UK's Johnson seeks to rule out Brexit trade pact delay

LONDON (AP) — Buoyed by a big new Conservative majority in Parliament, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson toughened his Brexit stance on Tuesday, ruling out any extension of an end-of-2020 deadline to strike a trade deal with the European Union.

As lawmakers assembled for the first sitting of Parliament since Johnson's election victory last week, Downing Street said the government would insert a clause into its Withdrawal Agreement Bill — which ratifies the country's departure from the EU — to rule out extending Britain's trade negotiations with the bloc beyond next year.

That could mean Britain leaving without a deal on trade terms at the start of 2021, a prospect that alarms many U.K. businesses.

The pound plunged on the news, falling by 1.5 per cent to just over $1.31.
Johnson’s Conservatives won an 80-strong majority in Parliament in last week’s general election  — the most decisive Tory victory since the 1980s — as voters in formerly Labour-backing areas rallied to Johnson's promise to “get Brexit done.”

The majority gives Johnson the ability to overcome opposition to his Brexit plans and implement his legislative agenda — unlike Conservative predecessor Theresa May, who led a minority administration and failed to win lawmakers' backing for her Brexit blueprint.

“This Parliament is not going to waste the time of the nation in deadlock and division and delay," Johnson told lawmakers as Parliament reconvened after the election.

The new session opened with a ritual mix of ceremony and political heckling.

The 650 lawmakers were summoned to Parliament's upper chamber, the House of Lords, by an official known as Black Rod to hear a message from Queen Elizabeth II, before returning to the Commons.

The 365 Conservative legislators overflowed the benches allotted for them on one side of the Commons chamber. There was more room on the Labour Party side; the opposition party has 203 seats.

Once all lawmakers — including 140 new arrivals — have been sworn in, the real business will get underway Thursday, when the government announces its legislative plans for the next year in a speech delivered by the queen.

About the Brexit bill

The Brexit bill is due to get its first vote in the House of Commons on Friday.

The divorce bill will see the U.K. leave the 28-nation bloc on January 31 and enter a transition period until the end of 2020 while a new trade deal with the EU is being negotiated.

During the transition period, Britain will effectively remain a member of the EU, though without voting rights.

We want to hear from you! Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169, email us at editors@gleanerjm.com or onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com.