British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a rebellion by his own lawmakers on Tuesday over his Brexit strategy, despite warning he would respond to any defeat by calling an early election.
Members of Johnsons own Conservative party are preparing to join opposition lawmakers to try to force a delay to Britains exit from the European Union if he cannot secure a divorce deal with Brussels in the next few weeks.
If they win an initial vote on Tuesday evening, however, Johnson has threatened to call a snap election for October 14 in a bid to strengthen his hand, a senior government official said.
Johnson took office in July promising to deliver on the 2016 referendum vote for Brexit, and take Britain out of the EU on October 31 no matter what.
He says he wants an amicable divorce with Brussels but has rejected the exit terms on offer and says he is willing to walk away without a deal.
However, many MPs fear a “no deal” exit will cause huge economic disruption and a cross-party coalition will on Tuesday begin trying to legislate against this scenario.
They will seek first to take control of the parliamentary agenda to make time on Wednesday to debate a bill that could see Brexit delayed to January 31, 2020, if no deal is agreed.
In a defiant statement in Downing Street on Monday evening, Johnson refused to change course.
He said the chances of striking a deal with Brussels “have been rising” ahead of a summit of EU leaders on October 17 and 18.
But he attributed this to his tough stance, saying a vote by MPs to delay Brexit would “chop the legs out from under the UK position”.
“I want everybody to know — there are no circumstances in which I will ask Brussels to delay,” he said.
