning — on Monday, House of Commons Speaker John Bercow surprised everyone when he announced he is stepping down by Oct. 31. He's served as speaker for 10 years, and called it the "greatest honor and privilege."
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