Brexit showdown: British lawmakers bid to block PM leaving EU with no deal

British lawmakers will on Tuesday try to stop Boris Johnson from pursuing what they cast as a calamitous no-deal Brexit, a challenge a senior government source said would prompt the prime minister to call for a snap election on Oct. 14.

More than three years since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in a referendum,

the outcome of the Brexit crisis remains uncertain with a range of options from a turbulent no-deal exit to abandoning the entire endeavor.

Johnson implicitly warned lawmakers on Monday that he would seek an election if they tied his hands, ruling out ever countenancing a further delay to Brexit, scheduled for Oct. 31.

That sets up an historic Brexit showdown between prime minister and parliament in a country once touted as a confident pillar of Western economic and political stability. Sterling flirted with some of the lowest levels since 1985.

An alliance of opposition lawmakers and rebels in Johnson’s Conservative Party will use parliament’s first day back from its summer break to launch their attempt to block a no-deal exit. They are confident of victory.

“The priority is to prevent a no-deal exit from the EU on the 31st and we’ll see what happens after that,” opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said.

“Let’s see what happens after this legislation has gone through,” Corbyn said. “And if an election is called, I am absolutely ready to fight it.”

In the eye of the Brexit maelstrom, it was unclear if opposition parties would support a move to call an election - which requires the support of two-thirds of the 650-seat House of Commons.

The pound, which has gyrated to the rhetoric of Brexit since the 2016 referendum, fell to as low as $1.1959 GBP=D3. Barring a minutes-long "flash crash" in October 2016, the pound has not regularly traded at such low levels since 1985.

Fears of a no-deal Brexit were rising amid the chaos in London. The European Commission said such a scenario was a “very distinct possibility” and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said its was the most likely scenario.

BREXIT CHESS

The 2016 Brexit referendum showed a United Kingdom divided about much more than the European Union, and has fueled soul-searching about everything from secession and immigration to capitalism, empire and modern Britishness.

It has also triggered civil war inside both of Britain’s main political parties as dozens of lawmakers put what they see as the United Kingdom’s fate above that of party loyalty.

• Reuters