Johnson asks UK Parliament to open debate on his Brexit deal

The United Kingdom (UK) government has published its 110-page bill to turn Boris Johnson's Brexit deal into law.

This move by the government comes after Johnson was dealt a fresh blow on Monday when the speaker of parliament denied him a second shot at getting his Brexit deal passed just 10 days before the deadline.
This move by the government comes after Johnson was dealt a fresh blow on Monday when the speaker of parliament denied him a second shot at getting his Brexit deal passed just 10 days before the deadline. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@HoCPress

The Prime Minister asked MPs on Tuesday to approve proposals for three days of intensive debate over the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB).

The PM urged MPs to back the schedule, saying, "The public doesn't want any more delays, neither do other European leaders and neither do I."

But opposition MPs said there would not be enough time to scrutinise the bill.

Repeating his calls for MPs to "get Brexit done", Johnson said his deal allowed the UK to leave the EU "without disruption" and provided a "framework for a new relationship based on free trade and friendly cooperation".

However, Labour's shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, said: "Ministers are trying to bounce MPs into signing off a bill that could cause huge damage to our country. We can't trust this prime minister."

This move by the government comes after Johnson was dealt a fresh blow on Monday when the speaker of parliament denied him a second shot at getting his Brexit deal passed just 10 days before the deadline.

House of Commons speaker John Bercow said Johnson was not allowed to push for the same vote twice in the same parliamentary sitting.

Last week, lawmakers decided, at their first Saturday session since the 1982 Falklands War, to force the Conservative leader to ask Brussels to postpone the October 31 divorce by three months.