Following a difficult week in Parliament for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Monday is a key day for Brexit developments. Here's what you need to know:
- Parliament is due to be suspended at the close of business Monday until October 14.
- The queen gave "royal assent" to a bill aimed at avoiding a no-deal Brexit by delaying the departure deadline.
- Johnson is set to make a renewed bid to force a snap election on October 15. Opposition parties have said they will vote the measure down.
All times in UTC/GMT
1:35 British lawmakers voted against Johnson's call to hold an early election.
22:08 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the party opposed a new election unless a no-deal Brexit on October 31 was taken off the table.
"We're eager for an election. But as keen as we are, we are not prepared to risk inflicting the disaster of no-deal on our communities."
22.04 Johnson said he would not request a Brexit delay, despite MPs approving a new law that could force him to do so.
21:51 Parliament has begun debating a motion from Prime Minister Johnson asking for an early general election.
"An election is the only way to serve the national interest … I don't want an election but it is the only way to break a deadlock ... Let the people decide if they want to delay or not," Johnson said.
20:59 Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not plan to go to Brussels on October 17 to request a Brexit delay.
20:14 Lawmakers begin debating a motion concerning Northern Ireland.
20:12 Corbyn's motion passed without a vote.
18:43 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has opened the debate on a motion concerning the enforcement of the Brexit delay law, which conditionally forces the prime minister to ask for an extension to the October 31 departure deadline.
Read more: Brexit: Does Boris Johnson's track record explain the man?
18:33 The Operation Yellowhammer motion passed with 311 in favor and 302 against. It forces the government to publish no-deal Brexit planning papers and plans to suspend Parliament.
18:14 DIVISION! Lawmakers exit the lobby as they vote for the motion on Operation Yellowhammer.
18:10 Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has pushed back against releasing "private correspondences of private individuals" who had given advice as it related to no-deal Brexit preparations. He called the motion unprecedented, saying it was like "fishing — with a trawl."
18:05 British MP Lindsay Hoyle, tipped as the favorite to replace Commons Speaker John Bercow, has officially announced his intention to seek the role.
"Now that there is a vacancy for the Office of Speaker of the House of Commons, I am happy to confirm that I will be standing as a candidate," said Hoyle.
16:25 Parliament begins debating the motion to require the British government to publish documents related to no-deal Brexit plans, including suspending Parliament. The plans are better known by the code name Operation Yellowhammer.
Read more: France says 'non' to Brexit delay
16:14 Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn requested an emergency debate on the implementation of the law that conditionally forces the prime minister to request an extension of the October 31 Brexit deadline. The speaker grants the debate.
14:39 House of Commons Speaker John Bercow has just announced that he will step down on October 31 if Parliament does not vote for an election today. In an emotional statement to Parliament, he says serving as speaker has been "the greatest privilege of his personal and professional life." MPs from all parties are now paying tribute to him in the Commons. The speaker is an independent lawmaker in the British Parliament.
14:26 The queen has just given royal assent to the piece of legislation that seeks to prevent Boris Johnson from taking the country out of the EU without a deal. This will essentially force Boris Johnson to seek another extension to Brexit.
14:20 The prorogation ceremony itself might not happen until after midnight. The ceremony involves royal assent being given to each outstanding bill in the House of Lords. As tradition dictates, the ceremony will be conducted in the antiquated language of business of UK politics: Norman French.
13:47 Assuming that both of these debates take place, and given the amount of other business in Parliament today, it could be after 2000 (UTC) before MPs even begin to debate the prime minister‛s motion for an election.
13:42 Brexit discussions are set to kick off in the UK Parliament at around 1430 (UTC). Two MPs are then expected to make applications for emergency debates — Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Dominic Grieve, one of the deselected Conservative "rebels." Both concern the suspension process. Grieve is aiming for MPs to get access to all documents relating to prorogation and a no-deal Brexit, according to his parliamentary motion.
13:15 Though it is now unlikely that there will be an election before October 31, two MPs have announced that they will not be seeking re-election. Conservative MP Mark Prisk claims that this decision was "not in reaction to Brexit," while Richard Benyon was amongst the 21 "rebels" whom Johnson deselected on September 3. This comes days after the prime minister's own brother announced that he would also be resigning as an MP.
