LONDON — Is this the day Brexit is decided?
The U.K. was set for a potentially decisive Saturday as Parliament gathered for a rare weekend vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's exit deal with the European Union.
Support for the deal was on a knife-edge at the start of what was shaping up to be a day of drama in Westminster.
Opening the debate Saturday, Johnson urged lawmakers to approve what he called "a deal that can heal the rift in British politics, unite the warring instincts in us all."
The prime minister defied expectations this week and negotiated a new divorce settlement with Europe, setting the stage for Saturday's vote — Parliament's first weekend sitting for 37 years.
If his deal passes, it would represent the most important step toward Brexit since the U.K. voted to leave the bloc in a June 2016 referendum.
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Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May, failed three times to pass her own proposal.
If Johnson fails he will be forced to ask European leaders for an extension to the current deadline of Oct. 31., a huge climbdown for a prime minister who has vowed he would never do this.
This would prevent a damaging "no deal" Brexit and potentially allow time for the U.K. to hold an election or even a second referendum to try and break the deadlock.
However, as so often with Brexit there could be a twist.
A rebel group of lawmakers have tabled another vote that would loosely endorse the prime minister's deal but delay final confirmation.
Under this scenario, Johnson would still have to ask Europe for a delay. This would buy time for lawmakers to scrutinize and potentially tweak the deal. They could even choose to vote it down at a later date.
This vote is designed to avoid the U.K. crashing out of Europe without a deal, the default scenario if Johnson's deal passes Saturday but somehow falls at a later hurdle before Oct. 31.
This has been dubbed "super Saturday" — the first time Parliament has sat on a weekend since the Falklands War between the U.K. and Argentina in 1982.
Johnson's Conservative Party does not have enough lawmakers to pass the deal alone. Having lost the support of his former allies the Democratic Unionist Party, it appears Johnson will have to rely on winning the backing of rebels from the opposition Labour Party.
Since Britain voted for Brexit the process has been marked by chaos, division and repeated delays.
Over the past 40 years, the U.K. has embedded itself so deeply in Europe's political and economic union that removing itself is an incredibly complex task.
Deciding what Brexit should look like means choosing which E.U. rules to keep and which to scrap. This has sparked bitter disagreements and ultimately three years of deadlock.
Johnson surprised his critics in forging his own plan, but to do so he was forced into a series of concessions on key promises. His is also a "harder" version of Brexit compared to May's plan.
Whereas she built in a safety net, saving Britain from a damaging "no deal Brexit" if negotiations fail, Johnson's plan features no such clause.
It also keeps some E.U. rules in Northern Ireland, an attempt to avoid a "hard border" with the Republic of Ireland, which some fear could ignite sectarian violence.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/brexit-balance-ahead-decisive-super-saturday-u-k-parliament-n1068666
2019-10-19 08:17:00Z
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