LONDON – Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Wednesday for a national election on Oct. 15, saying it was the only way out of Britain’s Brexit impasse after opposition lawmakers moved to block his plan to leave the European Union next month without a divorce deal.
But Parliament delivered Johnson his third defeat in two days, refusing to vote in sufficient numbers for a motion triggering a vote. Johnson indicated he would try again, saying an election was the only way forward, and accusing Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn of being afraid of the public’s judgment.
“The obvious conclusion, I’m afraid, is that he does not think he will win,” Johnson said.
After lawmakers in the House of Commons approved a bill designed to halt a no-deal Brexit, he said: “There is only one way forward for the country.”
Johnson insists Britain must leave the EU on Oct. 31, with or without a deal, and he accused the opposition of trying to “overturn the biggest democratic vote in our history,” referring to the outcome of the 2016 referendum to leave the EU.