Snap poll on horizon after UK lawmakers vote to block 'no-deal' Brexit
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The lower house of the British parliament voted on Wednesday to prevent Prime Minister Boris Johnson taking Britain out of the European Union without a deal, but he proposed a snap election on Oct. 15, just weeks before Brexit, to free his hands.
After wresting control of the parliamentary agenda from Johnson, the House of Commons backed a bill that would force the government to request a three-month Brexit delay rather than leave without a divorce agreement.
An alliance of opposition lawmakers and rebels from Johnson's Conservative Party voted 329-300 and then 327-299 for the bill in the second and third readings. The bill now passes to the upper house of parliament, the House of Lords.
Parliament's bid to tie Johnson's hands leaves Brexit up in the air, with possible outcomes ranging from a no-deal exit from the EU to abandoning the whole endeavour - both outcomes that would be unacceptable to swathes of the United Kingdom's voters.
Johnson said the bill had scuppered his Brexit negotiations with the EU and was designed to overturn the 2016 referendum on leaving the bloc.