12:52 Welsh party leader Liz Saville Roberts is calling for the impeachment of Boris Johnson. The prime minister has said he would do his best to prevent an extension to Article 50, even if the necessity to ask the EU for an extension became law, as is expected to happen later today. Saville Roberts believes that such a move would be illegal.
12:38 Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has described the decision to prorogue Parliament tonight as "disgraceful." He added that "Parliament should be sitting and Parliament should be holding him to account, and the prime minister appears to be wanting to run away from questions."
12:20 Liberal Democrat party leader Jo Swinson has confirmed that her party, along with other opposition parties, will "not support an election until Article 50 has been extended." Article 50 is the formal legal process which triggered Brexit.
12:00 Global stock markets report a six-week high for sterling of $1.2385. This has been put down to investors seeing the threat of a no-deal Brexit easing, with Goldman Sachs raising the probability of a Brexit deal from 45% to 55%.
11:50 Confused about how Boris Johnson can suspend Parliament, and what proroguing actually means? You can read our explainer here.
11:30 A joint statement from Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says that some common ground was established but "significant gaps remain." The two leaders say they are committed to securing a Brexit agreement with the European Union.
11:08 A former Conservative Party special adviser, Jason Stein, tells Sky News that polling carried out by Number 10 Downing Street shows that Boris Johnson and his party could fare worse than his predecessor Theresa May did in the last elections if one were called immediately.
11:01 Incoming President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen announces her chosen commissioners for every EU country. All except for the UK, which did not nominate a candidate, assuming that Brexit will take place on October 31, one day before von der Leyen takes office.
10:40 The spokesman says the prime minister will not "seek an extension" and not sanction any more "pointless delays" to Brexit. "There is a simple way for MPs to resolve this: all they have to do is vote for an election today," he said.
10:38 A Downing Street spokesman confirms that the UK Parliament will be prorogued, or suspended, at the close of business Monday. The suspension will last until October 14 and, according to the spokesman, will take place regardless of the outcome of the government-led vote on holding a snap election.
10:23 Johnson and Varadkar are out of their meeting. "Give me a ring," Johnson apparently called out to the Irish prime minister before leaving. Johnson is now on his way back to London.
09:25 The Dutch government's statistics office revealed data showing "that British companies are moving their activities to the Netherlands because of uncertainty about Brexit." According to the report, foreign businesses are starting to invest less in the UK.
09:20 German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stated in Berlin that he was awaiting a "clear" message on Brexit from the UK Parliament. "We remain in principle ready to talk, and we have to be in order to make possible as orderly a withdrawal as possible, but that ultimately requires clear decisions and proposals from London." Other EU leaders have expressed dissatisfaction with the idea of a further delay to Brexit.
08:57 Closing his remarks, Johnson described the possibility of a no-deal Brexit as a "failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible." He added that he was "absolutely undaunted" by what might happen in Parliament in the coming days.
08:55 In response, Johnson remained optimistic that he would be able to secure a deal that pleased all parties at the EU summit in mid-October. "I have one message that I want to land with you today, Leo: that is I want to find a deal, I want to get a deal," Johnson said. "Like you, I've looked carefully at no-deal; I've assessed its consequences both for our country and yours."
08:46 Johnson and Varadkar appeared together to give statements ahead of their meeting. When asked if the European Union had received any alternatives to the so-called backstop provision, Varadkar said: "We haven't received such proposals to date. In the absence of agreed alternative arrangements, no backstop is no deal for us."
08:45 Johnson arrived in Dublin ahead of talks with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. This marks the first time the two have met since Johnson's election as prime minister in July. Varadkar tweeted that "the stakes are high."
08:10 This morning, the UK's Daily Telegraph reported that Johnson's government was drawing up plans to stop the Brexit extension if there is no early election. "We intend to sabotage any extension," a Downing Street source told the paper. Alongside the official request for an extension as set out in the new law, Johnson would reportedly enclose another letter emphasizing that the UK government does not want another delay.
