UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call for general election today will very much likely fail. Labour already indicated in a statement that they “would not support Boris Johnson’s ploy to deny the people their decision by crashing us out of the EU with No Deal during a general election campaign”. Meanwhile, Johnson’s spokesperson James Slack has confirmed that Parliament will be suspended once today’s business has been completed.
Separately, Johnson said in Ireland, alongside Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar that he wants to “find a deal” and “get a deal” on Brexit. And, “for the sake of business, for farmers, and millions of ordinary people who are counting on us to use our imagination and creativity to get this done. I want you to know I would overwhelmingly prefer to find an agreement.”
Varadkar, on the other hand, said “in the absence of agreed alternative arrangements, no backstop is no deal for us… We are open to alternatives, but they must realistic ones, legally binding and workable and we haven’t received such proposals to date.”