08:00 Welcome to live updates for another important day in Brexit developments. Following Prime Minister Johnson's visit to Dublin, he will face the House of Commons later in the day.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
June 2016: 'The will of the British people'
After a shrill referendum campaign, nearly 52% of British voters opted to leave the EU on June 23. Polls had shown a close race before the vote with a slight lead for those favoring remaining in the EU. Conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron, who had campaigned for Britain to stay, acknowledged the "will of the British people" and resigned the following morning.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
July 2016: 'Brexit means Brexit'
Former Home Secretary Theresa May replaced David Cameron as prime minister on July 11 and promised the country that "Brexit means Brexit." May had quietly supported the Remain campaign before the referendum. She did not initially say when her government would trigger Article 50 of the EU treaty to start the two-year talks leading to Britain's formal exit.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
March 2017: 'We already miss you'
May eventually signed a diplomatic letter over six months later on March 29, 2017 to trigger Article 50. Hours later, Britain's ambassador to the EU, Tim Barrow, handed the note to European Council President Donald Tusk. Britain's exit was officially set for March 29, 2019. Tusk ended his brief statement on the decision with: "We already miss you. Thank you and goodbye."
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
June 2017: And they're off!
British Brexit Secretary David Davis and the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, kicked off talks in Brussels on June 19. The first round ended with Britain reluctantly agreeing to follow the EU's timeline for the rest of the negotiations. The timeline split talks into two phases. The first would settle the terms of Britain's exit, and the second the terms of the EU-UK relationship post-Brexit.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
July-October 2017: Money, rights and Ireland
The second round of talks in mid-July began with an unflattering photo of a seemingly unprepared British team. It and subsequent rounds ended with little progress on three phase one issues: How much Britain still needed to pay into the EU budget after it leaves, the post-Brexit rights of EU and British citizens and whether Britain could keep an open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
December 2017: Go-ahead for phase 2
Leaders of the remaining 27 EU members formally agreed that "sufficient progress" had been made to move on to phase two issues: the post-Brexit transition period and the future UK-EU trading relationship. While Prime Minister Theresa May expressed her delight at the decision, European Council President Tusk ominously warned that the second stage of talks would be "dramatically difficult."
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
July 2018: Johnson, Davis resign
British ministers appeared to back a Brexit plan at May's Chequers residence on July 6. The proposal would have kept Britain in a "combined customs territory" with the EU and signed up to a "common rulebook" on all goods. That went too far for British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis, who resigned a few days later. May replaced them with Jeremy Hunt and Dominic Raab.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
September 2018: No cherries for Britain
May's Chequers proposal did not go down well with EU leaders, who told her at a summit in Salzburg in late September that it was unacceptable. EU Council President Tusk trolled May on Instagram, captioning a picture of himself and May looking at cakes with the line: "A piece of cake perhaps? Sorry, no cherries." The gag echoed previous EU accusations of British cherry-picking.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
November 2018: Breakthrough in Brussels
EU leaders endorsed a 585-page draft divorce deal and political declaration on post-Brexit ties in late November. The draft had been widely condemned by pro- and anti-Brexit lawmakers in the British Parliament only weeks earlier. Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab resigned along with several other ministers, and dozens of Conservative Party members tried to trigger a no-confidence vote in May.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
December 2018: May survives rebellion
In the face of unrelenting opposition, May postponed a parliamentary vote on the deal on December 10. The next day, she met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to seek reassurances that would, she hoped, be enough to convince skeptical lawmakers to back the deal. But while she was away, hard-line Conservative lawmakers triggered a no-confidence vote. May won the vote a day later.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
January 2019: Agreement voted down
The UK Parliament voted 432 to 202 against May's Brexit deal on January 16. In response to the result, European Council President Donald Tusk suggested the only solution was for the UK to stay in the EU. Meanwhile, Britain's Labour Party called for a no-confidence vote in the prime minister, her second leadership challenge in as many months.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
March 2019: Second defeat for May's deal
May tried to get legal changes to the deal's so-called Irish backstop in the weeks that followed. She eventually got assurances that the UK could suspend the backstop under certain circumstances. But on March 12, Parliament voted against the revised Brexit deal by 391 to 242. EU leaders warned the vote increased the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit. Two days later, MPs voted to delay Brexit.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
March 2019: Extension after second defeat
Following the second defeat of May's divorce deal, the European Council met in Brussels on March 21 to decide what to do next. EU leaders gave May two options: delay Brexit until May 22 if MPs vote for the withdrawal deal or delay it until April 12 if they vote against the deal. If the deal were to fail again in Parliament, May could ask for a long extension.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
March 2019: Brexit deal rejected a third time
On March 29, the day that the UK was supposed to leave the EU, British lawmakers voted for a third time against May's deal — rejecting it this time with a vote of 344 to 286. Following the latest defeat, May approached the main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in an attempt to find a compromise, angering hardline Brexiteers in her own Conservative party.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
April 2019: Brexit delayed until Halloween
With the April 12 deadline looming after the third defeat of May's deal, EU leaders met again in Brussels to discuss a second delay. The only question was how long should it be? In the end, the UK and EU agreed to a "flexible" extension until October 31 — which can end sooner if the Brexit deal is approved. The UK had to take part in EU elections in May because their exit wasn't secured in time.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
May 2019: Prime Minister Theresa May resigns
Weeks of talks between Prime Minister Theresa May and the Labour party to reach a deal proved unsuccessful and further eroded her political capital. She triggered an angry backlash from her party after she tried to put the option of a second referendum on the table. The series of failures led May to announce her resignation, effective June 7, in an emotional address.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
June 2019: Search for a new prime minister
After Theresa May announced on June 7 that she would leave office, other members of her Conservative party began clamoring for the top job. Within a month, the leadership battle came down to Jeremy Hunt (left), an EU proponent who fears a no-deal scenario, and Boris Johnson (right), one of the main proponents of Brexit.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
July 2019: Prime Minister Boris Johnson
At the end of July 2019, Johnson was officially named Theresa May's successor as British prime minister. "We are going to energize the country, we are going to get Brexit done by October 31," he said after he was elected leader of the Conservative Party.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
September 2019: Johnson's election threat
Conservative rebels and opposition MPs backed efforts to delay an October 31 Brexit deadline in fear of a no-deal departure. In response, Johnson called for a general election, saying his government cannot rule without a mandate after he stripped 21 rebel MPs of their Conservative status. The Labour Party said it would not back elections until legislation to block a no-deal Brexit was in place.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
September 2019: Prorogation 'unlawful'
In late September, Britain's highest court ruled that Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament ahead of the UK's planned exit was unlawful. "This was not a normal prorogation in the run-up to a Queen's Speech," said the Supreme Court. Political rivals immediately called on Johnson to leave his post. Johnson said he would abide by the court ruling, though said he "strongly" disagreed.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
October 2019: A new deal
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson managed to secure a deal with European negotiators that would allow the UK to leave the EU in an orderly manner. The deal received unanimous backing from the leaders of 27 other member states. But an attempt to get the UK Parliament to sign off on the deal failed. Instead, Parliament pushed for the Brexit deadline to be extended until the end of January 2020.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
December 2019: Lawmakers vote for Johnson's Withdrawal Bill
On December 22, UK lawmakers vote for Prime Minister Johnson's European Union withdrawal bill, which will see a leave date of January 31 2020 enshrined in law. Getting a majority to vote to pass the bill in the lower house has proven a major sticking point for the PM, but following a general election Johnson's Conservative party won control of the house and the bill passed with a 124 majority.
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Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe
December 2020: EU, UK 'finally' reach trade deal
After months of disagreements over fishing rights and future business rules, the EU and UK clinched a post-Brexit trade deal on Christmas Eve. Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the deal, saying the UK has "taken back control of our laws and our destiny." The deal will allow the UK and the EU to trade without tariffs, but also impose limitations on free movement and financial services.
ls,ed/tj (dpa, AP, Reuters)
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